Design
- Faculty: 4
- Degree: Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Standard period of study: 4 semesters (part-time study is possible)
- Workload: 120 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
_A professional qualification first university degree which the Master study course is based on. Official database on the equivalence of international educational achievements: http://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html
_Evidence of programme specific aptitude by passing the aptitude test at the Folkwang University of the Arts.
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 application fee is charged for your application for M.A. Communication Design
_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.
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 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 (as a PDF) can be found online. The PDF file should ideally be smaller than 25 MB and must not exceed a size of 100 MB.
Portfolio (at least 25 of your own works from at least five different projects) with a letter of intent. The portfolio should demonstrate your individual approach, interests and conceptual skills.
_Time-based works (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).
_Declaration that the submitted representative chapter has been prepared independently
Aptitude test
The aptitude test procedure takes place in two stages. It consists of the pre-selection and an interview with the Commission.
The pre-selection is based on the portfolio and the ‘Letter of Intent’. Selected applicants will be invited to an on-site interview with the commission. The topics of the interview are the submitted work samples and the future direction of the study project. The interviews serve to better assess the creative work, conceptual understanding, ability to reflect, rhetorical expression, social skills and study and subject-specific interests. The interviews also offer applicants the opportunity to gain a first impression of the teaching staff of the degree programme and the Folkwang University of the Arts.
Information on the aptitude test process can also be found in the appendix to the examination regulations:
Examination regulations (in German only)
From winter semester 2026/27
From winter semester 2024/25
Nr. 466 | Examination regulations for the study course Communication Design from 13.12.2023
From winter semester 2022/23
Nr. 425 | Examination regulations for the study course Communication Design from 27.07.2022
From winter semester 2018/19
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.