University in Germany
Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
University profile
The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (HGB), also known as the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig, is an autonomous art and design academy founded in 1764 as one of the Saxon art academies. It educates artists and graphic designers in four Diplom programmes: Buchkunst/Grafik-Design, Fotografie, Malerei/Grafik and Medienkunst. Its mission stresses the interweaving of artistic, design and theoretical practice, and a long-established workshop culture that combines classical crafts with digital media.
The main building stands at Wächterstraße 11 in the Leipzig district near the city centre, with an additional site at Trufanowstraße 6 in Gohlis in use since 2007. Teaching is organised in classes (Fachklassen) led by professors, with four classes per programme in the main course. The two-year Grundstudium is shared by all programmes and introduces the workshops; the three-year Hauptstudium follows in a class of the student's choice, and classes are open across programmes so that a degree can be completed in two classes of different programmes.
Alongside the Diplom the HGB offers the Meisterschüler*innenstudium (a four-semester postgraduate programme for artists), the continuing Master programme Kulturen des Kuratorischen, and doctoral studies through the Institut für Theorie, which has exercised the right to award doctorates since 2008. The Akademie für transkulturellen Austausch (AtA), founded in 2016, is a programme study for people with refugee experience in fine art and graphic design, whose participants are regularly enrolled. The Abendakademie runs evening courses in art and design for the public from age 16.
Institutions of the academy include the Institut für Buchkunst, the HGB Galerie, a specialist library with about 75,000 titles, the Archiv, and workshops for printmaking, book arts, photography, audiovisual production, wood, metal, plastic design and 3D/XR. Public presentation is central: the annual Rundgang, exhibitions in the Galerie and publications of the Institut für Buchkunst, whose books have won national and international prizes including the Goldene Letter.
International students are admitted on the same artistic-aptitude basis as German applicants; the HGB has partnerships with more than 50 institutions in over 25 countries, holds an Erasmus charter, and has an international office and a Studentenwerk social adviser for international students. The HGB has no residences of its own; Studentenwerk Leipzig offers places in 42 student housing blocks. The academy is a state institution governed under the Saxon Higher Education Act (SächsHSG), with a Rektorat, Senate and Hochschulrat.
The first degree and the Meisterschüler*innenstudium are free of tuition fees. Students who already hold a university or state or church degree pay a usage fee of 100 EUR per semester if the total study time exceeds the standard period of their earlier study by six semesters; students beyond the 14th subject semester pay a long-term study fee of 500 EUR per semester.
Semester contribution (not tuition): 325.80 EUR per semester (as of winter semester 2026/27), covering Studentenwerk Leipzig contributions and 5 EUR for the student body. It includes services such as the Deutschlandticket, reduced-price canteen meals, counselling, legal advice and job placement. A late payment fee of 25 EUR applies. Re-registration periods are 15 June to 31 July (winter) and 15 January to 28 February (summer).
The HGB takes part in the Deutschlandstipendium, which supports talented and committed students at state-recognised universities with 300 EUR per month, half from private donors (companies, foundations, alumni, individuals) and half from the federal government. It is awarded regardless of income, can be received in addition to BAföG, and is decided on artistic work as well as social commitment and personal achievement, including overcoming hurdles in an educational biography. Current call for winter semester 2026/27; contact [email protected]. Donors include Sparkasse Leipzig, Mitteldeutsche Stiftung Wissenschaft und Bildung and private supporters. Deutschlandstipendium at the HGB
The Stipendien/Wettbewerbe page lists external calls for grants, residencies and competitions from other organisations; enquiries to [email protected]. The Freundeskreis der HGB and Sparkasse Leipzig award a Studienpreis. Scholarships and competitions
The Studentenwerk Leipzig provides free social counselling for international HGB students (in English, French or German) on study financing, residence law and emergencies, at [email protected]. Mobility within Erasmus is supported through the international office ([email protected]). International office
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View scholarships for Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig →Admission requires proof of artistic aptitude and the Abitur or the subject-specific Hochschulreife in design (Fachabitur Gestaltung); the Fachhochschulreife is not sufficient. Applicants who show exceptional artistic aptitude in the aptitude test (Rank 1, besondere künstlerische Eignung) can be admitted without the school-leaving qualification. A preliminary internship is recommended but not required. Applications are made only through the online portal.
