The Visual Studies and Art Education programme blends practical experience with theoretical studies in art, education, digital communication and project management. The Master’s is a double degree programme between Aalto University in Finland and Aalborg University where the joint NM NoVA community forms an important part of the programme. As such, you will receive a Master's from both Aalborg University and Aalto University, as you will complete the first year of your Master's in Aalborg and the second year at Aalto. Conversely, students admitted to Aalto University begin their studies at Aalto and complete them in Aalborg. All modules are co-taught between Aalto University and Aalborg University and include in-person classes on campus, hybrid lectures and online activities. The first year of the programme builds a common academic curriculum on top of your Bachelor's degree, while the second academic year lets you specialise through the mandatory switch to the partner university and the project-oriented course that prepares you for your thesis.  

With a Master’s in Visual Studies and Art Education, you will be an expert in creative problem solving with an art education foundation. You will be able to analyse and create change, development and learning, whether the goal is improving a communicative practice, changing a teaching practice or developing a product or organisational practice. You will be able to study and analyse visual communication and create visual digital communication based on relevant theories, methods, tools and technologies. The international focus of the programme gives you the social and cultural skills needed to participate in and organise online communication, dissemination and learning across borders. You will also be able to develop creative problem-solving based on art education theory and methodology and with respect for human rights and social and cultural sustainability. You will have project management competences as well as the ability to organise learning and communication programmes based on art education principles, including skills in selecting, developing and motivating pedagogical-didactic principles and learning models. 

With a Master’s in Visual Studies and Art Education, you can take on many different positions in a range of contexts, depending on your educational foundation. You can work as a designer of innovative digital visual communication, organiser of aesthetic learning processes, product developer and project manager in creative companies and organisations, or as an organisational developer in public and private companies. Other job titles may include cultural consultant, educator or curator.

Students explore creative and critical approaches to design and art making, coupled with a deep responsibility for openness, caring, and equality. Students learn about social and cultural competences in ICT & online communication and engage in developing creative approaches to online education.

Students learn about Nordic approaches to art and education, specifically emphasizing democracy, egalitarianism, socially just pedagogical skills and practices, human rights, and social and cultural sustainability.

Students acquire skills in project management, administration, finance, and entrepreneurship in cultural and educational contexts. Students engage with project-driven and problem-oriented teaching as well as collaborative and participatory learning.

In the first semester, the core subject's approach to investigation work and research is brought into play. The subject modules gradually develop knowledge, skills and competences to prepare a subject-relevant project, describe and implement a research design based on subject-specific approaches, theories and methods for analyzing practice and empirical data. In addition, the modules provide skills in collaborating within the university and with external stakeholders.

Art and problem-based research methodology
This module provides knowledge of theories and methods for creating visual communicative, digital and cultural knowledge. The students are taught problem-based, art-based and art-pedagogical approaches to research and theory-generating practice. The module includes locally based and site-specific activities associated with art and problem-based research methodology. Furthermore, they are taught to collaborate in online, offline and hybrid learning environments. The first part of the module takes place as a compulsory five-day symposium on a campus.

Aesthetics, visual culture and visual communication
This module provides knowledge about aesthetics, visual culture and digital communication in a contemporary perspective. The content of the subject module includes a problem-based learning approach to the investigation, development and understanding of meaning-making and interaction in visual practices, in participation on social media, in urban spaces and in aesthetic communication. The students also acquire skills in creating digital visual communication using both digital and analogue tools.

Art educational practice and theory
This module provides knowledge of various scientifically based methods of art practice regarding how to work with individuals, groups of people and communities in institutional and non-institutional contexts. Discussions of pedagogical principles for teaching and learning must enable the students to make ethical, responsible and respectful decisions when working with art pedagogy and art-based approaches in different contexts.

The second semester builds on the competencies from the first semester and provides the students with the knowledge and methodological skills to independently manage and carry out projects with a focus on creating changes and developing an existing communicative, teaching or social practice based on critical analyzes of the context, the projects must be included in. Cooperation with external stakeholders will be increased, and this will be supported by skills in management and administration of projects, as well as entrepreneurship and business understanding, with a view to being able to carry out critical analyses, make decisions about and initiate efforts.

