Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art, 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: ViCCA at Aalto offers transdisciplinary study combining art practice, curating and theory. The curriculum is 120 ECTS, including a Master's thesis, mandatory and elective courses across curatorial theory, art–science–technology, geopolitical and ecological topics. The programme runs in 2-year cycles (Autumn 2026–Spring 2028), supports Personal Study Plans, Minor Studies and student-led artistic research.
Career Outcomes: Applications open 1 Dec 2025–2 Jan 2026. Selection is two-stage: Phase I portfolio, motivation letter, transcripts and CV; Phase II interview and possible assignment. Graduates may work as curators, exhibition producers, museum professionals, arts managers, researchers, critics, gallery directors, cultural programmers or continue PhD study.
Please note! No intake in 2027. Next planned intake in 2028.
At ViCCA, we provide generous, transdisciplinary and experimental contexts for you to develop individual pathways that are grounded in a combination of art practice, curating and theory, but which extend outside of conventional settings and into an array of social, political, economic, ecological, scientific and technological environments. Such processes are enabled by a supportive community of international students and faculty who view research, practice and teaching in a holistic manner. Central to our aim is to co-craft spaces for learning inquiries that merge, for example: artistic thinking and critical entrepreneurship; material-led practices and theoretical exploration; embodied research and experimental writing—all as much-needed responses to the challenges of contemporary life.
When you graduate with an MA in Art and Media with a major in ViCCA, you may not be immediately able to change the world, but our community will do our best to offer you the collective competences in critical thinking, curating and research necessary for the reinventions of work and life that we need in order to respond to the immediate socio-political and planetary challenges we all face. The evidence that a ViCCA major experience does indeed achieve what it says on the package can be found in the ubiquitous and prolific presence of ViCCA graduates in prestigious, award-winning leadership positions in ever-expanding fields of art, culture and society and in activism and academia, in Finland, Europe and across the globe.
Structure of studies
The MA in Art and Media with a major in ViCCA (120 credits total) consist of the Master’s Thesis, mandatory, advanced and elective courses and professional study subjects ranging from philosophy, curatorial theory and practice to transdisciplinary art & science & technology subjects, geopolitical ecological and critical environmental concerns as well as situated & context-based art practices. The curriculum is planned in 2-year cycles, which enables the major to update itself with changes in course offerings. The next two-year cycle is from Autumn 2026 until Spring 2028.
The major’s pedagogical models are focused on sharing of expertise, exploratory learning and artistic research practices in order to create an open conversational and dialogical space and community for learning, acting and debating. The major’s diverse curriculum provides a primer for students wanting to engage in research and practice across disciplinary boundaries and supports possible hybrid outputs by students based on the synthesis of theoretical and research-oriented perspectives with art and curating. The ViCCA major engages students in the research expertise of faculty members which currently include artistic research; curatorial practice; new materialisms; art & science & technology, bio-art; ecologies and non-humans; climate resilience; relational media; feminist practices; experimental and academic writing; narrative environments; art and financialization; art infrastructures, labour and post-work theories. Teaching staff encourage students to regard critical theory and philosophy as radically creative forms of practice, means of breaking down dualisms and revealing an intrinsic interconnectedness of thinking and making, mind and body, natures and cultures. The focus is on theories and practices that demonstrate the central role of art and aesthetics in our life world.
The University also offers students the opportunity to apply to a broad variety of Minor Studies, which are available in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture as well as in the other schools of Aalto University (Science, Engineering, Business, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering).
Specialisations
ViCCA faculty offer you dedicated guidance on ways to augment your existing skills via working with what may be familiar fields of study as well as experimental methods of inquiry. Indeed, we actively encourage you to jump into unknown disciplinary waters in order to devise innovative approaches to future artistic research and curatorial work.
Students can choose to specialise in particular areas by selecting major advanced and elective courses according to their background and interests. Additional specialisation is also possible through an internship and study project, which are embedded in the curriculum as elective credits.
A Personal Study Plan (PSP) is created by students together with their PSP advisor, who is a faculty member from ViCCA. The PSP helps students define their own path in line with their interests, expertise and trajectory while aligning these with the requirements of the MA programme. It is also a practical tool for students to keep track of their progress.
Internationalisation
The ViCCA major is international and multicultural (all teaching is in English). Many of the ViCCA faculty members have international backgrounds and they have brought in research trajectories and knowledge around visual cultures, curating and artistic practices from around the world. The major has an emphasis on global perspectives and diversity in its curriculum, teaching and learning processes. Moreover, ViCCA courses do not ignore local conditions, this contributes to foreign students’ understanding of the Finnish, Nordic and Arctic contexts while comprehending the major global challenges that we all face today. The international students represent 26-50% of the yearly student intake. [Based on statistics from 2016-2020]
Former ViCCA students have come from Europe (e.g., Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, UK, Greece, Ukraine, Slovenia, Russia, Poland, Estonia, Germany), The USA and Canada, Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil) and Asia (Iran, Pakistan, India, Japan, Hongkong, Taiwan, Indonesia, China) - and of course also from Finland.ts have come from Europe (e.g., Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, UK, Greece, Ukraine, Slovenia, Russia, Poland, Estonia, Germany), The USA and Canada, Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru) and Asia (Iran, Pakistan, India, Japan, Hongkong, Taiwan, Thailand Indonesia, China) - and of course also from Finland.
Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.
The ViCCA Major fosters professionals who are facilitators, bridge builders and critical actors that are capable of piloting their way through social and environmental changes. They are contributors to the cultural, institutional and structural diversity of the art sector as well as its future managers, thinkers and influencers.Contemporary societies are moving away and evolving from a focus on single-discipline professions, towards more integrated, interconnected and versatile forms of cultural work. Majoring in ViCCA, you will be well-equipped and capable of working and responding to the emergent, transdisciplinary demands of societies to come, both within and outside of academic context.
Graduates majoring in ViCCA might continue as independent artists for which Aalto University studies provide them with a wide network of national and international connections and options. There are also examples of students who have formed work-based collectives after graduating, becoming valued actors and forming new agencies in cultural and artistic fields. Graduates also find employment in diverse cultural institutions, museums, art organizations, design offices, cultural projects and foundations. Many seek to continue further with academic research and study, or work in related fields of design, communication, architecture, art & science among others (see also Further study opportunities section).