Admission requirements
- schoolleaving qualification entitling them to study at a university
- or relevant subjectlinked university entrance qualification
- completed vocational training
The academy is entitled to make exceptions to these requirements and admit applicants with exceptional artistic talent, which must be demonstrated in the aptitude test.
Application
Application for a place at the academy comprises several components, whereby the applicant's portfolio of works constitutes the basis for pre-selection by the admissions committee. The portfolio should reflect the applicant's interests and an intensive study of content and subjects of the applicant’s choice.
The application will be made via the online application portal.
Due to the special situation, applications for the winter semester 2023/24 are made exclusively in digital form. The digitized works can be submitted from March 15 to April 14, 2023, 12:00 noon.
Please note the information on the application portal.
For orientation please note the Information for the Information for student applicants Diploma Visual Arts and Art Education and the Information for the digital application 2023/2024
1 | Short letter of application specifying desired area of study.
2 | Curriculum vitae [with full details of school education and vocational pretraining].
3 | Passport photo
4 | Certificates and pretraining references [cf. Admission Requirements]. Foreign academic certificates must be evaluated separately and should be submitted along with the „Antrag auf Bewertung von Bildungsnachweisen“ (=application for evaluating foreign academic certificates) to the Academy as soon as possible.
5 | Digitised portfolio with at least 20 artistic works. Time-based digital works can be uploaded via an upload function in the upload portal, the link to be entered in the application portal.
6 | Personally signed declaration that the applicant completed the submitted works unaided. ( A declaration form is available here .)
7 | Proof of any internships (if already completed)
8 | For foreign applicants, any proofs of language proficiency - B2 level (if already acquired)
9 | The complete and signed registration form.
You can upload your documents to the application portal until 12 noon on 14 April 2023.
We regret that incomplete applications will not be considered.
If the end of the application period (14 April) falls on a weekend, the application documents must be uploaded on the preceding Friday. Applicants may only apply for one area of study.
Applicants from nonGerman speaking countries must provide proof of sufficient German language skills. The minimum requirement is Level B2 according to CEFR. Applicants who have obtained the general or subjectrelated university entrance qualification outside the scope of the German Basic Law (Constitution) i.e. abroad, must before applying, have submitted all of their certificates (which have to be recognized) along with the „Antrag auf Bewertung von Bildungsnachweisen“ (=application for evaluating foreign academic certificates) to the Academy as soon as possible so that the recognition can be granted before 15th of May. Applicants from China, Vietnam and Mongolia should always submit the APS Certificate. Further details are available from the Secretary’s Office.
Incomplete applications are not eligible for consideration. The academy is excluded from liability for loss or damage of submitted application documents.
Aptitude test
Applicants regarded as suitable on account of the works they have submitted (portfolio) shall be admitted to the aptitude test (approx. mid July). It consists of a practical and oral examination.
The practical examination consists of an exercise (4-8 hours, composition of candidate’s choice or subject-related exercise in fine art/goldsmithing and silversmithing and graphic design/visual communication).
The oral examination (approx. 10 minutes) is conducted after the practical examination with the candidate individually and consists of an interview in which questions on art are posed.
The examination results are deliberated by the committee. The applicant admitted to the test is notified of the dates for the practical and oral examination in the notification of admission which is sent to them after pre-selection. The aptitude test can only be repeated once for the same area of study.
Pre-study practical
The pre-study practical is a period of practical work lasting at least eight weeks or an apprenticeship certification exam in a relevant line of occupation which must be completed before commencement of study.
International applicants
Applicants from countries in which German is not spoken must submit proof of sufficient fluency in German. The minimum requirement is level B2 according to CEFR. Applicants whose school-leaving qualification entitling them to study at a university was issued outside the territory covered by the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, i.e. in a different country, should submit the required credential and certificates to the academy at the earliest opportunity to permit recognition before 15 May (application date). The previous school education abroad must be presented in detail in the curriculum vitae. Applicants from China and Vietnam should always upload the APS certificate. The secretariat can provide further information.
