Information on your application for the Master's program in Scenographic Design and Communication of the Department of Design at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts for Summersemester 2025.
The newly conceived three-semester master's degree program in Scenographic Design and Communication (bilingual) offered by the Department of Design at the University of Applied Sciences Dortmund is a graduate studies program for certified designers, architects, interior designers, and similarly trained creative people, as well as for media, cultural and humanities scholars who wish to pursue a professional career in the field of scenography.
For graduates of six-semester bachelor’s degree programs, a one-semester degree qualifying program is offered.
Study requirements
Degree requirements
A. A diploma or bachelor's degree in design, architecture/interior design, urban planning/spatial planning, or a comparable degree at a university with curricular components of a space-oriented design degree.
B. Or an academic diploma or bachelor's degree in art, media, cultural studies, humanities or economics context, in a degree program with designated curricular components that relate to the scenographic design fields in practice or academic analysis.
Language
The bilingual Scenographic Design and Communication program is offered alternatively with a "predominantly German-language focus" and a "predominantly English-language focus."
The applicants for the program have to opt for a prevailing program language by the time they apply and prove they have the following language skills with regard to their favoured prevailing program language:
a) German as the prevailing program language
For the study program with German as the prevailing program language, proof of sufficient German skills has to be provided. The proof for applicants to the program who did not obtain their university entrance qualification or their graduate degree at a German-speaking institution, is provided e.g. by the “DSH-2” language examination (taken at an institution of higher education, not at a private language institute), the test “German as a Foreign Language” (“Deutsch als Fremdsprache”, TestDaF) with at least 16 points in all four parts of the examination (even if level 3 is included as an individual result) or the examination “telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule”
b) English as the prevailing program language
For the study program with English as the prevailing program language, proof of sufficient English skills has to be provided by the applicants. In exceptional cases, the proof can be provided by an equivalent certificate or document proving the corresponding minimum re-quirements (in accordance with C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – CEFR). The respective committee will decide whether there is equivalence.
Artistic/ Creative aptitude test
Proof of artistic and creative aptitude is required for enrollment in the Master’s program. In an assessment procedure, the applicants prove that they have the artistic-creative aptitude for the course of study, which allows the achievement of the study goals to be expected. The determination of the course-related aptitude is carried out twice a year in a two-stage procedure.
Registration and upload of portfolio
Aptitude Examination
Stage 1
Registration & upload of application and portfolio
By 01/19/2025, you must register and upload the following documents to our web portal for the aptitude test.
1. online application form
2. BA or diploma transcript (or grade transcript of the final semester or penultimate semester as a scan, if the degree is not yet available)
3. short biography/ CV (PDF)
4. portfolio or scientific compendium (PDF)
a)For applicants from design subjects: a portfolio with at least three independent work samples (presentations with commentary and description) from at least one of these contextes:
• scenographic design (context stage/theater, museum/exhibition, trade show/event, set design/media production, or virtual spaces).
• object-, space- and architecture-related design
• temporary communication design in the context of corporate communication/campaigns or
• advertising/brand staging
• temporary media design (context performance/installation)
b) For applicants* from scientific subjects:
a compendium of scientific research or other academic output that demonstrates an engagement with scenographic issues.
5. list of submitted documents to be accompanied by a written statement that the applicant has carried out the work independently.
The portfolio work samples or demonstrated scholarly research or academic results of applicants who meet the degree requirements (A1a or A1b) will be evaluated by an elected committee according to the following aspects:
a) conceptual competence,,
b) artistic/ design creativity,
c) design solution competence and
d) organizational and moderating competence or scientific consistency.
According to the aspects mentioned in paragraph 1, the commission decides on admission to the aptitude procedure's second level. Notification of admission to level 2 of the aptitude examination will be sent by mail on 01/21/2025 (please be sure to check your mail inbox and spam folder regularly).
Applicants who are not admitted to the second level of the aptitude examination will be notified of their withdrawal from the procedure on time.
Level 2
Colloquium
Level 2 of the aptitude procedure will take place on 01/24/2024 all day online via Webex. It serves to review and deepen the impressions gained so far. During the colloquium, applicants are expected to give a maximum of a five-minute description of a possible scenographic master's project.
Questions about the portfolio can also be part of the colloquium.
Result of the aptitude test level 2
1. confirmation of aptitude under the above aspects will be awarded at an overall average grade of 4.0 or better.
2. the submissions will be deleted after the deadline of one month in compliance with our data protection regulations.
Enrollment
Here are the deadline for each portal for the summer semester 2025:
Unrestricted master studies > 01.12.2024 – 15.01.2025 > Studienportal Dortmund (https://portal.fh-dortmund.de)
Non-EU unrestricted master studies > 01.12.2024 - 15.01.2025 > uni-assist (https://www.uni-assist.de)
If the following applies:
- Study requirements are fulfilled.
- Application in the study portal of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences has been made; an application has been submitted online by 01/15/ or 07/15
- Application in the study portal of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences (EU-Registration) or with uni-assist (Non-EU-Application) has been done, and the application has been received until 01/15. (for the summer semester) or 07/15. (for the winter semester) online
- The aptitude test has been passed successfully
- Language certificates have been provided
Then we are looking forward to your enrollment and the start of your studies in the Master Scenographic Design and Communication!
Study Advisory
If you have any questions regarding your application, please contact the Office of Student Affairs (https://www.fh-dortmund.de/service-einheiten/studienbuero.php).
For questions regarding the aptitude procedure, please contact Prof. Martin Middelhauve (chairman of the aptitude committee)
Important information about application and enrollment can be found here: https://www.fh-dortmund.de/studieren/bewerben-einschreiben/index.php