MA, Master of Arts

Application period:  From around mid-January till end-February, once a year. Most of the MA programs are held in English, but not all. Please also note: Most of the degree programmes take new students every year, but not all the degree programmes.

The first stage: consists of the evaluation of the portfolio, study plan and possible assignments completed beforehand. Also the education documents will be checked on the first stage. If your English test score does not reach the minimum we require, your application will be rejected without evaluation of the portfolio and other documents. After the first stage, a number of applicants will be invited to the second stage of the entrance examination.

The second stage of the entrance examination: may involve an interview of the applicants. If necessary the applicant may be asked to submit further samples of work. Information on any further samples of work, entrance examination assignments and test dates will be given when informing the applicants about the selection to the second stage.

Announcement of the decisions: When the Faculty Councils have made the final decisions of acceptance, the official acceptance letters will be sent at earliest in May.

Evaluation of examination assignments

Grounds for the selection of students are artistic talent, motivation and personal development potential. Deciding factors are demonstrated talent and suitability to the desired field. The selection is based on the applicant's educational documents (degree certificate & transcript, language certificate), a portfolio of sample work, the applicant's study plan and CV, and possible beforehand assignments; in the second stage there will be interview, possible entrance test assignments and additional submitted work.

Each degree programme has its own Evaluation Board to evaluate assignments of applicants. Where necessary, expert members can be added to the board. The extra members are chosen after the first stage of the entrance test according to the interests and focus of the applicants. In the evaluation the portfolio, interview, study plan and possible entrance test assignments and additional submitted work are viewed as a whole and evaluated as either accepted or rejected.

General information about the MA degree

Extent of MA degree programme: 120 ECTS (+ compulsory language studies 6 ECTS)

Time needed for completing MA degree: 2 years

The MA degree programme provides the students with the skills for engaging independently in demanding tasks requiring expertise in the field of design and applied art, for independent artistic work.
Provides the necessary skills for studies leading to the Doctor of Arts degree.
The Master of Arts degree can be completed in English or Finnish.
Application for admission once a year. The programmes in English, application times and instruction are announced at the beginning of the year.

The Master's studies consist of advanced studies in the relevant field with the aim of deepening the student's research skills, and a diploma work. The diploma work can be either design-oriented, artistic or pedagogical, depending on the educational field of the respective schools. The diploma work can thus consist of a production or other practical experiment or of a theoretical written thesis. The maturity test and the compulsory studies must be completed before the Master's degree. Each school has specific instructions for the diploma work. Possible complementary studies might also be required if the studies are found incomplete when the student applies for the Master's programme.