Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main

Bachelor admission

Both departments admit by artistic or design aptitude assessed through a portfolio and an entrance examination and interview, not by Numerus clausus. Applicants with a Hochschulzugangsberechtigung (Abitur or Fachabitur, which are treated as equivalent) demonstrate aptitude through the portfolio. Applicants without a general higher education entrance qualification can be admitted on the basis of outstanding artistic or design talent. There is no fixed number of study places. The Fachbereich Kunst requires a portfolio of at least 30 works and sketches; the Fachbereich Design requires a landscape-format portfolio of at least 20 pages (maximum 20 MB) or, for applicants with a general higher education entrance qualification, a design aptitude task requested from the department. Design applicants also need proof of at least six weeks of craft-technical or digital-technical work experience, which can be submitted by the start of the second semester. Further documents: motivation letter (maximum one A4 page), detailed CV, certificate of the entrance qualification or last school-leaving certificate, and language certificates.

Application route and deadlines

Applications are made directly to the HfG through its online application links, not through uni-assist. The portfolio is submitted online between 1 and 15 April for admission in the following winter semester (winter semester 2027/28: 1 to 15 April 2027); admission is for the winter semester only. Applicants are notified about three weeks after the deadline whether they are invited to the entrance examination or interview, which take place in spring and early summer. The aptitude result remains valid in the year of the procedure and the year after.

International applicants and Studienkolleg

Applicants without a German Abitur have their highest school qualification assessed for equivalence during the application. Depending on the qualification, applicants who pass the entrance examination may have to attend the Studienkolleg in Frankfurt (usually the G-Kurs), to which the HfG registers them. Certificates must be submitted as certified copies, officially translated into German or English. Documents required in German or English: portfolio (PDF under 5 MB), motivation letter, CV, copy of identity card or passport, copy of the entrance qualification, German language certificate and, for applicants from China, Mongolia and Vietnam, the APS certificate (applicants with qualifications from China, Vietnam and India are assessed by the academic evaluation centre). Confirmation of whether an applicant is invited to the entrance examination, which can be used for visa planning, is sent within three weeks after the deadline.

Language requirements

Teaching is generally in German; theory courses are taught in German without exception, and some courses may be taught partly in English by arrangement. Applicants must prove German at level B2 by the end of the application period and level C1 by 15 September: DSH-2, TestDaF-4, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule or Goethe-Zertifikat C1. Without B2 proof by the deadline an applicant cannot proceed in the admission procedure, and without C1 by 15 September the studies cannot be started. For the Master, applicants with German at B2 may instead add English at level C1 (TOEFL or IELTS not older than two years, or Cambridge Certificate C1); an English-language degree may be accepted as equivalent. The motivation letter may be written in German or English.

Master admission

Applicants need proof of artistic or design aptitude (outstanding aptitude where applicable) and a German or foreign Bachelor or Diplom degree in art or design, or an equivalent degree, which should as a rule comprise at least 210 credit points. Applications with 180 credit points or a degree from another field are possible, and the studies may then be extended. In justified exceptions, admission is possible on the basis of about three years of relevant professional experience instead of a degree, but a Hochschulzugangsberechtigung is required in every case. Submission: portfolio (Art: at least 30 elements and documentations; Design: landscape format, at least 20 pages), motivation letter (Design: exposé of 250 to 500 words describing the planned Master topic), certificate of the previous degree or transcript of records, CV, any employer references and language certificates. The MFA variant with a larger theory component requires basic knowledge of theoretical engagement with art, design and culture, shown by a first degree in the humanities or corresponding theory content; the variant is recommended for applicants aiming at a doctorate.

Doctoral admission

The HfG awards the doctorate Dr. phil. in Kunst- und Medienwissenschaften and in Designwissenschaft. Admission is as a rule with a Diplom, Magister Artium, Master of Arts or Staatsexamen in a scientific or artistic-design programme from a university or art academy, and candidates present their project to the Promotionsausschuss. Projects under the general doctoral regulations (A-PO) consist of two thirds scientific work and one third artistic-design project; purely scientific projects follow the Theoriepromotionsordnung (T-PO). Supervision is by two professors from the theory areas and one from the artistic-design areas. A supervision commitment is not needed before applying. Applications are possible in mid-May and mid-November. German at A2 (listening comprehension) is required; applicants whose degree was not in German or English need a German or English certificate at C1.

• Main buildings, Schlossstraße 31, Offenbach am Main: studios and workshops of the Fachbereiche Kunst and Design, lecture rooms, the Aula, and the Bibliothek/Mediathek on the third floor with individual and group workplaces, three catalogue and internet research stations, a scanner and a copier.
• Studieninformationszentrum, Schlossgrabengasse 1, Offenbach: student secretariat, study advice and the Internationales Büro. Portfolio advice for Art takes place partly in the left chapel of the Isenburger Schloss.
• Kubus, Berliner Straße 75, 3rd floor, Offenbach: the teaching areas Integrierendes Design and Urban Design, which together form the Offenbach Institut für Mobilitätsdesign, and the doctoral office.
• Höchster Porzellan Manufaktur, Palleskestraße 32, Frankfurt am Main: porcelain manufactory acquired by the Land Hessen in early 2023 and run by the HfG; used for interdisciplinary teaching and research, including ceramics, an archive of historic moulds and designs, a ceramics art lab and a residency programme.
• F9 exhibition space: exhibition venue for students and graduates of the HfG and the Städelschule.
• Student residences: ostpol° (Hermann-Steinhäuser-Straße 43-47, 29 apartments of about 20 square metres with kitchenette and shower room), Arthur-Zitscher-Straße 6 (seven flats of three rooms, shared bathroom and kitchen) and the HfG-Haus (Gustav-Adolf-Straße 2, three floors of seven rooms each).
• Workshops: Art includes AudioLab, VideoLab, Soundlab, Siebdruck, Freie Druckgrafik, Buchbindung, Fototechnik and Schneiderei; Design includes workshops for metal and wood, CNC technologies, generative processes, electronics/digital lab, textile and model making.