What is it about?
Our society is increasingly visual and media-oriented. Using and designing media responsibly requires comprehensive skills. The Master's degree program in Photography - Photographic Studies enables students to independently formulate socially relevant topics, implement them photographically and critically question and classify visual and media developments.
Profile of the study program
Photography - Photographic Studies deals with aspects such as
- the media interaction of photography in its various forms.
- the media and artistic processes in an increasingly visual society and culture.
- the scientific and artistic-creative deepening and expansion in the various photographic genres and media dialects.
Interactions between photography and media
During your studies, you will deal with the complex interactions between photography and media. You will examine and discuss which scientific and artistic-creative aspects can be recognized in various photographic genres and media manifestations.
The course is based on current discourses and trend-setting theories from image, media and communication studies.
Individual forms of expression and interdisciplinary cooperation
The three-semester course is aimed equally at your professional qualification, the expansion of your creative skills and forms of expression, interdisciplinary cooperation and critical reflection on media developments. In addition to the seminars, specialist and cross-genre content is taught in workshops and lectures. Independent work is encouraged and promoted in order to prepare you as well as possible for the demands of your career.
The course focuses on independent and innovative project work in the areas of image production, reception and mediation as well as in the relevant professional fields. These include photo design, photo/media art, art direction, picture editing, publishing, art consulting and curating activities. You can also prepare for a higher academic career.
In the first semester, you will expand your expressive skills and deal with contextualization and theories of photography. The second semester is already dedicated to preparing your Master's project. At the same time, you will deepen your knowledge of media theory.
Finally, you will write your Master's thesis and dissertation independently. The thesis corresponds to the photographic-creative Master's project or represents an independent theoretical treatise on the uses of photography. At the same time, you will develop your individual profile in the Photographic Positioning module. The course is flexible and internationally oriented. This gives you the opportunity to combine project research with a stay abroad.
Master of Arts that qualifies you for management positions and self-employment
After successfully completing the course, you will be awarded a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.
Specializations in the study program
Photography - Photographic Studies offers specializations in the areas of:
- professional qualification,
- expansion of individual creative forms of expression,
- interdisciplinary cooperation and
- critical reflection on media events.
Regular lectures, excursions and workshops as well as exhibitions and publications also take place as part of the Master's degree program in Photography.
Course of study
This is a thematic overview of the course content. Detailed information on the exact names of the courses, information on ECTS or semester hours per week can be found in the examination regulations and in the module handbook.
| 1st semester | Media dialects and strategies | Media context - Photographic project or project management |
Theory |
| 2nd semester | Media dialects and strategies | Media context - photographic project Photographic project or curation |
Theory |
| 3rd semester | Photographic positioning | Thesis & colloquium |
Why study at Fachhochschule Dortmund?
What makes Fachhochschule Dortmund special? What should you know about the city and the region? How is Fachhochschule Dortmund positioned in terms of internationality and what counseling and support do we offer you? Find out more about Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Who is it for?
Desirable subject-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge
Are you enthusiastic about creative design, critical questioning, independent project development and interdisciplinary exchange? Are you ready for the sometimes lengthy processes of finding and implementing ideas, questioning your own work and exposing it to critical scrutiny? Then this course could be a good fit for you.
It is helpful if you already have experience in the various photographic techniques. Experience with the production, distribution and reception of image media is also an advantage.
If you can design creative concepts and develop artistic and creative solutions, this will make it easier for you to start your studies. Skills in the areas of research, analysis, planning, realization, presentation and documentation are also welcome.
Prospects after graduation
Career prospects
Graduates work, for example, as
- Photographer/photo designer (advertising, editorial, architectural, documentary photography)
- Photojournalist (magazine, newspaper, web)
- Media author, photo and media artist (art context, art market, scenography, environment, event)
- Founder or manager of photo agencies
- Responsible in the areas of image archives, image agencies, publishing houses
- Responsible picture editor
- Responsible art buyer (advertising agencies, art director, creative director)
- Gallery owner or art consultant
- Curator or freelance exhibition organizer (collections, museums)
- Photo or exhibition critic
- or in teaching
Cooperative doctorate
The Master's degree is the basis for a doctorate. Graduates who wish to gain further academic qualifications have the opportunity to study for a doctorate at a university. This is possible via a cooperative doctorate, in which the university of applied sciences is a cooperation partner of a university.
Stay abroad possible during your studies
What do I need?
1. required degree
Prerequisite for admission to the program is
- a completed diploma or Bachelor's degree in photography/photographic design or a comparable design course with curricular components of a photographic focus at a university of applied sciences, art college or university or the completion of a corresponding accredited Bachelor's degree course at a vocational academy or
- a completed degree in an art, media, cultural studies or humanities diploma or Bachelor's degree program at a university of applied sciences, university of the arts or university or the completion of a corresponding accredited Bachelor's degree program at a university of cooperative education.
At least 25% of the course content of the above-mentioned degree programs must relate to photographic practice and research. They must include modules or subjects that deal in an academic manner with the practice and/or
research into visual, creative, communicative or perceptual-psychological phenomena.
Before beginning your studies, it is recommended that you attend a specialist discussion with lecturers from the Photography - Photographic Studies degree program. Please make an appointment via the department's secretary's office.
2. aptitude test
An additional prerequisite for admission to the degree program is proof of artistic and creative aptitude for the degree program.
The course-related aptitude is determined in a separate procedure by a commission appointed by the Faculty Council of the Department of Design upon application and on the basis of the assessment of the applicant's work samples. The procedure is carried out once a year for applicants who wish to study on the Master's degree course in Photography - Photographic Studies MA3 in the Department of Design. Admission to the procedure requires an application, which must be submitted to the Dean of the Department of Design at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts by July 15 of each year with the required documents.
The application is usually made online on the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts website using a form to be completed by the applicant with personal details and information about their first degree.
You can register for the aptitude assessment procedure here.
The work samples in the portfolio are assessed according to criteria of conceptual competence, artistic creativity, creative problem-solving skills and organizational and moderation skills. To strengthen the opinion-forming process, the committee may invite the applicant to a colloquium to review and deepen the impressions gained so far. In justified exceptional cases, the colloquium can also be held in the form of a video conference.
Applicants will be informed of the committee's decision on the results of the procedure in writing by the Department of Design. The results are communicated as passed or failed . They must be accompanied by information on legal remedies. With the result " passed", applicants are awarded the course-related artistic and creative aptitude.
3. register now!
The study program starts annually in the winter semester and is admission-free. However, enrolment for the study program is only possible after recognition of aptitude and fulfilment of the other admission requirements!
Who can help me?
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the study program and Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Central Student Advisory Services (ZSB)
Student advisory service
Admissions Office for Student Affairs
Registration office team
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