New Media - Art and Media, Master of Arts (Art and Design)

Description

In a technology-saturated world, it is indispensable to understand and study the impacts that technology has on individuals, organisations and society. The New Media major brings together a multicultural group of students with very versatile skills and backgrounds. They all share the same passion of exploring the opportunities and challenges that new and emerging digital technologies - such as artificial intelligence and extended reality - open for communication, art, and design. By exploring the field of new media through various topics, including media art and culture, interaction design, creative computing, and interactive narratives, the graduates of the major have unique competences to take on new and emerging professions within the broad spectrum of the new media industry.

The major also aims to provide a supportive and constructive environment for artistic, technical, and professional development. An environment where learning from failures is just as important as learning from successes. The students are encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones and get familiar with a variety of tools and skills, to understand the characteristics of digital media.

Graduates of the New Media major will be able to:

1. Understand the complex demands and dynamics of the modern media landscape. Graduates understand the fragmented and complex nature of various forms of digital media and technology, and their impact on society.
2. Analyse and criticize how technology shapes art, design, communication, and self-expression. Graduates critically assess and question the current trajectory of media technology and understand their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future.
3. Apply a human-centric approach to digital design. Graduates are skilled in anticipating user values, translating them into product and service offerings and keeping humans at the center of the design process.
4. Use broad understanding across the field of new media and advance in-depth skills in specialisation areas of their choice. Graduates have the benefits of both breadth of knowledge and cultivation of their research and working methods in the specialisation areas they feel passionate about.
5. Apply their technical knowledge and skills in computational art and design to create new experiences, services, tools, and other creative productions. Graduates are skilled in not just using but also developing state-of-the-art tools for new media art and design.
6. Describe and evaluate how interaction, generativity, and immersion are applied in new media art and design. Graduates identify the possibilities and limitations of developing interactive and generative systems or experiences.
7. Consider and evaluate issues of sustainability, representation, and diversity in the field of new media. Graduates identify the visible and hidden environmental, cultural, and societal impacts of digital media infrastructures.

Language of instruction

The language of instruction is English. Students can write their Master’s Thesis in English, Finnish or Swedish.

Tuition fees and scholarships

The tuition fee for this programme is 20 000 euros per academic year. Citizens of European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland do not pay tuition fees. Citizens of other countries must pay tuition fees.

Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.

More information on tuition fees and scholarships at Aalto University is available at the Scholarships and Tuition Fees webpage.

Structure of studies

Studies in New Media emphasise emerging fields and practices as well as related tools and technologies for communication, creative production, and distribution. The topics deal with some of the most burning questions of our time, such as how artificial intelligence is changing creative industries and society as a whole. Academic communication and writing are a part of the studies, and more research courses can be chosen if the student is planning to continue to doctoral studies.

The education is project-oriented, combining practice with theory, hands-on with minds-on. The first semester consists of introductions to the key topics and essential tools for new media art and design. The spring semester of the first year of studies dives deeper into specific specialisation areas through advanced seminars and studios. The year concludes in a first-year capstone project, where students work individually or in small teams to create a larger project to demonstrate their development and reflect on their studies. The second year of studies is dedicated to elective studies, research skills, and completing the Master’s Thesis.

The core of the New Media major is built around the key themes of:

• New Media Art and Culture: Media culture and media art are explored and discussed from a broad perspective to provide the students with a historical, social, and cultural understanding of the field. Additionally, the studies explore topics of sustainability, representation, interactivity, and immersion through research and creative practice.
• New Media Design: Our new media design studies introduce theories, methodologies, and pragmatic considerations on design for the interaction between humans and wide range of systems and services, from desktop computers to embedded and ubiquitous systems.
• Creative Computation: Students explore code as a creative medium in various contexts. Programming is taught at different levels, and it is not necessary to know how to write code before applying. Students with existing advanced coding skills may develop their craft further in the advanced studios, elective studies, and personal projects.
• Physical Computing and Digital Fabrication: The connection between digital media and the physical world is introduced through tangible and embodied interaction. Digital fabrication workflows are used for prototyping and manufacturing tangible interactive objects.

More information on the programme content and curriculum can be found in the Student guide.

Specialisations

Students can choose to further specialise in specific areas by combining individual courses from the advanced seminars and studios according to their background and interests. Additional specialisation is also possible through elective studies. The student can freely choose 30 ECTS of elective studies. It is possible to choose individual courses or complete a minor subject.

Each student creates their Personal Study Plan (PSP), which is a practical tool to define a student’s own study path, compiling an optimal selection of courses that are aligned with the student's interests and programme requirements. PSP is also a useful tool for students to keep track of their studies. At best, it shows where students are with their studies and sets concrete milestones for them to follow.

Internationalisation

A significant number of the department’s applicants, students, teachers, and researchers are from abroad, and all of the courses are taught in English. Students and researchers are encouraged to network internationally and have the option to spend a part of their studies abroad through any of the exchange programmes offered by Aalto.

Aalto University is international by nature, welcoming thousands of degree and exchange students from abroad every year. These students join the diverse Aalto community not only through studies but also via multiple free time events, celebrations, and extracurricular activities around the campus. Active tutoring programs and support services work hard to help international students integrate into the Nordic culture and feel at home in Finland.

Further study opportunities

Completion of the MA degree makes a graduate eligible to apply for doctoral studies.

Career opportunities

Our graduates have an excellent basis for an international career. Their future professional profiles relate to the various fields of new media art and design, including user experience design, interaction design, information design, interactive storytelling, new media art, software development, and digital animation. As the field of digital media is in constant motion, graduates often get to define completely new roles in organisations. Novel titles and responsibilities are expected to emerge in the future.

Research focus

Research in new media is inherently transdisciplinary and focused on experimentation with new formats and genres as they emerge through the convergence of media and information communication technologies.

The major in New Media is part of the Aalto Media Lab. As a transdisciplinary laboratory, Aalto Media Lab is open for experiments and research in all areas and aspects of new media and digital design. See the following links for more information:

• Research focus areas at the Department of Art and Media
• Aalto Media Lab

Co-operation with other parties

The Major in New Media is situated at the intersection of arts, design, and technology – bringing together talents from these different fields. This spontaneous environment sparks new ideas, gathers enthusiasts around them and gives birth to friendships, networks, and sometimes even startup companies.

Students are highly encouraged to freely choose their minors or elective study modules from other Aalto Schools to further give them a multidisciplinary edge. They also have the opportunity to take courses from other Finnish universities.

Contact information

Learning services of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture

For enquiries regarding programme-specific application documents or studies in the programme, please contact Aalto ARTS Learning Services.

[email protected]

Admission Services

For enquiries regarding the application process, obligatory application documents or English language proficiency, please contact Admission Services.

[email protected]