The advanced graduate degree program M.A. Visual and Media Anthropology (VMA) was originally developed and offered at the Freie Universität Berlin from 2008-2019, a university of excellence in Germany. The VMA program has been offered exclusively at HMKW Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany since winter semester 2019/20.
The advanced graduate degree equips students who already have a professional background in film, photography, journalism, communication studies, online marketing, digital/social media or any other field related, with an in-depth knowledge of Visual and Media Anthropology. The program provides the essential needed to become professional documentary filmmakers, documentary photographers and experts for virtual environments and immersive video.
Students develop innovative perspectives with the potential to lead the future of digital anthropology in science, virtual platforms, TV broadcasts, museums, online news platforms, cultural institutions, film festivals, galleries, governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The program equips students with knowledge about the ethical correct production of classical, scientistic, immersive and artistic audio-visual media for the representation of national, and transnational cultures, with a focus on Asian, African, European, North American and Latin American “native” or “indigenous” communities.
The program includes classes about the Theory and History of Ethnographic Film, Documentary Photography, Digital Anthropology, Camera, Sound, and Editing classes, Social Media Activism and Marketing, Qualitative Ethnographic Methods, Decolonization of the Image, Migration, Extremism and Conflict Research, Virtual Environments and building in VR, Gender, feminist and queer theory, Environmental Anthropology, Climate Change and Visual Culture. Part of the master's program is the student's own ethnographic field research, which is supervised in colloquia.
All course content is delivered 100% online by an international team of professors and lecturers with over a decade of online teaching experience. Students can study at a time and place convenient to their lifestyle. All that is needed is a good internet connection, and a laptop or smartphone. Distance Learning is offered via the world-best Learning Management platform LMS Canvas and through Zoom-live-streams of classes, online presentations and discussions. The program was one of the winners of the Best Practice in Online Teaching by CEDIS Center for Digital Systems Freie Universität Berlin. The advanced graduate degree program is 100 % equivalent to other M.A. programs, and prepares graduates for PhD studies.
Meet your fellow students for additional On-Campus-Camera-and Sound-Workshops in Berlin, Germany. Optional 2-5 days hybrid On-Campus-workshops are offered for students to build hand on technical experience. Students must assume additional (travel, room) costs arising from in-house workshops (not mandatory) and fieldwork periods. We offer hybrid classes via live-stream in case you cannot travel to Berlin.
Applicants: This program is designed for students who have an undergraduate degree (BA) in any subject, and also for professionals who want to conduct a second MA degree.
Target jobs: Career prospects for graduates of the Master's program in Visual and Media Anthropology are especially in the cultural and social science-oriented TV, print and online media sector as editors at TV stations, film production companies and online platforms, as well as in leading positions or as curators at film festivals, in film archives, museums and cultural institutes with media exhibition concepts.
The master's program in Visual and Media Anthropology is designed to prepare students for later positions as experts in visual anthropology (ethnographic film, ethnographic photography) in the following areas, among others:
Our students conducted internships in following institutions:
With following artists our students worked together during their internship:
Type | Distance learning (flexible e-learning in virtual classrooms, webinars etc.) |
Degree | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
Location | Berlin |
Language | English |
Tuition fees | 4020,- € per semester (16.080,- € in total for the two year's program) |
Duration | 4 semesters (2 years) |
Start | Winter term (October) |
More information about the application process
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
For admission requests, please e-mail vma[at]hmkw.de
„[The scholarship] is a unique opportunity that is so fundamental for your professional development, it is a privilege. It’s a lot of work to be able to meet the requirements but once the goal is achieved you realize how much it was worth all the effort made." –
Arturo Calderón, DAAD scholarship holder
Information flyer (pdf)
Master brochure (pdf)
Module guide (pdf)
Module manual (pdf)
Study regulations (pdf)
Examination regulations (pdf)
Admission regulations (pdf)
Final MA Thesis application form
Final MA Thesis application form (Instruction)
New Applicants for the program please use this document:
https://www.hmkw.de/en/university/departments/humanities/program-application/