.
The education is structured so that you complete 15 credits (cr) during one study period. One credit corresponds to 27 hours of studies or work. Four study periods form one academic year, and you are expected to complete 60 credits during an academic year.
The studies contain general studies, subject studies, extension studies, practical training and a degree seminar and degree thesis.
General studies
You are able to use information- and communication technology and other tools used in your studies in order to facilitate target-oriented and self-directed studies. You develop your language competence in Swedish, Finnish and English.
Basic-and subject studies
Many of the courses require specific advance knowledge, which means that several of the courses should be taken in a set order. In the courses you often work in teams where each team member is from a specific professional specialisation.
Extension studies
The extension studies consist of two modules of 15 credits. Each module gives you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge in a specific area, e.g. journalism, entrepreneurship.
Practical training
The studies contain in total 30 credits practical training. The practical training should as far as practicable provide the student with experience of actual productions in the media field. Media related supervised work practice is accepted as practical training.
Practical training routines
The practical training period is positioned in the end of the fourth year of studies. It is naturally also possible to take part in practical training in parallel with other studies or during the summer months.
Should you take part in unpaid practical training you should PRIOR to commencing the practical training draw up a contract between you, Arcada and the employer.
Fill out an Arcada practical training contract form (the form is also available in Finnish and English).
If you receive a salary for your practical training, your work contract regulates your right.
- Talk to your specialisation supervisor, degree programme director or amanuensis about your practical training position prior to commencing the practical training. This way you ensure that the practical training will be accepted.
- The employer evaluates the practical training by filling out the form "Intyg över utförd praktik".
- Write a practical training report over completed practical training periods.
- Also ask for a job certificate for use in your CV.
- The practical training report and evaluation form are handed in to your specialisation supervisor or degree programme director.
Practical training effort
Your work effort during the practical training should correspond to a working week for a full-time employee (1,5 credits commonly corresponds to a 40 hour work input/week). A part-time employment is recalculated so that the work input corresponds to a 40 hour working week. A 15 credit practical training period thus comprises a total work input of 400 hours (i.e. 10 weeks full-time employment).
Practical training report
The purpose of the practical training report is to increase the usefulness of your education by encouraging you to also reflect on and review what you actually have learned during your practical training period. The purpose is also to bridge possible gaps that have occurred in the courses where you have had no context to connect to.
In other words
- show that you can use the knowledge you have collected to analyse why the “world” looks and functions as it does
- show what value your studies have had in solving practical work assignments
Content specific requirements
- Fact concerning the company
Include facts regarding the company, such as form of enterprise, area of operations, organisation, number of employees, turnover, products/services and market position.
- The company as a workplace
Describe the atmosphere in the workplace and how you have been introduced to the staff. Describe your tasks and then discuss the usefulness you have experienced with regard to different courses/subjects in relation to your practical training tasks. Regardless of the nature of your tasks you have made observations regarding what your efforts are a part of and how the other functions within the enterprise contribute to the whole. Also consider questions such as: What is your workplace part of? Why does it exist? Why does the organisation and the work tasks appear as they do? What are the challenges?
- Self-assessment
What have you learned? Reflect on (discuss) a number of different fields in your education and relate them to your experiences during your practical training period. Choose 2-3 different areas from your specialisation and 2-3 different areas from other specialisations within media culture (film and media). Concentrate on understanding the reality form an encompassing, overall perspective. It is also important that you reflect on such parts of your studies that are not directly or obviously connected to your work tasks.
- Extent of practical training
Also ensure that the practical training report includes your own estimation of the number of hours you have worked in total, and indicate how many credits you hold that corresponds to.
Methodology and degree thesis
The aim of studies at a university of applied sciences is to educate people that should have a competence within a specific area and an ability for the conceptual assessment of relevant concerns in the field. The degree thesis is a vocation-oriented independent final composition.
The degree thesis should indicate that you have gained certain knowledge and gained certain skills as well as developed an ability for independent reflection. This requires that you as the writer independently should be able to solve that or those problem(s) that make up the foundation of the degree thesis based on the knowledge and skills you have gained in your education.
The qualitative level of the degree thesis should correspond to the requirements of a Bachelor thesis, i.e. according to EQF level 6 (European Qualification Network External link). The work should display balanced judgement, subject knowledge and ability to come to insight.
At Arcada there are degree theses of many different natures. The degree thesis is structured so that it supports your competence and preferences and thus consequently leads to new, more innovative approaches and social innovations. Read more about the degree thesis in the section course of studies.