Transversal Design is a research-oriented, transdisciplinary master's programme. On this programme students develop practices that include–– alternative media, speculative models, practices of care, tools for solidarity and radical proposals for worlds in transition. Our design focus is not primarily about objects or products but on processes, modes of relating, questions of environmental-social justice, and the critical infrastructures on which we collectively depend. You will work on self-led projects mentored and supported in the Critical Media Lab and HyperWerk at the Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM). Guided by an expert team and internationally recognized visiting lecturers and researchers you can design, film, draw, program, publish, code, play, build, research, organize, or write. Shaping practices around the important questions of why, how, and for whom in theory and practice, in organizing the futures-we-need.
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
Academical qualifications Admission to the aptitude assessment normally requires one of the following qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree in Design or a related field of study.
A similar, equivalent degree in Design (at BA level pursuant to the “Dublin Descriptors").
If an applicant shows promising design potential, lateral entry from a different discipline is possible; in this case, please contact the Head of the degree programme.
Language of tuition International students are welcome to apply for the Master’s degree programme. The language of tuition is English and partly German (B2 level or equivalent).
To apply for a place at the HGK Basel, the required documents must be submitted by 15.03.2024. Please send the specific enquiries to email address.
01.11.2023 Publication of the detailed information on the aptitude assessment
15.03.2024 Registration deadline and deadline for submitting the required documents for the aptitude assessment.
16.09.2024 Fall Semester begin 2024/25
Handout for the admission procedure and the aptitude test MA Transversal Design (PDF in german /english) Note: Study regulations Transversal Design, Master (online from June 2024)
Information on the study programme
You are interested in global-societal contexts and are open to norm-critical experimentation, design justice, critical media and collective self-organization. Study with us if you are interested in designing exemplary scenarios, speculative experiences, radical proposals, and are open to collaborative togetherness and experimentally guided work.
The master's programme Transversal Design is aimed at people who want to rethink processes, relationships and infrastructures on which humanity collectively depends and design future ways of living. Individuals with a bachelor's degree in design, art or architecture are addressed, as are applicants with an affinity for design and those interested in design from fields such as anthropology, urban planning, social work, economics, cultural and media studies, natural sciences, computer science and environmental sciences.
The first two semesters focus on teaching collaborative methods and transdisciplinary practices. These are explored in the 1st semester in three core topics: "Transdisciplinarity & Collaboration", "Stories & Processes", "Materialities, Infrastructures & Ecologies". The 2nd semester focuses on transversal shifts and transformations as you generate a project that allows for critical engagement with social, political, economic, and ecological issues. You will test the application of your ideas and concepts in practice, design productive collaborations and exchanges, and learn to reflect on your practice. The skills learned include critical reflection as well as pragmatic ones, which are necessary for working in transdisciplinary contexts. The first two semesters form the basis for a large project in the 3rd & 4th semester, which can be worked on individually, collectively, or with our many external partners such as economic companies, scientific and cultural institutions, practitioners and activists, NGOs, start-ups or research groups.
The master's programme Transversal Design aims at a design practice that works across disciplinary boundaries, questions hierarchies of meaning and drives transformation processes. Thinking and acting transversally means considering social, political, economic and ecological processes in their complex contexts, media, interactions and interdependencies. You will develop a socially relevant question, work on it individually and collectively through different practices of transversal design, and create a public sphere for your results.
You will not be guided by predefined job profiles, but will learn to apply your ideas, methods and skills in different contexts and areas of application. The master's programme in Transversal Design also qualifies you for future fields of work especially those that are dealing with the green and digital transition. As an agent of transversal practice you will have skills to move across domains, generate ideas, communicate, publish, reflect and transform. Through the direct connection to the research activities of IXDM, the Master's programme equally prepares you for a career in teaching and research.
With its studios, labs and central campus workshops, the HGK Basel offers ideal conditions for combining making, curiosity, sustainable practices and digital skills. In addition, all students have their own workspace available around the clock. You are in direct exchange with the students, teachers and researchers in the HyperWerk and Critical Media Lab.
Contact
Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM)
Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW Institut Experimentelles Design und Medienkulturen (IXDM) Freilager-Platz 1, Postfach 4002 Basel
Institute of Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM)
FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern SwitzerlandBasel Academy of Art and Design,
Institute of Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM), Tower: D. 3.01Freilager-Platz 1CH - 4142 Münchenstein near Basel
