| Degree awarded | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
|---|---|
| Duration and credits | 4 semesters; 120 ECTS credits |
| Starts in | October (winter semester) |
| Language of instruction | German |
The Master of Arts in Bildwissenschaft at the University of Passau is the first research-oriented degree programme in Germany to focus entirely on issues relating to Bildwissenschaft. When you study this degree programme, you gain the knowledge needed to analyse images and their design in consideration of their rapidly growing significance in the digital and global context of our time and, furthermore, to critically evaluate their integration in artistic, cultural, social, political and scientific contexts using transdisciplinary approaches.
This degree programme places a special emphasis on transdisciplinary research. The aim is to give students insight into the various subjects linked to Bildwissenschaft studies and familiarise them with the methods used. Transdisciplinary modules impart the knowledge, theories and methods of digital image processing, art history, art education, visual literacy, communication and media studies as well as political science, geography, semiotics of culture, and philosophy. Real-world case studies will be provided to illustrate their practical application.
For details, please consult the Academic Advice Service's infosheet [German content].
This research-oriented degree programme qualifies students for all occupational areas concerned with images and visuality (e.g. at research organisations, archives, libraries, museums and documentation centres, in image agencies, in press relations, image editing, corporate communication, science communication, advertising, community management, education, coaching and training, data visualisation, visual storytelling, imaging processes, market research, etc.).
This master's degree also opens up access to doctoral study, for those who wish to pursue an academic career.
This degree programme is divided into two module groups:
This module group provides foundational knowledge of Bildwissenschaft research in general as well as an overview of the subjects involved in the degree programme. Furthermore, you are introduced to various methods of image research and actively apply these to selected case studies. This module group also comprises an introduction to digital image processing and common software applications.
In this module group you will take the knowledge gained in module group A and use it to deal, in-depth, with specific aspects of Bildwissenschaft, such as the analysis of artwork using real examples, media aesthetics, visual ethics, the integration of images into the context of their mediation and image production as a cognitive process, as well as the interpretation of images as actors, which is a very recent development in research.
Towards the end of the degree programme, you will carry out your own research project in preparation for your master's thesis. The master's thesis and accompanying master's colloquium complete the degree programme.
