1 Subject, 2 Universities
The advantages of studying media studies in Potsdam:
- Single-degree Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes that deliver a broad range of up-to-date content
- A collaboration between the University of Potsdam and the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam that is unique in Germany
- High student-to-staff ratio: excellent support thanks to the large number of lecturers
- A practical integration of theory and practice
- Aesthetic, theoretical and historical research & aesthetic and theoretical practice
- A wide range of media laboratories (audio lab, video studio, photo lab, computer lab, editing suite with VR headsets, GoPros, cameras …)
- Affiliation with the Brandenburg Centre for Media Studies
- Membership of the Digital Humanities Network
- Extensive collection of computer games, comprising over 8,000 titles, at DIGAREC
- A project week each semester for block seminars
- Excursions and seminar trips to Bröllin Castle near Pasewalk
The European Media Studies programme is a joint degree programme run by the University of Potsdam (Institute for Arts and Media) and the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences (Department of Design). The University of Potsdam and the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences run this consecutive degree programme jointly and on an equal footing at both Bachelor’s and Master’s level. Students are enrolled at the University of Potsdam.
Content of the Potsdam Media Studies programme
With a view to an international cultural, media and legal landscape, the programme imparts both theoretical knowledge and creative-conceptual skills in dealing with media, markets, cultures and the arts. This includes, in particular, an examination of the cultural-historical backgrounds and conditions that characterise European Media Studies as a discipline that is both cultural-scientific and practice-oriented.
Europe
The focus on Europe is reflected in the Bachelor’s programme, in particular through an intensive examination of European cultural history and European media law. Building on this, the Master’s programme is specifically geared towards international perspectives in current research. In keeping with the European ideal of transnational connections, European Media Studies has a cross-border focus and, in its international perspective, is not limited to Europe.
Concept of media
As media are constantly gaining in significance through new technologies and changing cultural practices, the programme is based on a broad concept of media. It encompasses all types of media techniques and practices, and thus a field that includes, for example, literature, photography, film, radio, television, computer games and other forms of digital media, as well as basic media such as writing, images, signs and sound. A theory of media also examines – drawing on interdisciplinary research – the characteristics of mediality in general.
Theory and Practice
The close collaboration between two different types of higher education institution enables the integration of theoretical, aesthetic and cultural-historical knowledge with practical media design and media conception within a degree programme that also incorporates diverse cultures of knowledge and teaching. The result is an innovative degree programme with a high proportion of project-based work, which is well-suited to the demands of today’s working world and real-life experience.