Sound in New Media, Master of Arts (Art and Design)
Espoo, Finland
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2027
TUITION FEES
EUR 20,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international fee only; EU/EEA/Swiss citizens do not pay
Key Summary
About: The MA in Sound in New Media at Aalto University builds artistic and technical skills in applied sound and music. Students tailor a Personal Study Plan and do project-based, practice-and-theory studies. The programme runs 2 years full-time, awards 120 ECTS, teaches in English (thesis may be in English, Finnish or Swedish) and charges €20,000 per year for non‑EU/EEA students.
Career Outcomes: Graduates work in sound design, sonic interaction, game audio, virtual augmented reality, acoustic branding. They work as artists, designers, entrepreneurs, in creative, public organisations, or academic researchers, lecturers. Skills include audio programming, spatial audio, prototyping and listening research.
Please note! No intake in 2027. Next planned intake in 2028.
The aim of the Major in Sound in New Media is to explore, discover and comprehend the emerging digital technology and its aural impact in society; to find and exploit the possibilities it opens to acoustic communication, sonic interaction and new interfaces for musical expression and to evaluate, understand and deal with the challenges it poses to art, design, and creative production in the auditory domain. Furthermore, the major aims at developing artistic and design thinking, enriching the attractiveness and communicative and aesthetic qualities of applied sound and music.
In a technology-saturated world, it is indispensable to understand and study the impacts that technology has on individuals, organisations and society. The Sound in New Media major brings together a multicultural group of students with very versatile skills and backgrounds. By tailoring the degree according to their interests and choosing from a wide variety of areas, the graduates of the major have unique competences to take on new and emerging professions within the broad spectrum of the field. These areas include sound and music computing, sound art and auditory culture, sonic interaction design, artificial intelligence applied to sound design and music, game audio and acoustic branding. The pioneering work of our alumni is an undisputed manifestation of the impact of the major within the aforementioned areas.
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 auditory media. These tools and skills include creative coding, physical computing, digital fabrication, sonic interaction design, extended reality, generative composition methods and other emerging technologies.
Structure of studies
The education is project-oriented, combining practice with theory, hands-on with minds-on. The course modules emphasise interdisciplinary and collaboration, while individual skills are developed in intensive workshops, and through tutored studio work. Each student creates a Personal Study Plan (PSP), which defines their own study path, consisting of optimal selection of courses aligned with the student's interests and the degree requirements of the major.
The first year is dedicated to program- and major-specific studies, and during the second year a wide selection of other courses and minor subjects is available to choose from, in addition to completing the Master’s Thesis. Research methods and academic writing are a part of the curriculum, and more research courses can be chosen if the student is planning to become a researcher.
Sound and Physical Interaction research group (SOPI) provides a strong research practice and approach to Sound in New Media studies. SOPI research group is involved in managing the major in multiple ways, including developing syllabus and execution of new courses, providing students opportunities for collaboration through its international academic and artistic networks and facilitating students’ Master’s theses.
Specialisations
Each student creates a Personal Study Plan (PSP), which defines their own study path, consisting of optimal selection of courses aligned with the student's interests and the degree requirements of the major. During the second year a wide selection of elective courses and minor subjects is available to choose from. Majority of our students take also Music Technology courses from the Sibelius Academy, and these studies can be included to the MA degree.
Internationalisation
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
The Sound in New Media major provides an excellent basis for an international career. A significant number of the department’s applicants, students, teachers and researchers are from abroad, and all 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 University.
Aalto University offers a limited number of scholarships (tuition fee waivers) to fee-paying students. Scholarships are awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria.
The graduates of the Sound in New Media major have unique competences to take on new and emerging professions within the broad spectrum of the field, including sound and music computing, sound art, sonic interaction design, virtual and audio augmented reality, game audio and acoustic branding. The graduates of the major are able to follow professional paths within the creative industries, as independent artists, designers or entrepreneurs, as well as in public sector organisations. Furthermore, a few of our MA graduates work in academic institutions as researchers, lecturers and professors in Finland and abroad.