M.A. - programme structure

Major project

1. Project modules: Coreproject Sculpture/Gemstone/Jewellery

Initial project proposals must be submitted and approved of during the course of the qualifying examinations. The admitted projects are supervised mutually by the professors from the sculpture, gemstone design and jewellery design courses, also by way of team-teaching. Depending on the project progress, other lecturers can be included. The possibility of consulting external professionals must be decided by the examination board. The project must be designed and implemented following the features of a project based course by way of an artistic concept with reference to the design practice. It connects the entire course of studies and at the same time is the subject of the Master’s Thesis.
Each project should have the goal to develop itself into a practice oriented interlocking design with cognitive, emotional and social competences. It should use the practice oriented theories and implement the approaches and methods developed during the theory modules. The goal is to achieve a multidimensional content of the projects while fusing together the fields of theory and practice.
The important project features regarding development, design and formulation process are:

• Self-organisation and personal responsibility
• Social relevance
• Product oriented, limited resources
• Ability to integrate one’s own work into a contemporary context
• Complex structure
• Methodical reflection
• Target-oriented project planning
• Ability to include as many sensory factors as possible
• Time limitation

2. Module group Process and Product
This module group integrates the project modules into a technical, product-specific, business- and procedural-operational context. In this module renowned professionals are involved in master classes and the possibilities of the new gemstone competence centre, about to be founded, are integrated into the course of studies.

Theory and context

Theory modules and context modules

The contextual scientific foundation of the MA programme GJD is based on three pillars:

• Analysis
• Implementation
• Mediation

While the main focus of the module groups Materials Science and Opinion & Discourse lies on analysis, in the field of Design Management the aim is to acquire application-oriented profiles. The course Communication & Presentation has the goal to teach communication skills. Altogether, however, it is a matter of interaction between methods and content, referring to the major field of study: gemstone and jewellery design.

1. Module group Materials Science

For better knowledge in the field of gemstones, the Department GJD cooperates with the Gemstone Research division from the Mineralogy teaching unit of the Department of Geoscience at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and the German Gemmological Association in Idar-Oberstein. The Educational Training Centre at the German Gemmological Association has been providing this specialized knowledge of gemstones, both in theory and practice, since it was founded in 1932. In particular, the laboratories, with their modern state of the art equipment, and the extensive gemstone collection, to which the students have access during class, make it Europe's leading educational and research institute for gemstones.

In 2008, the foundation of a new competence centre for material design and gemstone technology is planned. It offers relevant intermediation between research and economy in connection with a professional focus on the gemstone as material and offers a broad view for interdisciplinary technological developments.

2. Module group Design Management

The scientific potential as described in the module group Design Management, prove to work in complex design tasks, as structure forming elements and basic principles at the same time. To be considered is the foundation of creative ideas reflecting on the present state of affairs and it’s creative order, with the goal to grow and expand and to create new and original ideas. Included are planning, organisation, controlling and evaluation of all factors which enable a project-oriented creative action, including procurement and incorporation.

3. Module group Opinion & Discourse

In art theory, the character of contemporary art is examined theoretically or scientifically and brought into a professional context. In this course, the students are confronted with such questions as: how to define art, which aesthetic strategies they know and how to express these, about authorship, what ideas stand behind their object of art and what the art work actually is. Regarding the project proposals, various iconographic and iconoclastic aspects of art, its place of exhibition and the historical and social context in which it is located and was created, are examined. The module will point out connections to and overlapping of the topics aesthetics, art criticism, philosophy and cultural sciences.

4. Module group Communication & Presentation

This module group reflects upon presentation and its significance to the own piece of work, what it consists of and which perspectives it has to move into a creative, scientific, economic and social environment. The aim of this module is the ability to present, exhibit and communicate one’s complete work, including presentation techniques and rhetorical knowledge.

Master’s thesis

The MA course GJD covers four semesters including a project and at the same time four theoretical module groups. The fourth semester is reserved for the thesis and two accompanying MA modules. Before starting with the thesis the students must submit a report which contains the past achievements as well as the thesis schedule. This preparation is part of the module Master seminar.

1. Thesis

The practical part of the thesis is the design aspect of the project proposal in the field of gemstone and jewellery design. A complex, innovative, independent and relevant piece of work with a high creative level is expected, following the MA course standards of the GJD department. In addition, a theoretical part has to be written following scientific standards containing at least 30 pages. It can be written in accordance to the practical part, or can be a paper which takes up a corresponding dialog between both parts. The text must contain the usual annotations and bibliography.

2. Colloquium

The colloquium is an oral test regarding the thesis and consists of a dialog between the student and the supervisor. The candidate presents and recapitulates his/her results and defends  them.

3. Presentation

Directly following the master’s thesis the presentation is the last study requirement. Here the students have to plan a public exhibition of their practical part, including the presentation of the theoretical part. This is organised within the semester– or year group. This is the public equivalent to the colloquium and is to be seen as the connection to entering the professional job market.