Sound Design and Multimedial Technology

The aim of this study programme is to produce graduates who have the practical skills to work in positions where they need to work creatively with sound. Such positions might typically be connected to the work of public cultural and media institutions such as theatres, art galleries and museums, and may also relate to technological and dramaturgical support in the creation of sound components for audiovisual media for theatres, films, audio or visual documentaries (radio, TV) , installations, animations, video games, etc.

A key aspect of this new study programme with respect to the employability of graduates is their knowledge of and ability to use current digital technologies, the software and hardware of sound processing, and reproduction and postproduction techniques, and also their knowledge of converting, archiving and creating databases of media memory. There is an emphasis on providing students with a historical and theoretical foundation and an orientation in contemporary production and the aesthetics of sound design, while also allowing them to develop real creativity, which is a real competitive advantage on the labour market.

These aims will be accomplished by means of providing systematic training and tuition in several thematic areas:

• Sound creation – technical requirements (mathematics, physics, acoustics, studio technology)
• Sound creation – production requirements (sound design)
• Sound production; sound programming (work in the studio and with studio technology, audio software)
• Theory, the historical and current development of sound creation (sound studies)

A compulsory external work placement component is also a requirement of this vocationally oriented study programme.

“Careful Listening, Creative Sounding.”

Practical training

The vocationally oriented study programme is largely based on teaching practical skills. Practical training will be equally divided into all four semesters of the Master’s study programme. It takes the form of compulsory subjects with a set credit outcome. The aim of the practice is to gain the following competencies: work in the recording studio (setting up recording technology in studio/recording/postproduction/mastering/administration), sound installation of live music production, autonomous audio production in digital environments such as DAWs, Pure Data, and so on. Practical subjects will be taught and supervised by specialists in the newly established sound studio of the Department of Music Science in the Faculty of Arts and a computer room.

A requisite part of the study is also a six-week long external placement for professional practical training. As the final diploma thesis will be prepared in cooperation with external institutions, the professional practical training will be an integral part of the Seminar for the Master’s Diploma Thesis I which students will be required to take as a prerequisite for, or in conjunction with, the subject. The following organisations will take part in the professional practical training: Brno Philharmonic Orchestra,Brno House of Arts, Motionhouse, 4AM Forum for Architecture, Vasulka Kitchen, RoSound, Moravian Gallery, DOX Centre of Contemporary Art, Farm in the Cave, Cirque La Putyka, National Theatre Brno, Lenka Vagnerová & Company, Radio and Television of Slovakia, National Film Archive.

Further information

The study programme Sound Design and Multimedia Technologies is being prepared as part of the key activity ‘Relevance of Study Options for the Labour Market’ of Masaryk University’ 4.0 (Operational programme Research, Development and Education, project registration number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_015/0002418).

A state-of-the-art sound studio for practical training of skills related to the processing and design of sound is to be built as part of the project Strategic Investments of Masaryk University in Education (SIMU) + (Operational programme: Research, Development and Education, project registration number CZ.02.2.67 /0.0/0.0 /16_016/0002416).

Graduates are expected to gain employment in public or private media institutions (e.g. radio, television, film) cultural and art institutions, game development companies, sound recording studios, audio and sound production companies, advertising agencies, as well as assisting with artistic and creative projects. A key area for the employment of graduates is art institutions such as theatres, cinemas and galleries, which require sound professionals who have not only a technical education, but also knowledge of the theoretical and historical context of sound art.

Deadline for submitting applications: January 1 - April 30

Who the programme is intended for: The programme is intended for graduates of any Bachelor’s degree programme.

Subject matter of the entrance examination: The entrance examination takes the form of an oral interview and consists of two parts:

• 1. Examination of professional and artistic prerequisites

The oral examination of professional prerequisites respects the future professional employment of graduates in cultural and public institutions, where creative work with sound and the design of sound situations is required. The question areas are based on the following topic areas:

• technical prerequisites for sound production,
• production prerequisites for sound production,
• production and programming of sound,
• theory, aesthetics, and history of sound production.
• 2. Creative project and motivation to study

The applicant submits a detailed proposal of their own creative project (max. 2 standard pages), which reflects their motivation and shows the direction of their studies. The submitted project proposal is an important indicator of the applicant’s motivation to study and an important criterion for evaluating their theoretical and technological knowledge and creative abilities. The proposal must contain the applicant’s idea of the form and focus of sound design as a modern interdisciplinary field as well as their own study objective, i.e. what projects they would like to specialize in during their studies. Samples of the applicant’s own creative work with a more detailed author’s commentary are welcome. The motivation project must be uploaded into the e-application (rubric “Documents”) by 1 June. Applicants are required to include their full name and application number on the motivation project.

Waiver of the entrance examination: Graduates of Bachelor’s and follow-up Master’s degree programmes in Theory of Interactive Media, Combined Art Studies, Musicology, and Theory and Practice of Early Music will be exempted from the examination of professional prerequisites and the procedure will take the form of a defence of the submitted creative project and discussion of motivation. Applicants can ask for a waiver of the professional part of the entrance examination via the e-application form, section "Application for waiver of the entrance examination".

Website: Department of Musicology.

General information on the course of the admission procedure to the follow-up Master’s degree programmes at FA MU can be found here. Documents for the current admission procedure are kept in Materials for Applicants.

Criteria for evaluation

A maximum of 100 points can be obtained in the admission procedure. A minimum of 50 points is required for admission.

A maximum of 40 points can be gained for the oral examination of professional and artistic prerequisites and a maximum of 60 points for the motivation project and its defence.

Recommended literature

BOURRIAUD, Nicolas. Postprodukce. Praha: tranzit.cz, 2004.

COX, Christoph – WARNER, Daniel, eds. Audiokultúra. Texty o modernej hudbe. Bratislava: Hudobné centrum, 2013.

FLAŠAR, Martin. Elektroakustická hudba. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2015.

KURFÜRST, Pavel. Základy hudební akustiky. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2000.

NYMAN, Michael. Experimentálna hudba: Cage a iní. Bratislava: Hudobné centrum, 2006.

SCHAFER, R. Murray. Nová zvuková krajina. Příručka moderního učitele hudby. Praha: Nadace Agosto Foundation, 2020.

SERRES, Michel. Palečka. Esej o digitální revoluci. Praha: Karolinum, 2019.

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Minimum score and numbers of accepted applicants in past years

Doctoral studies in Musicology at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University.

A new doctoral studies programme Digital Culture and Creative Industries is being prepared for accreditation under Call No. 02_16_018 Development of Research-oriented Study Programmes in Priority Axis 2 of OP VVV (Operational Programme Research, Development and Education).

Graduates may choose from any other doctoral study programmes where they meet the requirements for acceptance.