Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Bachelor admission

Admission is once a year for the winter semester. Every applicant must pass a programme-specific aptitude procedure (Feststellungsverfahren) with portfolio or work samples, and may apply to several programmes in parallel, but is admitted to only one. Applications are submitted online through the university's own application portal; paper applications are not considered. Applicants with a foreign school-leaving certificate for Digitale Medienkultur, Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Tonmeister*in für audiovisuelle Medien and Szenografie must first have their certificate assessed by uni-assist (preliminary review documentation, VPD), which is uploaded to the portal; uni-assist registration alone is not an application. Applicants who completed a suitable Studienkolleg in Germany do not need uni-assist (Schwerpunktkurs T is expected for Tonmeister*in). Digitale Medienkultur is admission-restricted (NC) and runs through hochschulstart.de plus an aptitude test and interview. Applicants from India, China and Vietnam must provide an APS certificate of authenticity from the Academic Evaluation Centre. Vocationally qualified applicants without a school-leaving certificate can apply under section 9 BbgHG; applicants without a first degree can take an entrance examination (Eingangsprüfung).

Application periods for winter semester 2027/28

• Schauspiel (BA): 1 to 30 November 2026
• Animation, Cinematography, Drehbuch/Dramaturgie (BA and MA), Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Montage, Regie, Szenografie, Tonmeister*in, Visual Effects & Virtual Productions (BA): 1 to 28 January 2027
• Filmmusik (MA): 1 to 31 March 2027
• Animationsregie, Cinematography, Creative Technologies, Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Medienwissenschaft, Montage, Regie, Szenografie, Tonmeister*in (MA): 12 April to 18 May 2027
• Filmkulturerbe (MA): 1 to 31 May 2027
• Digitale Medienkultur (BA): 15 June to 15 July 2027

The deadlines are exclusion deadlines. The application fee is EUR 25 per application, due within the application period (not for Digitale Medienkultur).

German-language requirements

Applicants with a foreign qualification who do not hold German citizenship must prove German. For the Bachelor programmes Animation, Cinematography, Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Montage, Regie, Schauspiel, Szenografie, Tonmeister*in and Visual Effects & Virtual Productions, and for the Master programmes Animationsregie, Cinematography, Creative Technologies, Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Filmmusik, Montage, Regie, Szenografie and Tonmeister*in, the minimum is DSH-1, TestDaF TDN 3 in each of the four parts, Goethe-Zertifikat B2, telc Deutsch B2, ÖSD B2, or the Feststellungsprüfung of a German Studienkolleg, DSD II or the Munich SDI Deutsche Sprachprüfung II. For Digitale Medienkultur and Drehbuch/Dramaturgie (BA), and for Drehbuch/Dramaturgie, Filmkulturerbe and Medienwissenschaft (MA), the minimum is DSH-2, TestDaF TDN 4 in each part, Goethe-Zertifikat C1, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule or ÖSD C1. A certificate at the required level must be uploaded by the deadline; applicants may apply with at least B1 and submit the required level before study begins. The Master Creative Technologies is taught predominantly in English.

Master admission

Master applicants need a first degree in a relevant field and must demonstrate the programme-specific artistic, technological or scholarly aptitude through the application documents and work samples, followed by an aptitude examination. Applicants with a first degree from outside Germany must have it assessed by uni-assist for all Master programmes. Regie (MA) is aimed at applicants with a completed degree in a film field and film work showing an individual artistic voice.

Doctoral admission

The scientific doctorate (Dr. phil.) is offered in media studies and the scientific-artistic doctorate (Dr. phil. in art) in Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Drehbuch/Dramaturgie and Filmkulturerbe. Requirements are a relevant Master degree, written supervisor commitments and a supervision agreement, a proposal, CV and documentation of work. The dissertation may be written in German or English. Application dates are 15 January and 15 June. A Meisterschüler study of four semesters is possible in Animation, Cinematography, Drehbuch/Dramaturgie, Filmmusik, Regie, Montage and Szenografie.

Visa and residence

Students from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland generally need a visa and must convert it into a residence permit after arrival; applicants without admission can apply for a study applicant visa. Proof of health insurance is required for enrolment.

• Main building (Häuser 1 to 6), Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 11, 14482 Potsdam: five houses linked by covered atria with 10,285 sq m of usable space, open around the clock for study and production; studios, edit suites, sound studios, cinemas, workshops, rehearsal stages and the Techniklager. Haus 6 (opened 2021) holds offices, seminar rooms and specialist rooms for Sound, Filmmusik, Montage, Schauspiel, Animation and Szenografie, plus a canteen with 100 seats.
• Haus 7, Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 12-12a: opened 2022; home to the Filmmuseum Potsdam collections, the Erich Pommer Institut for professional training, and further offices and seminar rooms of the university.

Facilities include two film studios (150 and 300 sq m) with lighting grids, 15 edit suites, three sound recording studios, cinema and small mixing rooms (Dolby Atmos), two colour-grading suites and a 4K grading cinema, motion capture and motion control systems, a 3D/VFX computer lab with render cluster, set-building workshops, a costume store, rehearsal stages and a theatre hall, and several cinemas with up to 222 seats (2026). The University Library holds about 107,000 volumes and around 70 current film and media journals. Studierendenwerk West:Brandenburg runs halls of residence across Potsdam; a student village is located at Griebnitzsee.