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Arts & Culture: Design Cultures – (M.A.)
VU University Amsterdam
Faculty of Arts
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| Application Deadline: | 1st of April for international students, 1st of June for Dutch students | ||
| Annual Tuition Fee: | ≈ € 1,713 - ≈ € 10,500 (non-EEA) | ||
| Location: | Amsterdam / Netherlands / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 12 months | Start Date: | September |
| Educational Form: |
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| Education Variants: |
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| Credits (ECTS): | 60 | ||
| Languages: | English | ||
Location of VU University Amsterdam
We live in a design culture which continues to grow in importance. Effectively, design has been sadly neglected by the Arts and Humanities as a field of academic study. But this is about to change. Since 1 September 2010, the Faculty of Arts of VU university Amsterdam, offers the first fully accredited, internationally-oriented Master’s programme in Design Cultures.
Design has developed into a vibrant and important cultural and economic sector in recent decades. Product design, graphic design and fashion design are burgeoning as a service industry, as street culture and as art. Design is an integral part of our daily lives.
Especially in the Netherlands design has built up an excellent international reputation with past and present talent in graphic design, product design, artistic design and fashion. We can boast many famous names including Piet Zwart, Maarten Baas, Thonik and Irma Boom, Artifort, Hella Jongerius, Jurgen Bey, and Viktor & Rolf and many others.
Programme profile
The MA specialization in Design Cultures is all about the study of product design, graphic design and fashion in a broad diverse cultural context. The focus is on both the designer as ‘author’ and the complex chain of production, sale, consumption and criticism in which design operates and derives its many different meanings.
Design Cultures restores design as the core object of academic interest without detracting from the cultural and material context in which it operates. The programme combines a generalist, comparative approach to design with a clear focus on history and theory.
The programme is taught in English and is intended for an international audience. It is a one-year programme, starting in September as a specialization within the MA Arts and Culture.
Contents
The programme in a nutshell
Specialization
The MA in Design Cultures is a specialization in the Master’s programme Arts & Culture. We also run a programme that specializes in the cross-overs between art and media, called Comparative Arts and Media Studies. The MA is part of the Graduate School of Humanities at the VU University Amsterdam.
The Master’s in Design Cultures is a one-year, full-time or part-time, English-taught programme which is worth 60 credits. Though the programme is built around a core set of obligatory courses, students will have ample opportunity to define their own individual tracks by means of electives, internships and, of course, the Master’s thesis.
Core courses (30 EC)
The programme is built around four main courses: Design, History and Culture; Methods of Design Analysis: The Meanings of Design; The Arts and Crafts of “Dutch” Design; Design in Words: Criticism, Writing & Theory.
Individual scope (12 EC)
You can customize your study by selecting subjects from a range of interdisciplinary electives (see below for a list of options). Internships offer you opportunities to prepare for your professional career.
Thesis (18 EC)
The programme culminates in the Master’s thesis, which gives you a chance to demonstrate your research skills, your competence as a critic, and your ability to systematically gather, select and interpret information and to argue a case in an independent, objective and responsible manner. Students are offered opportunities for practice-based research accompanied by written reports.
Main courses
The first semester consists of two introductory courses on the history and theory of design:
Design, History and Culture paints a thematic and chronological overview of the history of design. It traces the main international movements and historical debates on the basis of case studies that place past developments in a modern perspective.
Methods of Design Analysis: The Meanings of Design considers design from differentmethodological angles – design as a process of production, distribution, representation and consumption – with specific attention to the complexities of meaning and interpretation in an economic, social and technological context.
In the second semester students get acquainted with Dutch Design and learn to write critical appraisals:
The Arts and Crafts of “Dutch” Design deals with the origins and development of Dutch Design, a worldfamous name, synonymous with graphic, fashion, product and interior design in the Netherlands. The course casts a critical eye on the role of “being Dutch” as invented by designers, labels, critics and the government.
Design in Words: Criticism, Writing & Theory trains you to look critically at primary and secondary discourses on design and to write critical appraisals. At the end of this course you will be able to evaluate design and write and assess critiques.
Individual scope
You can customize your studies by selecting subjects from a range of interdisciplinary electives:
- Cross-Media Storytelling; Period 1+2+3 (9 points)
- Reading Concepts of Intermediality; Period 1+2+3 (9 points)
- Seminar Creative City; Period 1+2+3 (9 points)
- Crossmedial Exhibitions; Period 4 (6 points)
- The Art of Comparison: The Cinematic City; Period 4 (6 points)
- Trajectory Global and Local, Global Changes; Period 1 (6 points)
- Heritage and Space; Period 4 (6 points)
- Academic English: Grammar; Period 1 (3 points)
- Academic English: Writing 1; Period 1 (3 points)
Thesis (18 EC)
The programme culminates in the Master’s thesis, which gives you a chance to demonstrate your research skills, your competence as a critic, and your ability to systematically gather, select and interpret information and to argue a case in an independent, objective and responsible manner. Students are offered opportunities for practice-based research accompanied by written reports.
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test if you come from a non-English speaking country.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
More informationRequirements
The Master’s programme is intended for students with an academic Bachelor’s degree in design, fashion, art, film, television, media or (visual) cultural studies. It is also suitable for students with other Bachelor’s degrees in the Humanities (history, journalism, communication studies, comparative literature etc.) with a solid background (at least 30 credits) in design, fashion, art, film, television, digital media or (visual) cultural studies. Students with a historical and theoretical interest in the broad field of design are particularly welcome. Dutch students who do not meet the admission requirements and still want to apply, please write to the Humanities Examination Committee.. The deadline for applications is 1 June for Dutch students.
It is possible to enter the Master’s programme with an academic Bachelor in other areas of the Humanities, but only if you have a minimum of three years of work or research experience on an academic level in the field of visual culture. For the purpose of assessment various documents should be handed in, such as a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, qualifying diplomas/certificates, a list of publications, etc. The assessment process may include an interview.
Contact for Dutch students: designcultures@let.vu.nl
International students and students with a foreign Bachelor/Master degree
The departmental Examination Board will decide upon your admission after having officially reviewed and evaluated your diplomas/degrees. Diplomas unknown by the board will be assessed by the master coordinator in cooperation with the NUFFIC.
Admission
For general admission requirements, please check the information on the main VU website. The Master’s Arts & Culture is designed for students with an academic Bachelor’s in either design, fashion, art, film or (visual) cultural studies. You may also be accepted if you have an academic Bachelor’s in other disciplines of the Humanities (history, journalism, communication studies, comparative literature), with a major or specialization in design, fashion, art, film or visual culture (equal to a minimum of 30 ECTS). Students with a historical and theoretical interest in the broad field of design are particularly welcome.
You must always present official test results proving your proficiency in English. Only students who have completed a full high school or bachelor’s degree in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia may be exempted. We require a TOEFL score (score 580 paper based, score 237 computer based or score 92 internet based) or an IELTS score (score 6.5).
Deadline for international students
The deadline for international students differs from Dutch students. You need to have applied and provided all documents before April 1st.
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| IELTS Band: | 6.5 |
| Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): | Grade C (Score: 60) |
| TOEFL Paper-based: | 580 |
| TOEFL Computer-based: | 237 |
| TOEFL Internet-based: | 92 |
Accreditation
Accredited by: croho in: Netherlands
Funding details
Scholarships
International students may apply for various kinds of funding. Some possibilities are:
- VU Fellowship Programme
- Direct Loan Programme (US students)
- Netherlands Fellowship Programme
- STUNED Scholarship Programme
- Huygens Scholarship Programme
- Libertas Support Fund
- Other scholarship possibilities
Contact
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