Study-option-specific Admission Procedure and Evaluation Criteria
Applicants meeting Aalto’s general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria decided in advance for each study option. The applications to Master´s Programme in Art and Media - Sound in New Media are evaluated based on the following criteria:
Phase I
Suitability
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What is evaluated
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Applicant’s further suitability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies / communication skills
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What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements
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Applicants are expected to have strong motivation, good co-operative skills and capacity to commit to study full-time. We also expect the applicant to understand the potential of sound in applicable fields of art and design.
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Motivation letter
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Other areas of competence
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What is evaluated
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Work experience and other acquired knowledge/achievements e.g. publications and exhibitions/ performances, non-formal education, competitions, grants, recidencies, teaching experience etc.
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What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements
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We expect a CV (curriculum vitae) from applicants for background information.
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Curriculum vitae
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Phase II
Artistic and/or design practice
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What is evaluated
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Demonstrations of artistic and/ or design work related to sound, e.g. artistic or commercial projects, publications, performance/ exhibition documentations or other works of art and/ or design in the audible domain. Proven musical competence of any kind (e.g. violin playing, DJ’ing etc) is a plus.
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What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements
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We expect our applicants to have artistic and/ or design vision and development potential as well as to be goal-orientated and able to adopt new perspectives and working methods.
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Suitability
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What is evaluated
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Applicant’s further suitability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies / communication skills / assessment of second phase assignments.
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What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements
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We require good skills in written expression and ability to conceptually reflect on questions related to the audible domain.
We also expect our applicants to have a good understanding of the sound as medium and sound culture, as well as personal artistic/ designer’s insight.
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Second phase assignment(s), interview, portfolio
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Evaluation process
The applicants will be first evaluated based on Aalto’s general eligibility requirements. Applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria thay has been decided in advance for each study option.
The selection process for those who meet the general eligibility criteria comprises of two phases:
Phase I
In Phase I, the applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Suitability/Motivation letter
- Other areas of competence
Only the applicants who fulfill the requirements and are ranked highest in the first phase will be invited to the second phase in the selection process. However, the scoring and/or ranking of the first phase doesn’t affect the final, 2nd phase scoring.
Phase II
In Phase II, the evaluation is based on the following criteria:
- Artistic and/or design practice
- Suitability/Assignment(s) and interview
Part of the applicants are invited to the second phase. The invitation to the second phase is sent to the applicants at latest seven days in advance.
In the second phase of the admissions procedure, applicants complete one or more assignments within the given time. The assignment(s) can be written or audible and is (are) based on the provided material and/ or given topic. The assignment(s) is (are) submitted in electronic from as text file(s) with possible supporting graphs and images and/ or as audio file(s).
The second phase also includes a 30-minute interview. The interview can also be carried out remotely.
Final selection
It is important to understand that from the Program’s point of view the application process aims at a balanced group of different kinds of students. In other words, even exceptional skills and talent in one field don’t automatically guarantee that the applicant would be selected. Furthermore, the more there are applicants with a similar profile, the harder the competition is (against similar applicants). In other words, if there are lots of applicants interested in game audio it is harder to get accepted with a game audio profile.
Study-option-specific documents requested
The documents requested from all applicants are listed on the Aalto University webpage (https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-at-aalto/applying-to-masters-programmes). In addition, applicants to this study option are requested to provide the following study-option-specific documents:
Motivation letter
Applicants provide a written motivation letter (max 4,000 characters, single PDF file) explaining why they wish to apply to the degree programme in question, what their particular areas of interest in this field are, and what their objectives and hopes are regarding the studies at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Applicants should specify their personal strengths and areas of interest, artistic/ designer’s visions and objectives.
Lack of this application document will adversely affect the evaluation of the application.
Portfolio
The portfolio is presented and discussed during the application interview. The form and format of the portfolio is free; however, the portfolio should be online so that it can be accessed via Internet with a common web browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari). The access to the portfolio might be password protected on the responsibility of the applicant.
The portfolio may consist of individual art/ design works, documentation of exhibitions and/ or performances etc. The portfolio must showcase the applicant’s previous academic, professional and/or scientific activity in a diverse and comprehensive manner. The applicant should be able to present the portfolio in 10 minutes.
Lack of this application document will adversely affect the evaluation of the application.
Maximum size of the file is 1.0 GB. Name the file Portfolio-lastname-firstname.pdf.
CV
The applicant’s curriculum vitae (single PDF file) with personal data, educational background, work experience, exhibitions, possible published literature and articles, awards and grants, study trips and positions of trust must be included in the application.
Lack of this application document will affect the evaluation of the application.
Language of application documents
The application documents must be submitted in English.