Programme structure

Course content

Teach art, design and craft: The Bachelor of Arts in Art Education prepares students to work in schools, cultural institutions or social institutions. One of the focal areas of the three-year course is artistic and design practice. Thanks to ZHdK’s state-of-the-art infrastructure, students have everything they need at hand for their studies: from wood, metal and ceramic workshops to sewing studios and printing workshops, through to the opportunity to borrow digital media and filming equipment. The study of cultural and social issues is just as important as learning material, media and craft techniques. We examine art and design theories on a continuous basis and utilize approaches from teaching, didactics and psychology in a targeted manner in educational situations. 
Students can decide what they wish to focus on in their studies by choosing between two different specializations, Teaching Art and Aesthetic-Cultural Education:

In the Teaching Art specialization, we train future teachers and prepare them to give school lessons (Fine Arts at Secondary Level II or Specialist Teacher at Secondary Level I). The subsequent Master Teaching Art or continuation of the degree programme at a university of teacher education qualifies graduates to teach with a teaching diploma. 

The Aesthetic-Cultural Education specialization focuses on teaching in the extracurricular environment, such as in youth work, in social institutions with craft courses, in leisure courses or in continuing education. Students taking the Aesthetic-Cultural Education specialization gain a vocational degree. It can be tailored to their individual interests and professional focuses by selecting specific minor subjects; however, it can also be consolidated further with a subsequent Master’s degree.

Work experience placements, internships and collaboration projects enable students to gain valuable early experience in the school or cultural work environment and improve their own teaching skills while they are studying.

Structure of the degree programme

The Bachelor of Arts in Art Education builds on four module areas: Studio, Discourse, Projects and Professionalization. Up to the successful completion of the Bachelor’s degree programme, students undertake module areas and a graduation project amounting to 150 ECTS points. They can also choose from a wide range of minor programmes. They can choose to concentrate on particular areas worth 30 ECTS points and further specialize in the area of teaching and learning, education or academic research work .

Studio (15 credits): On the one hand, the Studio module area develops students’ craft and artistic skills in the studios and workshops, and on the other, provides an introduction to basic scientific methods such as research techniques and writing academic papers. In the design studio area, students must select a compulsory elective from several courses with different focuses. In the process, they explore technical and craft methods and improve their material and methodological knowledge.

Discourse (27 credits): The Discourse module area falls into the field of art, design and media theory as well as cultural analysis: We build on orientational and overview knowledge, formulate practice and theory-related questions and examine established and alternative discourse as well as how they are classified. This also includes the introduction and testing of scientific reflection and working methods in the context of teaching, artistic and design practice.

Projects (63 credits): 
The Projects module area focuses on artistic and design projects that are developed individually or collectively over a period of several weeks. The lecturers support these projects in technical and planning terms and introduce specific methods for research, design, production and reception of artistic content and issues.
As the degree programme progresses, students’ start to work more independently on projects that stem from their own questions. In this way, they consolidate their own artistic working methods and their research stance. 

Professionalization (29 credits): 
This module area contains educational-theoretical and subject-specific courses and lectures, work experience placements/teaching observation visits, teaching practica, collaboration projects and the educational laboratory: we explore topics and activities related to the profession and the professional field in depth.

Graduation project (16 credits): The Bachelor-level graduation project is an independent artistic and/or design work that students develop with support from mentors and present as part of a public exhibition. The thesis takes the form of a comprehensive, independent project and its contextualization in the artistic and cultural sector as well as in the art and design historical area. The exhibition and documentation of the graduation project as well as the educational approach taken also count towards the overall assessment.

Skills

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts in Art Education:

  • work professionally with craft and artistic/design-related resources and methods;
  • are familiar with a wide range of materials, production methods and technical solutions, and are able to use them with confidence;
  • plan educational projects for a variety of target groups independently and with the necessary pedagogical-didactic knowledge; 
  • are able to teach art and design topics to a wide audience;
  • have theoretical and methodological knowledge of a variety of different cultural and social topic fields;
  • plan and implement artistic-design projects professionally;
  • are able to position, defend and talk about their artistic-design work with conviction in both linguistic and theoretical terms.
  • are self-assured, skilled professionals.

Admissions requirements

The Bachelor of Arts in Art Education is aimed at creative, artistically ambitious people with a keen interest in undertaking teaching-educational work with people of different ages. 
It is geared in particular towards people with an upper secondary, a federal vocational or a specialist baccalaureate who have prior experience in the education, craft, care and/or design fields (vocational education or internship). The Preparatory Courses in Art and Design provide valuable preparation for admission to the degree programme. Special admission (“sur dossier”) is possible.

The admissions requirements, admission procedures and aptitude tests for degree programmes and study programmes are outlined in the Study regulations.

Benefits of studying at ZHdK

  • The opportunity to specialize in the school and extra-curricular/non-formal education area is unique both in Switzerland and abroad.
  • The combination of artistic, theoretical and teaching-related skills offers students an extremely broad education in context-related tuition.
  • No other arts university provides this much scope for in-depth practical teaching experience and the corresponding theory at Bachelor level.
  • Zurich University of the Arts brings together a wide range of artistic and design courses under one roof, which enables interdisciplinary exchange.
  • Thanks to the range of minor subject courses, students are able to specialize in areas of interest to pave the way for their individual professional career.