Master in Cross-Disciplinary Strategies, Applied Studies in Art, Science, Philosophy and Global Challenges

Master in Cross-Disciplinary Strategies, Applied Studies in Art, Science, Philosophy and Global Challenges is one of 5 English-taught Philosophy programmes at master’s level in the register, offered by 4 institutions. 3 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; this programme lists EUR 1,453 a year. 3 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 CDS master's programme at the University of Applied Arts Vienna is about working on current societal challenges by linking art, the humanities, and the social and natural sciences. Artistic strategies are the common language across the programme. You learn to situate your topic in a broader societal context, communicate it with a range of methods and artistic strategies, and apply it in cross-disciplinary, participative projects.

The master's programme focuses on transdisciplinary projects for sustainable social change and on a cross-disciplinary approach to digital technologies and the transformation processes that come with them. The source page also states that graduates have a good grasp of the principles of software development and practice in dealing with data for statistical analysis, machine learning and visualisation.

How the programme is organised

The master's programme is 120 ECTS and lasts four semesters. Every semester offers the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in independent cross-disciplinary projects. For these projects, dialogue and collaboration with actors from civil society, art, science, politics and the economy are supported and promoted. The Angewandte's practice-related academic and artistic teaching and its range of workshops give the programme an experimental framework in which students develop their own individual practice.

The teaching language is English. The programme is taught at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in Vienna.

Who it suits

The programme aims to engage graduates of the Cross-Disciplinary Strategies bachelor programme and any graduates of other fields who would like to supplement their specialist knowledge and place it in a new context. Graduates of all other fields with a bachelor's or other advanced degree and proof of English proficiency to level B2 (CEFR) are invited to apply.

It suits people who want to work across disciplines, not inside one. You should be comfortable with team work, with project work, and with linking theory and practice. The programme prepares graduates to advise and lead interdisciplinary working teams that are diverse and heterogeneous, and to develop cross-disciplinary research approaches.

Admission, language and next steps

Proof of English proficiency to level B2 (CEFR) is required. The source page points to application dates and information on the entrance exam and the university entrance qualification exam. There is no central application portal: you apply directly to the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and its own page gives the application period. Check that page for the entrance exam details and the university entrance qualification exam before you apply.

The degree awarded is Master of Arts (MA).

The degree programme is divided into the following study areas: - 1: Artistic strategies and approaches to art: We will reflect on artistic procedures and ways to communicate them and apply them in practice; we will develop critical terms with a view to analysing art works and phenomena, above all in the field of contemporary art. A range of concepts in cultural studies and fine arts will be compared and discussed. There is a one-off option to take this aspect further in the context of the CDC semester project during the programme as a guest student (Art Studio Practice) at one of the University of Applied Arts’ art classes, in the extent of 8 ECTS credits. - 2: Science and Technology: Connections between elements of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, bioinformatics / genome editing / programming, neurosciences, models and visualisation, etc, and locating them in their societal context. - 3: Economics and politics: Connections between elements of economic and political strategies; financial systems, social distribution, political geographies, etc. One focus is on fields where digital technologies are interwoven with economic and political processes. - 4: Philosophy: The philosophy courses focus on epistemology, the history and theory of science, research methodology, ethics and political theory. - 5: Communication and cooperation strategies: Forms of cooperation, communication, media, marketing, group dynamics, project management. - 6: Transcultural Studies

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here University of Applied 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: Proof of artistic aptitude by means of an entrance examination. 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.