Master in Critical Studies

Master in Critical Studies is one of 7 English-taught Arts, Design & Architecture programmes at master’s level in the register, offered by 4 institutions. 7 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; this programme lists EUR 1,453 a year. 7 are at a public university, where EU, EEA and Swiss students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters.

What you study

The Master in Critical Studies is an artistic-scholarly programme. It is built around critical positions drawn from Gender Studies, Post- and Decolonial Studies, Subaltern Studies, Cultural Studies and Queer Studies, as well as the Frankfurt School, Poststructuralism and Deconstruction. Theories of the visual, medialities, the public and the social are addressed throughout, always in relation to artistic processes and methodologies.

The programme has six modules. In the first, you join art classes at the Institute of Fine Arts and take part in regular art classes to a limited extent. The second module is project studies with two teachers from different disciplines, where you develop artistic and scholarly approaches. In the third, you choose from seminars offered by the Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies. The fourth is a practice-oriented seminar held by an external specialist. The fifth is the Kolloquium, where methods and aspects of artistic-scholarly practice are discussed, partly based on your own works and working methods. The sixth module is for elective courses.

How the programme is organised

The degree lasts five semesters and carries 150 ECTS. You take courses in each of the six modules during the first four semesters. In the fifth semester you develop your Master's project, an artistic-academic project. The programme is completed with a Master of Arts (MA) degree.

Teaching mixes artistic, theoretical, propaedeutically preparatory and practical parts. Forms of practice are purposefully intermingled and their clear demarcation is called into question. You work in small teams and in cross-institutional larger groups. Supervision comes from a pool of faculty from almost all institutes of the Academy, though you will be primarily involved in the Institute of Art and Cultural Studies.

Who it suits

The programme is for students who have a diploma or a B.A. in a subject related to the arts or humanities, or who have achieved a corresponding qualification in an artistic discipline, and who want an artistic-scholarly education. It prepares you for academic doctoral studies, primarily in art theory and cultural studies but also in education in the arts and architecture. It also prepares you for artistic research towards an arts-based research doctoral study, a PhD in practice or a comparable qualification. And it prepares you for work in public artistic and cultural fields, especially journalism, specialised and academic journalism, curatorial, archival and mediational activities.

Admission, language and next steps

Admission is through an admission examination. The curriculum is dated 2024. The teaching language is German and English. There is no central application portal: you apply directly to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and its programme page gives the application period. For questions about the programme, contact the listed staff. The students' union can also be reached at oehmcs@akbild.ac.at.

Das Studium verfolgt drei Lehrziele. Es soll auf ein wissenschaftliches Doktoratstudium, vor allem in den Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften sowie in kunst- und kulturpädagogischen Disziplinen und der Architektur vorbereiten. Es soll auf die Weiterführung künstlerischer Forschung etwa in einem künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Dokotartsstudium, einem PhD in practice oder einem vergleichbaren Abschluss vorbereiten. Es soll auf die Tätigkeit in Praxisfeldern der künstlerischen und kulturellen Öffentlichkeiten vorbereiten, insbesondere auf allgemein journalistische, fach- und wissenschaftsjournalistische, kuratorische, archivarische, vermittelnde Tätigkeiten.

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. A public university sets the admission requirements and dates for this level, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: An admission or aptitude procedure applies (see the programme page). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.