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 C1 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 Communication 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:
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 to a cloud storage solution must be provided (information on this can be found on our website for the digital preliminary round)), where the portfolio can be found online as a PDF. The PDF file should ideally be smaller than 25 MB and must not exceed a size of 100 MB.
_Portfolio with own works
_At least 20 independently created artistic and creative works
_Graphic, photographic, typographic, graphic, spatial, interactive and time-based work examples are possible. The works should reflect the applicant's working methods, interests, imagination and visualisation skills as well as their ability to perceive things independently.
_Time-based work (video, film, animation) will be included in the PDF as a link to a corresponding video platform. For work samples that exceed a length of 2 minutes, the commission must be given an excerpt of 2 minutes (example: start at 00:30 | stop at 02:30 min).
_A declaration that the submitted works have been created autonomously
_Letter of Intent
_A homework. Topic 2025:"News from Nowhere"
News can reach us as images, text or code. They are the basic element of communication. Create an artistic and creative work on the topic that shows conclusions about your thoughts, your creative path and your engagement with media and techniques. It can be a complex individual work or a series. Techniques and media are optional.
Aptitude test
The aptitude test procedure for the Bachelor's degree programme in Communication Design is a two-stage process. It consists of the pre-selection and an interview with the committee.
The pre-selection is made on the basis of the portfolio, the letter of intent and the homework assignment. Selected applicants are invited to a 15-minute interview on site with the examination committee. The 15-minute interviews serve to better assess the creative work, the ability to reflect, the rhetorical ability to express oneself and the study and subject-specific interest. The interviews also offer applicants the opportunity to gain a first impression of the teaching staff of the degree programme and Fokwang University of the Arts.
Information on the aptitude test process can also be found in the appendix to the examination regulation:
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
sonja.zenker(at)folkwang-uni.de
Examination regulations & module catalogues (in German only)
From winter semester 2025/26
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
From winter semester 2019/20
Module catalogue for examination regulation Nr. 353
From winter semester 2018/19
Module catalogue for examination regulation Nr. 341
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
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
From winter semester 2012/13
Nr. 134 | Examination regulations for the Bachelor study courses Photography, Industrial Design and Communication Design 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.