As an urgent response to our contemporary conditions, Visual Communication Design studies enable you to redefine your design practice and situate it in wider societal and environmental frameworks. By providing the competence areas of information design, visual narratives, and type & written language, the curriculum encourages you to turn your design practice towards the public and the sustainable, and towards multiple and diverse knowledge domains. The VCD major provides you time and space to redefine your individual design approach, with continuous backup from community, collaboration, and peer learning. The studies support you in this with a combination of theory and practice.
Please see the intended learning outcomes of the study option at the Programme page.
Please see study-option-specific evaluation criteria.
In the Master’s Programme in Art and Media Visual Communication Design (VCD) major, the language of instruction is English.
The tuition fee for this programme is 20 000 euros per academic year. Citizens of European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland do not pay tuition fees. Citizens of other countries must pay tuition fees.
Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.
More information on tuition fees and scholarships at Aalto University is available at the Scholarships and Tuition Fees webpage.
Engaging with diverse literature, writing and discussions will deepen your understanding in the role of visual communication in society – including in urgent political issues like representation, diversity and social and environmental justice. You'll be learning from professors who are active designers and researchers, blending theory and practice in inspiring courses where you’ll create, explore and critically reflect on your own and others’ work.
In the first year, you will reflect on your own work and build a framework of references for your design practice. The end of year one will bring you to your studio project led by your own interests. For example, this could involve designing a typeface, a publication, a 3D animation, an innovative data visualization, information design or data journalism piece.
In the second year, you’ll work on your elective studies as well as your master’s thesis – allowing you to approach your topic as an expert. The majority of your second year is devoted to the thesis, which can be a practical design project or based on more analytical research. This will be your opportunity to strengthen and demonstrate your design skills and theoretical knowledge, and to position your practice in a specific domain or framework.
More information on the programme content and curriculum can be found in the Student Guide.
Our curriculum is designed to offer flexibility, allowing you to either deepen your expertise in a specific area of visual communication or create a personalised skillset that aligns with your individual goals and ambitions. You are encouraged to shape your own practice and professional focus through several avenues:
Our education is grounded in practice-based research. Our current research focus areas, outlined here, inform our curriculum and provide a strong foundation for specialisation.
Our courses are structured to support your unique objectives, rather than adhering to a uniform or prescriptive model.
We encourage you to use the flexibility in your elective studies as an opportunity to both further deepen your cross-disciplinary expertise and broaden your perspective.
The Visual Communication Design major benefits from a strong international character, attracting many applicants and faculty with backgrounds outside of Finland. You will benefit from the perspective of regular international guests who give lectures, teach courses, or conduct workshops.
You and your fellow students will be welcomed into the diverse Aalto community not only through your studies in the Visual Communication Design major – but also multiple free time events, activities and celebrations around the campus. Programme administrators, active student tutors and student support services work rigorously to help international students integrate into Nordic culture and welcome them at home in Finland.
There will also be multiple opportunities to develop your global competence while you study, such as spending a semester abroad or taking a summer course at one of Aalto University’s partner universities around the globe. Some students carry out their practical training or even master’s thesis research abroad.
A finished degree with a successful master’s thesis enables you to apply for the Aalto Doctoral Programme in Arts, Design and Architecture. This gives you an opportunity to build an academic career in the emerging field of practice-as-research, where you can focus in on your craft to make important contributions É«É«À² research groups and advance the contemporary design discourse.
More information on the Aalto Doctoral Programme in Arts, Design and Architecture: Doctoral programmes.
As a graduate of the VCD major, you will have the skills and knowledge to work as a design professional in visual communication design, either by developing your own practice or with an established design agency or organisation. And because visual communication design is constantly changing, your career may lie in a field that’s just now beginning to emerge.
Here are a few possible positions suited for programme graduates:
The Visual Communication Design major has two key research focuses – Aalto Visual Communication Design (AVCD), and Information Design.
AVCD is a multidisciplinary research group in the Department of Art and Media at Aalto University, focused on exploring the role of visual communication design and visual thinking in fields like sustainability, education, ageing, and health. Its research is centred around fundamental topics in visual communication, visual design thinking, and the visual design process. AVCD’s current project, INT-ACT (2024-2026) is investigating how XR (extended reality) environments can be used to address future societal challenges. More on AVCD:
In the Information Design research group, researchers come together to push the boundaries of information design through visualisation and interactivity. The group focuses on the changing nature of presenting information to an audience, diving into topics like user experience, interaction, and information design. More on information design:
Starting from autumn 2025, Centre of Text Margins will gather together an academic community focusing on text design and typographic practice. This is an umbrella for practice-based expertise around the visual and material aspects of written language across different genres and domains. The work of the Centre will foster a wide range of literacies and legibilities especially where they are considered ‘marginal’, striving for equal expertise in both easy-to-read purposes as well as experimental writing with multiple interpretations.
Throughout your studies, you will have the chance to engage with real-life challenges and cases. The Visual Communication Design major closely collaborates with several outside groups and public organisations connected to prominent research projects in Finland. This includes both the City of Helsinki and Harvard Medical School, who are currently involved in FinnGen – a genome research project aiming to achieve breakthroughs in disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment with the help of big data. Learn more about FinnGen (in progress):
Every two years, we also organise a Visualising Knowledge conference . This event brings in industry leaders to explore the latest topics in design. The organisation is student-driven, and you will also be able to exhibit your work and speak with potential future collaborators or employers. conference. This event brings in industry leaders to explore the latest topics in design. The organisation and is student-driven, and you will also be able to exhibit your work and speak with potential future employers.