Project module: Change and intervention through communication and art pedagogical practice
The project module provides knowledge and skills to plan and implement a creative problem-solving project that can change and develop an existing practice in professional, organizational and/or digital media-related contexts. Changes both through and of visual and digital communication as well as of art educational practice and cultural practice. The focus is on the analysis and design of meaningful activities in different contexts and interactions. The module also includes the planning, implementation and dissemination of project results to a wider audience in the form of a conference, an event, an exhibition or an artefact.

Critical issues within art, education and visual culture
The subject module provides knowledge about the connection between social and cultural perspectives on contemporary art as a prerequisite for building democratic, sustainable spaces for communication, teaching and learning. The module also provides skills in the analysis of the connection between social conditions and contemporary artistic expressions. The focus is on critical analysis and the promotion of a complex approach to the study of central concepts, theories and topics related to contemporary art and pedagogy.

Project management, administration and entrepreneurship
The subject module provides knowledge about frameworks and models for project management, administration and entrepreneurship and also conveys business understanding. It aims to increase the students' theoretical and practical knowledge of project planning and realization. The core consists in developing ethical, responsible and sustainable ecosystems of culture, economy and the use of art-based and educational methods to plan and realize projects. The student translates the course content into practical planning and management of their own exchange program and project-oriented courses as well as stakeholder agreements in the second year of the programme.

The third semester provides the students with practical knowledge, skills and competences with a view to implementing the subject's theories and methods in a value-creating professional practice with a project-oriented course as a focal point. The student can choose between three tracks within a project module.

The project module consists of a project-oriented course that activates academic skills from the first year of study and includes a methodology seminar and guidance.

Track I: Academic practice-oriented course
The project module contains a long-term project-oriented course, where the student's academic expertise meets practical reality. The main component is a project-oriented course of at least 13 weeks in a relevant company, organization or institution, where the student collaborates on a professional task that draws on knowledge, skills and competencies from the education. The purpose is to provide concrete experience with and insight into working life. The project module can form the empirical basis for the thesis.

Track II: Visual project
The project module contains a practical project where production skills within visual and digital communication and/or visual culture and/or art education are used in a practical reality. The module consists of components, partly a visually oriented project of at least 6 weeks, partly 1-2 optional courses at the host university that support the project. The project is carried out in collaboration with a relevant company, organization or institution, where the student collaborates on a professional task. The purpose is to provide concrete experience with and insight into professional projects with the preparation of a visual product. The project module can form the empirical basis for the thesis.

Track III: Theoretical project
The project module contains an immersion in the theoretical and methodological basis for visual and digital communication, visual culture and art pedagogy. The main part is theoretical and methodological, where the student works independently with a current problem within the scientific field. The aim is to develop the theoretical framework for the thesis by collaborating with relevant faculty projects at the partner university. The module will provide an in-depth knowledge of and discussion of a theoretical research question.

The fourth semester supports the students' thesis work with thesis-promoting activities in the form of a methodology symposium.

Master thesis
The thesis module is centered around the thesis and the student's self-selected topic within the framework of the education. The thesis can either be a purely theoretical and analytical project or a theoretical and methodologically based practical solution. The student is offered guidance from both partner universities. The module includes a symposium that addresses research methodological issues.

If you have a background in communication, digital media, art history, or related fields, NM NoVA offers you a possibility to further develop your knowledge and skills in analyzing, designing, implementing and evaluating visual digital communication. After graduation, you could work in digital communication companies or communication departments of companies that require innovative visual competences in communication.

If you have a background in art education, educational sciences, intercultural pedagogy, or related fields, NM NoVA offers you a possibility to further develop your knowledge and skills in collaborative and participatory methods rooted in contemporary theories of art, visual pedagogy and media or designing visual and digital learning processes in various context. After graduation, you could work in companies and organisations developing learning resources or as teachers in professional schools offering teacher training in visual arts, technology literacy, practice skills and craft and design. Note that NM NoVA does not offer a teacher certificate.

If you have a background as a designer or an artist, NM NoVA offers you a possibility to further develop your knowledge and skills in creative development processes that involve experiential learning. After graduation, you could work in NGOs that handle artistic, cultural, and educational projects, or creative companies and organisations interested in stimulating learning through visual and material means.

If you have a background in social sciences, business, humanities, or related fields, NM NoVA offers you a possibility to further develop your knowledge and skills in developing and implementing creative interventions that facilitate new forms of collaboration as well as in leading and managing artistic, cultural and educational initiatives. After graduation, you could work in public or private enterprises and projects that require skills in interdisciplinary collaboration.

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