Application procedure Diploma 1 + 2

The Media and Fine Art diploma course is offered as a 9-semester undergraduate course (diploma I) and a 4-semester postgraduate course (diploma II).

All applicants take part in an application procedure, in which samples of artistic/design work are submitted (e.g. videos/films, photographs, computer graphics/animation, drawings, texts, compositions, music videos). The application period is from mid October to January/February. Courses always begin in the winter semester.

Applicants to the 9-semester course (1) are asked to interpret a given theme in artistic and written work. The Abitur (or an equivalent school-leaving certificate) is prerequisite. Applicants without a relevant school-leaving certificate can be accepted if the commission takes the view, based on the submitted documents, that they are especially suitable to take on study at the KHM.

A project proposal is to be prepared for application to the 4-semester course (2). The formal admission prerequisite is a higher-education degree in a relevant area of study. This could include courses in art/design as well as theatre, film and television theory, literature, art and cultural sciences as well as IT and engineering sciences. Admission requirements for applicants who have no higher-education degree is the general higher-education entrance qualification and at least two years of work experience in an artistic/design field.

As part of the application to the four-semester postgraduate course (Diplom 2), prospective students are required to produce an outline for a potential project. For further information on the project outline please read the current application form, published at the beginning of each application period.

Your application should document sound knowledge in the intended area of study and make clear your personal developmental targets in terms of studying at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. The course calls for the willingness and ability of students to realize individual projects.

If you have the impression you are lacking important foundations in artistic work that are required for entry onto the Diplom 2 course, you may consider applying for the nine-semester course (Diplom 1), even if you have already completed an undergraduate course. The decisive selection criterion for both the 9- and the 4-semester course is artistic aptitude.
Non German-speaking applicants must be able to prove a good knowledge of the German language (Goethe-Institut level B2), as most teaching at the KHM will be carried out in German. 

Degree

Diploma 1 +2 / Media and Fine Art. The Academy of Media Art Cologne’s diploma is internationally comparable with a MFA (Master of Fine Art).  

Semester fees

The semester fees for German and international students are currently 330 Euro per semester (for social security contributions, public transport semester ticket etc.)