Music, Communication and Technology

Do you have a passion for music and would like to learn more about cutting-edge technologies in unique settings?

This Master’s programme will give you the personal skills and technical tools required to work out solutions to contemporary societal challenges in international and interdisciplinary teams.

Music has the ability to move people, physically and emotionally, and music technologies are unique in their focus on providing high-quality aesthetic experiences. Speaking with others through cables is not the same as meeting face to face, and playing music through screens and speakers is different from being in a real club setting. In the Music, Communication and Technology (MCT) Master`s programme you will explore the possibilities (and limitations) of existing audiovisual communication, and will learn to develop new technologies, with a musical touch.

This is a different Master’s programme. Music is at the core, but the scope is larger. You will be educated as a technological humanist, with technical, reflective and aesthetic skills. We believe that the solutions to tomorrow’s societal challenges need to be based on intimate links between technological competence, musical sensibility, humanistic reflection, and a creative sense.

Collaboration in our global world must be sustainable. In order to reduce the environmental footprint of travel, we must manage with fewer physical meetings, but without compromising the richness of communication between people. This is a fundamental motivation for the MCT master’s programme.

A core feature of the MCT programme is the MCT Portal, a unique audiovisual infrastructure that allows for discussions, socialising and playing music with people in other locations around the world. As a student, you will get hands-on experience with these state-of-the-art facilities, including motion capture systems, music production studios, and loudspeaker arrays. The theoretical components include music cognition, machine learning, and human-computer interaction.

Together with your fellow students, you will work on real-world problems, in collaboration with institutions in the public or private sector. The aim is to use the knowledge and experience acquired to find solutions to the issue at hand, often in a totally different area than you would have imagined. You will develop skills in interdisciplinary problem-solving and international teamwork, something that is in high demand amongst employers.

The final Master`s project will be supervised by researchers connected to the programme. You may choose to do your project in close collaboration with industry or with one of the research groups at UiO. The Master`s project is equivalent to one semester full-time study (30 ECTS).

The University of Oslo welcomes applications from students who are interested in studying in an international and innovative environment. We accept students with many different types of Bachelor’s degrees, from the arts and humanities, social and natural sciences, as well as engineering and computer sciences. The most important is that you are musically inclined, technology-savvy, and interested in changing the world!

Please explore these web pages for information on the programme’s structure, the courses offered and learning outcomes, and how to apply. Contact us if you have any questions.