Outside of your compulsory work in the Visual Communication Design major, you will be free to choose from a wide range of minor studies and elective courses to broaden your knowledge and skills – for example in game design, comics, UI/UX design, animation, or pattern design. You will also find opportunities to work with students from other degree programmes at Aalto, who will join you in your visual communication courses to complement their own major.
Applicants meeting Aalto’s general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria that has been decided in advance for each study option. The applications to Master's Programme in Art and Media - Visual Communication Design (VCD) will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
Phase I
| Artistic and/or design practice 1/2 | |
| What is evaluated | Demonstrations of artistic and/or design work or assignments |
| What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements | Design skills, conceptual thinking, communicative approach, diversity in visual experimentation, demonstrated potential |
| Method of demonstrating competence |
Portfolio Maximum size for the portfolio is 1.0 GB. Name the file as: Portfolio-surname-firstname.pdf |
| Artistic and/or design practice 2/2 | |
| What is evaluated | Demonstrations of artistic and/or design work or assignments |
| What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements | Design skills, conceptual thinking, communicative approach, diversity in visual experimentation, demonstrated potential |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Preliminary assignment |
| Suitability | |
| What is evaluated | Applicant’s further suitability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies/communication skills |
| What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements | Articulation, focus, critical thinking, communicative intent |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Designer statement |
| Other areas of competence | |
| What is evaluated | Work experience and other acquired knowledge/achievements e.g. publications, non-formal education, competitions |
| What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements | Education and/or experience in visual communication or related fields |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Curriculum vitae |
Phase II
| Suitability | |
| What is evaluated | Applicant’s further suitability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies/communication skills |
| What we look for in an applicant/Admission requirements | Communicative skills, articulation, focus |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Interview |
The applicants will be first evaluated based on Aalto’s general eligibility requirements. Applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria that has been decided in advance for each study option.
The selection process for applicants who meet the general eligibility criteria comprises of two phases:
Phase I
In Phase I, the applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria
Only the applicants who ranked highest in the preliminary evaluation will be invited to phase II in the selection process.
Phase II
In Phase II, the evaluation is based on the following criteria
After the evaluation conducted in Phase II, the best applicants will be selected based on the joint evaluation from Phases I and II.
Part of the applicants are invited to the second stage. The invitation to the second stage is sent to the applicants at latest seven days in advance.
The documents required from all applicants are listed on the Aalto University website (/en/study-at-aalto/applying-to-masters-programmes). In addition, applicants to this study-option are required to provide the following study-option-specific documents:
Document 1: Portfolio
For your portfolio, choose a selection of projects and explorations which best reflects your present knowledge, skills and experience. We appreciate careful curation of your previous projects, but also consider how your portfolio can best communicate the direction towards which you would like to take your practice.
We suggest annotation that gives us some information on the background and brief explanation of the process of your projects. If the work is done in collaboration, you should clearly describe your role.
Instructions for the portfolio:
Pdf file (with links to online/video content where applicable) maximum 15 pages
Any time-based work should not exceed 5 min. in total
Maximum size for the portfolio is 1.0 GB. Name the file as: Portfolio-surname-firstname.pdf
Document 2: Preliminary assignment
Create a visualisation of a topic that feels urgent to you at the moment.
Visualisation can be understood broadly, so we welcome either fact or fiction: it is up to you and a part of your challenge, whether your visualisation is expressive or data-based; typography or image; static or in motion.
Think of the assignment as an extension of your portfolio: an opportunity to indicate where you might want to take your practice next.
The assignment is also a chance to show your skills in visual communication and conceptual thinking, and to let us know more about who you are, and which questions are important to you.
The format and medium of your visualization is up to you, but the end result should be documented as a separate file pdf. No existing work should be used: please complete original work for this assignment.
Maximum size for the Preliminary Assignment is 1.0 GB. Name the file as: Preliminary_Assignment-lastname.firstname.pdf
The preliminary assignment must be added as additional .pdf document.
Document 3: Designer Statement
Regard your Designer Statement as a letter where you briefly describe your design practice, and where you see yourself at the moment. Let us know how you like to work, which questions and frameworks are urgent to you, and how you would like to redefine your practice.
You can also describe your own mix of interests towards the intertwining competence areas developed in our curriculum: information design, visual narrative, and type & written language.
As the central task in the 2-year MA studies is the thesis project, we appreciate learning about your topics of interest and exploration that might lead to thesis work. Note that any plans you describe at this stage are not binding.
Document 4: CV
In your CV, please list your education, work experience, and skills, together with possible exhibitions, publications, awards, grants, and study trips relevant to your practice.
Language of application documents
The application documents must be submitted in English.
Curious about life at Aalto University? Our student ambassadors are here to share their firsthand experiences and insights on student life, academics, and campus culture. Join us for interactive sessions, casual chats over coffee, and engaging discussions with current students and alumni.
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Learning services of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture
For enquiries regarding programme-specific application documents or studies in the programme, please contact Aalto ARTS Learning Services.
arts-admissions@aalto.fi
Admission Services
For enquiries regarding the application process, obligatory application documents or English language proficiency, please contact Admission Services.
admissions@aalto.fi
