Master degree
Lighting Design, Master of Science (MSc)
Reasons you should choose this programme
Copenhagen
2-year educationEnglish
Master degree
Lighting Design, Master of Science (MSc)
Reasons you should choose this programme
Copenhagen
2-year educationEnglish
Lighting technology has undergone a revolution, including intelligent and interactive control of light in rooms. Moreover, new lighting technologies and use of interactive screens are becoming increasingly visible in the public space.
Therefore, professional and highly educated lighting designers are sought after. Companies are looking for people who understand lighting design, are able to work with existing technologies and to develop new and smart solutions.
Lighting Design is an internationally acclaimed master's programme at Aalborg University Copenhagen. It is a cross-disciplinary and international programme based in a special Danish and Nordic tradition for light perception.
Focus is thus on how the technical qualities of light and materials are applied in order to promote comfort and aesthetics.
MSc in Lighting Design at Aalborg University gives you a future-proof education with an attractive international profile. All teaching is in English.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, where we share interesting stories and knowledge about lighting design. You can also download our brochure.
I have always been fascinated with the way light can be used creatively to affect and even change human behaviour and provide artistic and spatial experiences.
Academic content
As a master's student in Lighting Design, you will be working with both daylight and artificial lighting in the intersection between three scientific fields; media technology, engineering and architecture.
The purpose of the programme is for graduates to have an academic-technological as well as process-related approach to lighting design, and not least, a particular sense in designing with light in virtual and physical spaces.
During the programme, you will be working with the interplay between the basic physical elements of light, lighting technologies, digital media, context, human factors and design methods.
On the 1st and 2nd semester, you will have courses in the three basic fields; engineering, architecture and media technology.
The 3rd semester can either be a specialisation semester, where you choose courses according to the profile you want, or you can carry out a project in collaboration with a company or a stay abroad at another university.
On the 4th semester, you will do your master’s thesis.
For further information, please see the curriculum for Lighting Design.
Compulsory for all non-aau bachelors
All bachelors enrolled in the programme who have not obtained their bachelor's degree from Aalborg University must take part in a course on problem based learning (PBL) as part of the 1st semester project. In case non-AAU bachelors get credit transfer for the 1st semester, they will be asked to take part in a course ensuring that they are trained in working according to the PBL-model. Read more about PBL here.
Semester descriptions
At Lighting Design, we work cross-disciplinarily, spanning several areas - architecture, light, and media technology - which is very interesting, rewarding, and instructive.
Internship
On the third semester of the master's programme in Lighting Design, you have the opportunity to carry out a project in collaboration with an external partner either in Denmark or abroad. You can collaborate with a company, a public institution or a professional organisation.
Selected companies where Lighting Design students have done collaborations
A stay abroad helps your career
If you want a stay abroad during your education, it may further your job seeking upon graduation. The industry seeks people with international experience, especially within engineering, and therefore, AAU focuses on stays abroad. We want to give you the best start possible when you have finished your studies.
At the master’s level, we give you the opportunity to do an internship (in Denmark or abroad) or spend a semester abroad. We will assist you in finding the best place for you.
AAU co-operates with many universities across the globe, and we have solid contacts and co-operations with industry with regards to both student projects and internships. Our students go to the US, Australia, Spain, Italy, Germany, England, Sweden, France, etc.
More information
Admission and requirements
Job and career
With a master's degree in Lighting Design, you have very good job opportunities. The lighting design industry has for long advertised for a Master’s programme at a high international level, something which is evident from a vast inquiry made by the innovation network, Danish Light, in 2010-2012. The report concludes: “… since there is already a major need of lighting designers, educational programmes should be prepared quickly”.
As a graduate of Lighting Design, you will take part in covering the long-time need for professional lighting designers at consultative engineering companies, designers, architects, developers, media production companies, event companies, etc. Here, lighting designers are needed to create physical and virtual environments in buildings and the outdoors.
In the summer of 2016, the first batch of lighting designers graduated from Aalborg University. Half of them had been offered a job even before graduation, and after only three months, 88 % had a job. Hence, industry's forecast proved correct; there is indeed a great demand for more professionals within the field.
Get help at AAU to start your career in Denmark
AAU Career helps you on your way from student life to job life in Denmark by giving you the tools to examine your options and find out what to do.
While studying at AAU, you can participate in career and job-related events, find help on our website, and book a personal career counselling session to talk about e.g.:
- Finding your way in your career
- Danish working culture
- Application and CV the Danish way
- What you can offer an employer
- How to go about job search in Denmark – both student job, internship and full-time job
Sofie Julsgaard Nielsen
Mathilde Maria Stanborough
Sofie Julsgaard Nielsen
Mathilde Maria Stanborough
You can contact your student counsellors by:
- E-mail: mediatek-studvejlcph@create.aau.dk
- Visit on campus, Frederikskaj 12, ground floor, room 0.65
Opening hours: Mondays, 11.30-12.30 and Wednesdays, 12.00-13.00
As a student at AAU you meet …
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