Design
- Faculty: 4
- Degree: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
- Standard period of study: 6 semesters full-time (part-time study is possible)
- Workload: 180 ECTS Credits
- Language of instruction: German
- Provider: Folkwang University of the Arts
- Programme start: Each winter semester in October
Contact persons:
- Central Student Advisory Service: Annemarie Döpper & Nora Naujoks (E-Mail)
- Office of Student Affairs Fac. 4 (E-Mail)
- Representative for students with disability or chronic illness: Annemarie Döpper (E-Mail)
Admission requirements
_Evidence of qualification for entry (general university entrance certificate). Official database on the equivalence of international educational achievements: http://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html)
_Evidence of artistic aptitude or outstanding artistic talent respectively by passing the aptitude test at the Folkwang University of the Arts.
_Applicants without a general university entrance certificate may also be admitted, provided that they exhibit outstanding artistic talent (see "Rahmeneignungsprüfungsordnung" Nr. 399 §8)
Language requirements
_If you did not obtain your university entrance qualification at a German school, language level B2 is to be proven at the time of enrolment.
_The required levels of language skills at Folkwang University of the Arts are in accordance to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
Costs
_No tuition fees are charged at Folkwang.
_Each semester all students have to pay a social contribution for the services of the Student Union, a student contribution for the work of the AStA (General Student Committee) and the VRR/NRW ticket. A breakdown of the amounts plus information on how to pay is available here.
_Please note: In the study course Product Design you will likely be facing costs for production material.
Inclusion
Folkwang actively supports the call of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to train people with disabilities as artists and therefore particularly welcomes applications for the guest student programme, regular study courses and requests for inclusive cooperation projects. Prospective students should make use of the possibility of a counselling meeting with the Representative for students with disability or chronic illness in advance.
Application documents
Applications must be submitted via the Folkwang Application Portal by the end of the application period on 15 March (for the following winter semester). The portal is open for applications from 15 January to 15 March.
For the application you have to upload the following in the portal:
A) YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS
_Curriculum Vitae in tabular form (desired)
_Passport photograph (optional)
_School-leaving certificate from the last school attended
_If applicable, degree certificate, transcript of records and/or certificate of enrolment from the university(ies) attended to date
_If applicable, certificate of foreign university entrance examination such as APS certificate / American College Test (ACT) / College Scholastic Ability Test / University Entrance Examination Center Test or other international educational achievements that constitute a university entrance qualification for Germany such as completed periods of studies; country-specific information: http://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html
B) LINK TO YOUR PORTFOLIO
_A link must be provided in the application form where the work (portfolio) can be found online:
A digital portfolio of min. 10 original works (one project work may comprise several pages) and a declaration that the submitted works have been created autonomously:
- 50% own ideas
- 25% specifically artistic and topical
- 25% generally artistic
Advice on subjects of study and portfolio
Prospective students have the opportunity to register for a subject and portfolio consultation. They are given the opportunity to discuss their work with a lecturer before applying. It is advisable to have all available work ready without pre-selection. The subject consultation generally takes place from November to February.
Sonja Zenker
Department Studies and International Affairs
Examination office & Office of Student Affairs | FB 4
+49 (0) 201_6505-1410
Format, packaging and indexing of your portfolio
To facilitate the work of the office and Admissions, please observe the following points in your portfolio design:
- Each sample of work must be marked with your name and numbered
- Please pack the samples flat
- Please write the sender’s address legibly on both sides of the portfolio
- Please keep the portfolio size between DIN A3 and DIN A1
- A numbered list of contents must be included with every portfolio
Aptitude test
The procedure takes place in two stages. First, a pre-selection is made on the basis of the submitted portfolio. Applicants who are admitted to the main procedure are invited to an interview with the examination board via video conference.
The invitation for the Bachelor's degree programme in Product Design is accompanied by:
1. a request for a letter of motivation ("Letter of Intent") as well as
2. a homework assignment.
The homework and questionnaire or letter of motivation must be submitted as a PDF document before the interviews of the main procedure. The deadline for this will be communicated with the invitation.
For the Bachelor's degree programme Industrial Design, the main procedure consists of an approx. 20-minute interview with the examination board electronically as a video conference.
Based on the homework, the drawing skills as well as the formal observation skills, the technical-constructive understanding, the formal expression skills and a draft are assessed. Assessment criteria are creativity, constructive and formal understanding, ability to cognitively engage and visualise a process and/or problem.
In the interview, rhetorical expression, social competence and study- and subject-specific interest are tested. The interviews also give the applicant the opportunity to get a first impression of the teachers of the degree programme.
Information on the aptitude test process can also be found in the appendix to the examination regulations:
Examination regulations & module catalogues (in German only)
From winter semester 2024/25
Nr. 464 | Examination regulations for the Bachelor study courses Photography, Communication Design and Product Design from 13.12.2023
From winter semester 2022/23
Module catalogue for examination regulation 423 | Product Design from 27.07.2022
From winter semester 2019/20
From winter semester 2018/19
From winter semester 2015/16
Nr. 233 | Examination regulations for the Bachelor study courses Photography, Industrial Design and Communication Design of 24.06.2018 - expiring
Module catalogue for examination regulation Nr. 233 | ID - expiring
From winter semester 2013/14
Nr. 169 | Examination regulations for the Bachelor study courses Photography, Industrial Design and Communication Design of 16.07.2013 - expiring
Module catalogue for examination regulation Nr. 169 | ID - expiring
From winter semester 2012/13
Nr. 134 | Examination regulations for the Bachelor study courses Fotografie, Industrial Design und Kommunikationsdesign of 19.09.2012 - expiring
Enrolment
Only after you have successfully applied for a study place is your last step in the application process enrolment. Enrolment takes place at the end of September for the start of studies in October and at the end of March for the start of studies in April. Please refer to your letter of admission for the exact period.
Further information on the procedure and documents can be found on the websites on enrolment.