The Master’s Program (2 years) in Global Visual Communication at Jacobs University is designed for an international student body and a faculty strongly committed to transdisciplinary studies. Research cooperations have been established with universities in Brazil, China, Europe, Japan, India, and the United States. Excellent multimedia facilities are available in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Laboratory.
This Master’s program provides students with the competencies necessary to understand both the complex structures of contemporary media and communication systems, and the fundamental changes that they are currently undergoing.
Mass and network communication is less confined to national borders than ever before. Technological changes such as the proliferation of the Internet and mobile devices have facilitated global flows of information and entertainment visually and verbally. There emerged a tendency towards the domination of visual information in international, transnational and global communication. From Internet websites to advertising, from art to photography and film industry, mass and network communication employ visuals that provide wider international reach and exercise deeper emotional appeal. People of all generations are becoming active producers and consumers of visual culture. Due to the expansion of digital technology and the shifts in social interaction, expertise in visual communication and design becomes essential for meeting the global challenges of education and communication.
The Master’s Program in Global Visual Communication is based on a transdisciplinary curriculum that provides students with advance knowledge in the field of communication studies related to the following areas:
· Transnational and global communication;
· New media and the decline of traditional media institutions;
· The role of visuals in today’s mass and network communication;
· Visual communication and identity formation;
· Internet-based media and democracy;
· Global network studies.
Addressing the recent trends in international, transnational and global mass and network communication from different theoretical, methodological and empirical perspectives, the first module M221 provides students both with comparative methodological tools and a visually comparative perspective; the second module M222 focuses on visual media and their role in international, transnational and global communication, while the third module M223 scrutinizes the very current and complex phenomena of transnational and global communication patterns (for more information see Courses).
Students will be involved in research projects at the Jacobs University Research Initiative for Visual Communication and Expertise (VisComX).
By the end of the Master’s Program in Global Visual Communication, students are expected to be able to systematically and independently analyze the major trends in communication, understand and explain global visual communication phenomena, as well as develop concepts that are fundamental in communication research.
The Master’s Program in Global Visual Communication provides an international forum for the growing body of work in numerous interrelated disciplines. Graduates who complete the 2-year M.A. program will be in an excellent position to seek careers in non-governmental organizations, public administration, international organizations, private and public media as well as private businesses with a strategic planning and public relations component.
