Master's Degree Programme in Photographic Art: YVALOS25

Descriptions

The Masters Degree Programme in Photographic Art is directed at professionals working in the field who want to deepen and develop their artistic skill set. Those seeking to apply to the program are expected to present a realizable project plan, which will lay the base for their artistic and research thesis. Graduating students will earn a Masters-Degree.
The purpose of the training is to develop, evaluate and implement the students own artistic practice. During the studies the students will survey contemporary trends and themes in art and photography and relate them to their own practice. At the center of the program is a self-reflective learning process, which is directed, scheduled and includes the systematic documentation of the students own practice. The students artistic identity and the substance of their professional practice will be examined through a professional biography. The program aims to develop the depth and variety of the graduating students professional network. A Master’s degree gives eligibility both for public posts, which require a Master’s degree, and further postgraduate studies.
The programme is part of the TUAS Master School and is offered by the Art Academy. The master school brings together students from engineering, business, health studies and the cultural field. In the Master School the student will be able to network with experts across the different fields.
Studying at the Master School is flexible and can be completed alongside a professional career, with students located anywhere in Finland. Contact teaching will usually take place over two days in a month, partly at the campus and partly over video links. The rest of the studies include web-based learning, independent study and different group- and project work.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME

The core of the studies is built around two modules, Future Operating Environments and Photographic Art Now. The studies focus on analyzing and predicting changes in the students work environment, strenghtening the students own professional and artistic identity, surveying contemporary trends and themes in contemporary art and photography and developing and assessing the students personal authorship and practice.
In their thesis work the students will deepen their artistic core competencies. The students will create an artistic production, or a part of it, in collaboration with the target audience, client, or some other party. The thesis will develop around aims assessed on on a case by case basis and consist of artistic practice and research.
The students may use elective studies (10 ECTS) to expand their competences in areas and methods relevant to their work. Courses may be selected from the offering of TUAS and other higher education institutions. The students may also complete project-based studies in the RDI projects at TUAS, in external projects or as their own working life projects.

The students will set their personal learning objectives and build their competence track and further their professional development with the support of tutoring, the individual study plan and the professional autobiographical process.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The programme leads to a Master’s Degree in Culture and Arts. Master’s programmes at Turku UAS Master School comply with the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and Finnish National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Learning outcomes of the Master’s programmes are at level 7, as in any other Finnish or European university.

A Master’s degree from Turku UAS Master School gives formal eligibility to pursue suitable postgraduate studies and for public posts that require a master level university degree.

Objective

The student will
• deepen and develop his/her artistic skills
• increase his/her understanding on the topical issues and themes on contemporary art and photographic art
• carry out a structured, scheduled and documented photographic project
• broaden his/her professional networks
• work in a creative team.

Development

The Masters Degree in Photographic Art programme is based on the blended learning approach. Most of the studying and learning takes place according to the student’s own schedule in the location of his/her own choice. The studies are completed mainly online, as independent studies and through different group and project assignments. Independent study alternates with and is supported by contact learning, which takes place usually in two consecutive days each month.

Learning process supported by teachers

The teachers at the Art Academy Masters programme support the students’ learning process and competence development, supervise the development projects carried out for the thesis and facilitate networking and team work across disciplinary boundaries. In addition to strong pedagogical qualifications, the teaching staff has high professional expertise in the fields of arts and culture, as well as education.

Each student meets with the tutoring teacher at the beginning of his/her studies and during the second semester. The purpose of the tutoring meeting is to discuss the personal learning objectives and the individual study plan (ISP) of the student.

Student-centred learning and teaching methods

A professional autobiographical process is included in the studies of Masters students of Arts Academy. It supports the students’ continuous reflection on their professional choices and goals, strengths, skills and development needs, as well as professional identity and growth during the studies.

The courses of the study programme are planned and built around a student-centred learning process and authentic, motivating learning tasks. Many of the learning tasks are linked with the students’ own development projects for the thesis and support their thesis writing process. Learning tasks may also be based on real-life cases, problems and assignments provided by our working life partners.

Students' learning is assessed through a variety of methods. In addition to the assessment conducted by the teachers, self-assessment and peer assessment are systematically used. Learning is also assessed externally by working life partners, such as student mentors. The assessment covers the competences attained by the student as well as his/her competence development during the studies. The main purpose of the assessment is to support the students’ competence development.

Feedback system

The Masters Program in Photography programme is based on continuous feedback: students meet their tutor teacher during each contact learning period to discuss matters related to their studies. One purpose of the tutor meetings is to facilitate giving feedback so that any issues can be addressed immediately. Feedback can also be given via itslearning or email. In addition, feedback on individual courses is collected using an online feedback questionnaire, and students are requested to give general feedback on their studies in a Student Barometer survey during the second semester.

Further information

The assessment of each course is based on competence goals detailed in the curriculum, which are in turn based on the competence goals set for the entire degree programme. The innovation competences of Turku UAS are taken into account in the competence goals for the degree. The scale of assessment is Approved/Failed, except for the development project for the thesis which is graded on a scale from 1 to 5.

The assessment of the development project is based on the common assessment criteria for Master’s degree theses at Turku UAS. The thesis is always evaluated by two examiners, one of whom also supervises the thesis work. The second examiner may be a teacher from Turku University of Applied Sciences or a working life representative. The students will receive a written statement on their thesis detailing the grounds for the grade awarded.

Assessment by teachers: The course assessment by the teacher covers all learning assignments submitted during the course in accordance with the principle of continuous assessment. The focus of the assessment is on both the final product (such as a report or a presentation) demonstrating the student’s competences (learning outcomes) and the student’s learning process (competence development). The learning process is made visible in the online learning environment (by sharing draft versions of learning assignments in the discussion forum, by giving and receiving peer feedback and editing the work based on feedback), during face-to-face meetings, in which students may give progress reports on their projects, during supervisory meetings with the teacher and in the reports written by the student on their work.

Self-assessment: Self-assessment is essentially based on a professional autobiographical process that continues throughout the studies. It serves as a tool for reflection on the students’ own skills and their development and on their professional identity. In addition, the students are expected to reflect on the progress of their learning in all reports written during the studies, such as the project-based course reports in elective studies and the thesis report on the development project.

Peer assessment: Peer assessment is used in many learning tasks on the itslearning LMS platform, with students sharing drafts and final versions of their learning tasks with each other and giving feedback on their respective performance. The students will also have the opportunity to give peer feedback during the contact learning periods in the context of presentations on development projects and discussions on learning assignments. Peer assessment is an essential part of each course.

Assessment by working life partners: External working life partners may assess student performance during the thesis work, if the work was assigned by an external working life partner. The courses also include lectures and workshops by guest experts, who will give feedback on student performance during contact learning periods. The purpose of the assessment conducted by a working life partner is mainly to support the students’ competence development and achievement of goals, so it is provided primarily for the personal benefit of the student.