Study Guide

Descriptions

CURRICULUM
Bachelor of Culture and Arts (BA), full-time studies

The education provided by the Degree Programme in Media focuses on the latest professional knowledge in the field of media and on modern practices of media communication used in the pro-duction of media contents. The emphasis of your studies is on developing multidisciplinary profes-sional skills. The education also aims at supporting and developing regional industries and innova-tion activities. You will learn a wide range of professional media skills and operate with different forms of publishing and publication environments.

Degree

Degree Title: Bachelor of Culture and Arts (BA)
Extent: 240 cr / 4 years

Description of Competences

After graduating, you will have a wide variety of professional skills in digital audio-visual communication, social media, and online media. You will be able to identify your skills, which will enable you to find your own professional role in the working life. You will understand the significance of critical thinking in media content production and know how to develop your skills to meet the needs of the job market.

As a graduate from the Degree Programme in Media, you can multi-task in the following future professions, for example: digital communication designer, content creator and online media designer, web journalist, producer, production coordinator, communications officer, videographer and editor, sound recordist, sound designer, graphic designer, and visual designer. Furthermore, you will be competent to work as a project manager, a project expert, and as an entrepreneur of creative industries. Your future employers will especially appreciate your diverse, basic knowledge in the field of media, entrepreneurial approach to media, teamwork skills, and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.

Structure and Contents of Studies

The degree programme contains common core and complementary studies enhancing your key and specialised competences. The extent of basic studies is 225 cr and that of complementary studies 30 cr. Basic studies include 30 credits of practical training and a 15-credit thesis. In the common core studies, your individual study plan can include studies of audio-visual communication and digital media content production to enhance your professional profile. You are provided a possibility to apply for a study path in entrepreneurship in cross-disciplinary teams within the Business Academy of Karelia UAS. In Business Academy, you can complete your studies according to the Business Academy curriculum.

The studies have been divided into professionally oriented annual themes: Curious Learner, Multidisciplinary Maker, Creative Developer, and Aspiring Expert. On the first year of studies, you will familiarise yourself with media technologies and content production processes. The second year will introduce you to the methods of project work and provide you with multi-disciplinary media skills. During the third year, you will develop your media expertise for ex-ample in your thesis project. The fourth study year will focus on applying the acquired knowledge into practice through practical training in the working life.

Work-related Learning

Studies in the Degree Programme of Media include a strong work-related point of view. At the beginning of your studies, you will be introduced to career stories of the alumni graduated from Karelia UAS. The alumni expert lectures provide your professional studies fresh insights into operating in media industries. Working-life connections are built through excursions and guest lectures of operators in media.

As you advance in your studies, you will deepen your cooperation with the industry operators through commissioned work in project studies and thesis. You will work together with local, national, and international companies, partners, and research and development projects of Karelia UAS. Assignments implemented in close client cooperation offer an authentic working-life experience and the thesis adheres to the needs of the working life. In practical training, you will apply and develop your working-life skills as an independent operator.

Pedagogical Choices

At the beginning your studies, you will obtain the practical media skills needed in the industry through learning tasks and related theory. Later, the focus will gradually shift to more project-like studying, where profiling your professional identity becomes increasingly important in various production roles. The role of the lecturers is to enable and support your professional growth.

A wide variety of different teaching and learning methods are utilised in the courses. For example, the principles of problem-based learning are applied in the authentic situations and learning sessions that simulate the practices and processes of the working life. The process of learning and the imple-mentation methods are based on modules on work-related commissions, production collaborations, and operation models such as Production House.

Flexible Implementation of Studies

Lectures are mainly implemented in contact teaching. Some of the studies will be conducted as online courses, however. You also have the possibility to apply for the recognition of prior learning (RPL) or for the validation of the competence acquired elsewhere as a part of your degree in media. Moreover, as a student of Karelia UAS, you can choose complementary studies to enhance your expertise. Choose complementary studies from the selection of Karelia UAS or CampusOnline, according to your own interests. CampusOnline provides online studies to all students from Finnish universities of applied sciences.

Internationalisation

You have a possibility to increase your international competence through courses and project work, international exchange studies (international mobility studies), and practical training abroad. Furthermore, you can strengthen your international skills by acting as a tutor for international students at Karelia UAS.

Assessment

Development in the competences is based on the common competences of Karelia UAS and the field-specific competences of media, based on the competences needed in the working life. In addition, students’ self-assessment, peer feedback and evaluation, as well as group feedback discussions are utilised. Assessment is also based on feedback from the working life. Assessment and feedback help you follow your development and set new objectives for your learning. Karelia UAS has defined general assessment principles that form the basis for the course-specific assessment. The specific assessment criteria in media describe the aims in professional media competence. The specific course assessment criteria are described in course descriptions.

Career Prospects and Career Counselling

As a graduate from the Degree Programme in Media you will have excellent skills to multi-task in planning, implementing, and producing media content in different parts of media productions. Furthermore, you will be competent to work as an entrepreneur in creative industries. You will be able to manage diverse methods of information retrieval and content material processing. You will under-stand copyright and contract practices and be able to effectively utilise professional tools, applications, and environments. Moreover, you will achieve diverse language and communication skills that enhance your professional skills and expert identity.

The professional titles of multidisciplinary experts in media are for example Communication Designer, Content Manager, Digital Marketing Specialist, Journalist, Media Designer, Motion Graphic Designer, UI/UX Designer, Video Content Specialist, Video Creator, and Visual Content Creator.

The changes in the working life and your own career development require continuous learning after graduating as a Bachelor of Culture and Arts. A significant part of learning takes place in the job, but you can update and enhance your competence through further training. You can complement your professional skills by taking studies at the open university of applied sciences or by studying for a master’s degree. A master’s degree can open new opportunities for working in management posts and expert or development tasks, or as a lecturer. Your teacher tutor and counsellor will support you in your career planning throughout your studies.