Arts and Design Education MA, Teaching Diploma for Secondary Schools
The Master's program in Arts and Design Education / Teaching Diploma for Secondary Schools, is offered in collaboration with the School of Education FHNW. At the Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE) at Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel FHNW), our study program is designed in the contexts of transdisciplinary and broad understandings and education - disciplinary discussions and aesthetic-practical exploration are closely intertwined. A central component of the study at IADE involves individual arts, design, or aesthetical research projects, that are closely accompanied by colloquia and mentorship. Simultaneously, in seminars, you expand your knowledge of art, culture, and design education. Through regional network modules, practice, and research-oriented modules, you deepen your art pedagogical competencies collaboratively and transdisciplinary. With the study components of the School of Education FHNW (Educational Sciences, Didactics and Vocational Practical Training / School Internships) you learn to bring your knowledge into secondary schools.
Thank you for your interest in studying at the Basel Academy of Art and Design. The application deadline for a Bachelor's degree programme beginning in the fall semester 2024/25 has expired on March 15, 2024. The next application window for the fall semester 2025/26 opens on November 1, 2024.
NOTICE late application: It is possible to submit a late application. To do so, please contact us by email. If you have any further questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Information on admission, aptitude assessment and admission to the study programme
Admission to the aptitude assessment normally requires one of the following qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Design Education.
Any other Bachelor’s degree aimed at teaching at upper secondary school level (baccalaureate) or at an occupation in the field of Arts and Design Education.
Language of tuition The language of tuition is German (C2 level or equivalent).
To apply for a place at the HGK Basel, the required documents must be submitted by 15.03.2024. Please send specific degree programme to email address.
The master’s study programme is intended for students who are enthusiastic about teaching in the field of art, design and aesthetic research, and who want to link discursive, artistic and pedagogical practices. A successfully completed bachelor’s degree in the area of Arts Education is the prerequisite for being accepted to the study programme. The master’s degree qualifies you to teach at the upper secondary level, in art and cultural institutions as well as to conduct research-oriented advanced qualification work in the field of art, design and education.
Having completed your MA course you have the ability to sensitise and motivate learners and the competence to perceive, reflect and act with regard to visual culture as well as in respect to your students and teaching. Based on your own creative work and ongoing engagement with professional theory and practice in the given social context, you are in a position to provide innovative teaching and learning opportunities. You provide guidance in the processes of visual perception, aesthetic analysis and judgement and thus enhance the learners’ visual literacy.
In your studies at the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW you enhance and enlarge upon your scientific, artistic and design-related skills and inquire into art and design education as well as artistic research.
In your studies at the FHNW School of Education you learn how to prepare and present artistic and design-related contents on a sound scholarly basis. The skills and knowledge acquired so far flow into self-devised art, design and cultural education projects. In addition you get the chance to expand and elaborate on your acquired skills and knowledge in colloquia and seminars and investigate further aspects of art education and outreach in the context of international block courses and term papers.
Programme structure The study programme takes place at both the HGK Basel and the FHNW School of Education. At the HGK Basel, students attend lectures in all semesters from the following module groups: ‘Studio, Research and Teaching’, ‘Discourse, Art and Cultural Studies’ and ‘Artistic Methods & Aesthetic Approaches’. At the FHNW School of Education, you participate in the following modules: Education Studies, Teaching Methods and Vocational Studies.
In the first three semesters, you build your knowledge of art, cultural and education studies, expand your artistic, design and teaching skills, and learn to treat current aesthetic and research approaches and discourses in a professional manner. The main focus of the 4th semester is on developing and completing your master’s thesis at the HGK Basel.
Master’s thesis You define the subject area and methods of your thesis as an independent, research-oriented project. In principle, the thesis project consists of both artistic and creative, discursive and context-driven as well as teaching-oriented parts that can be combined with one another in different ways. The thesis provides you with a space for dealing with your aesthetic actions and thoughts through research, and for finding your own position in the context of professional discourses, artistic design and education.
A week-long networking event is held each semester in cooperation with the arts education programmes of the ZHdK, HSLU and HKB (i.e. Zurich University of the Arts, Lucerne University of Applied Arts and Sciences, and Bern University of the Arts). This block week focuses on students interacting with others beyond the walls of their own university, as well as the examination of current international practice, research and theory in the field of art education. Collaborations with museums, exhibition halls, schools and educational places outside of schools round off the range of the study programme. During these collaborations, you gather hands-on experience, implement your own educational projects, and test and reinforce your educational skills.
The master’s study programme sharpens students’ ability to sensitise learners to aesthetic issues and motivate them to engage in artistic and creative processes. You have solid perceptual, action and reflection skills grounded in current research discourses on aesthetic cultures as well as learning situations and lesson planning. On the basis of your own artistic and creative work and a critical and reflective examination of professional theory and practice, you will be able to structure well-founded and creative lessons. You initiate and promote processes of aesthetic perception and analysis, and in doing so improve your ability to talk about artistic and creative matters.
Network module Art Education
Every semester we organize a week-long network event in cooperation with four Swiss German art universities. The objective is to review and discuss the ongoing practice, research and theoretical developments in the field of art education.
As a graduate of the master’s programme, you will prove yourself as a teacher in various schools and as educators in art and cultural institutions outside of the school system. The study programme also qualifies you for advanced research-oriented work at an art or other university or educational institution.
With its studios, labs and centrally located on-campus workshops, the HGK Basel provides ideal conditions for combining a curiosity for craftsmanship, the acquisition of new techniques and digital know-how. What’s more, all students have their own work station in the spacious studios, which are open 24/7.
In the institute’s own Learning Lab Arts and Design, creative processes and the design of experiential and cognitive spaces are explored, documented and researched in digital and analogue formats in workshops and seminars. Students have access to the facilities 365 days a year.
Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE)
In our age of systematically designed communication, art and design education has a key role to play.
Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE) Freilager-Platz 1, Postfach 4002 Basel Raum Ateliergebäude: A 1.18
Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE) Freilager-Platz 1 Postfach CH-4002 Basel
Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE)
FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern SwitzerlandBasel Academy of Art and Design,
Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE)
Building: A 1.18Oslo-Strasse 3CH - 4142 Münchenstein near Basel
