Media Arts Cultures Joint Master – Curriculum 3.0
(curriculum basis for project application for Erasmus Mundus Joint Master 2024-2030)
MediaAC answers the needs of the evolving fields related to the future and heritage of Media Arts Cultures through internationally advanced teaching in the Media Arts with an innovative combination of pedagogical foci, trans-disciplinary approaches, and critical thinking in connection to the needs of academic and non-academic stakeholders.
Semester 1 focuses on the foundations of theories, contextualization, forms and tendencies of media arts and digital culture. Semester 2 involves teaching and project group work in experience design. At the beginning or end of the 3rd Semester, a mandatory immersive professional experience is completed with Associated Partners of the MediaAC Consortium. Semester 3 spirals back to core elements with student-centered teaching on emergent topics, while semester 4 is dedicated to the Master Thesis.
CURRICULUM
Online detailed curriculum including individual course decriptions and learning outcomes.
Semester 1 – University of Lodz (ULO), Poland: The first semester at the University of Lodz, which provides students with a comprehensive overview of concepts, theories and methods fundamental to academic reflection on media culture and media art, is based on the experience of many years of research into media art and digital culture in the cultural studies tradition, as well as the teaching of MA programmes formerly in the Cultural Studies and currently in the Audiovisual Media and Digital Culture at the University of Lodz. It focuses on the foundations of theories, contextualization, forms and tendencies of media arts and digital culture, and academic practices in Media Arts Cultures. Excursions and projects provide contact and intellectual exchange with MediaAC faculty, consolidating individual academic interests and career goals.
- Foundations of Media Arts Cultures in Context (6 ECTS)
- Foundations of State of the Media Art – Case Studies 1 (6 ECTS)
- Foundations of State of the Media Art – Case Studies 2 (6 ECTS)
- Foundations of State of the Media Art – Case Studies 3 (6 ECTS)
- Foundations of Academic Practices (6 ECTS)
Semester 2 – Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark: For graduates to be competitively employable and play a valuable role in the future of Media Arts Cultures, student knowledge, skills and competences must answer the needs of the field. The second semester, therefore, is based on Aalborg University’s specialised model of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), wherein students work in groups applying problem-oriented methods in preparing projects of a high academic standard, as embedded within Media Artistic processes. The research strength of AAU lies in combining a critical-reflective academic tradition with practice-based research methods. This PBL model prepares students for their postgraduate career and the job market, as well as second-year studies. Students work on real-world projects revisiting and exploring the creative practices, cultures and methods in-between Art, Electronic Media and Technologies in an active institutional and international environment where the learning journey progresses towards greater independence and deeper creative understanding of the field.
- Curatorial and Artistic Experiments with Science, Technology and Economics (5 ECTS)
- The Experiential and Experimental in Media Arts Cultures (15 ECTS)
- Media Arts Cultures in Context: Experiential and Experimental (5 ECTS)
- State of the Media Art (5 ECTS)
Immersive Professional Experience – (Internship, Independent Study and Media Arts Cultures Labs): During the summer and winter at the beginning and end of the 3rd semester students undertake 2 options related to practical experiences option hosted by one of the MediaAC Consortium’s associated partners. The MediaAC Consortium makes possible the organisation and placement for student internships and many students initiate placement independently utilising the transferable skill for international mobility. This is accompanied by an Independent Study option under the guidance of a practice-oriented faculty member or Assocaited Partner staff. The Media Arts Cultures Labs are arranged as Summer Labs in August/September or Winter Labs in January/February. The Associate Partner HEI’s Lasalle (LAS, SG), Aalto (AYO), Rijeka (URI), and Catalonia (UOC) contribute substantially to this part of the MediaAC curriculum. i.e. related to practice-led research to prepare industry-ready reflective practitioners, cutting-edge research to explore intersections of art, science, and technology, and the promoting of interdisciplinary excellence.
- Internship (6 ECTS)
- Independent Study (6 ECTS)
- Media Arts Cultures Lab (6 ECTS)
Semester 3 – University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK), Austria: this part of the curriculum draws from more than two decades of experience with the Media Art Histories, MA addressing the histories and theory of digital cultural heritage as well as its digital archiving and preservation. Embedded in The third semester in Central Europe, following the logic of the spiral curriculum, returns to the topics covered in the first year and strengthens individualisation of the learning path through a series of guest lectures. It challenges students with yet another country and yet another culture. There is deep dedication to student-centred teaching since this semester completes the Master Thesis topic development.
Individualization of Media Arts Cultures Contexts 6
Individualizing State of the Media Art – Case Studies 6
Individualized Academic Practices
Semester 4: Master Thesis: Studies culminate in the Master Thesis semester, which students may complete at any of the Consortium Member or Associated Partner locations. This placement is decided within the MediaAC faculty and colleague network based on the best accordance between the student developed topic and their individual career aims and objectives with the potential thesis advisors and their individual research strengths. Joint supervision across any HEI Partner faculty and individual work on the Master’s thesis, allows for greater flexibility and independence of the student
Masters Thesis and oral defence (30 ECTS)
(disclaimer: this page updated with new information 16.Feb.2024)