Process and deadlines. Registration in the portal opens on 15 December and the deadline for the first semester is 1 February for the following winter semester (the closing date is final and the date of receipt counts). Applicants submit a portfolio of about 20 to 30 own works. For Malerei/Grafik the portfolio is submitted in original to Wächterstraße 11 (maximum size 75 x 105 cm including packaging, maximum 10 kg, no rolled or framed works; up to three sketchbooks may be added). For Buchkunst/Grafik-Design, Fotografie and Medienkunst the portfolio is uploaded as one PDF of up to 25 MB; Medienkunst applicants add a short motivation letter. The admission committee selects applicants in February; aptitude tests (an artistic-practical part and an interview) take place generally by 31 March. Certificates are required only after the test is passed. Multiple applications to several programmes are possible with separate portfolios. Portfolio consultations can be booked from 15 August to 15 October.
Entry into a higher semester is possible with equivalent study achievements in art from another university and a passed aptitude test, or by a placement test. Applications are made online: 1 to 30 November for the summer semester and 1 to 31 May for the winter semester, with portfolio, motivation letter stating the preferred class, CV, copy of the school-leaving certificate, evidence of previous achievements and a photo.
International and stateless applicants are treated like German and EU applicants in the aptitude test; certificates and language evidence are submitted after it is passed. Required are a qualification equivalent to the Hochschulzugangsberechtigung (unless Rank 1 was awarded) and proof of German: DSH, TestDaF with at least TDN 3 in all parts, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, or the German part of the Feststellungsprüfung at a Studienkolleg. Exempt are native speakers of German, those whose qualification was gained at a German-language institution, and holders of DSD II, the Goethe ZOP, or the Goethe Large or Small German Language Diploma. Documents are submitted as certified copies in German or English (certified translation otherwise). Applicants who cannot document a home qualification because of flight may receive relief based on the Kultusministerkonferenz resolution of 3 December 2015.
Admission requires a Diplom (grade good or very good) in an artistic-practical programme or an equivalent degree; Bachelor of (Fine) Arts holders may be admitted if the study covered at least 240 ECTS credits or eight semesters. Winter semester entry only; application 15 May to 15 June via the portal with a written supervision commitment from a professor, portfolio, exposé, CV, certified certificates and a passport photo. Applicants from non-German-speaking countries show German at Goethe-Zertifikat B1 (or DSD I), or alternatively A1 German plus B2 English (for example Cambridge B2 or IELTS B2).
The continuing Master Kulturen des Kuratorischen (four semesters, can be studied alongside work) is currently paused and not accepting applications. Doctoral candidates with a Diplom or Master in the field between art, philosophy and cultural studies, and HGB graduates, approach the teaching staff of the Institut für Theorie directly; the Promotionsordnung (version of 20 June 2025) governs the procedure.
The four-semester Akademie für transkulturellen Austausch programme is for people with refugee experience (residence evidence from BAMF, a pending asylum procedure or temporary protection under section 24 AufenthG). Application for winter semester 2026/27 ran from 1 March to 31 May 2026 by email to [email protected] with motivation letter, CV, up to five work samples and evidence of qualifications; an artistic aptitude test follows in June. The programme itself gives no degree; credits can be recognised, and TestDaF is required before registering for the Diplom examination.
Facilities: workshops for Plastisches Gestalten, audiovisual and digital production labs, photography workshops, Holzschnitt, künstlerischer Offsetdruck, Lithografie, Radierung and Siebdruck, and Buchdruck, Bucheinband and Handsatz; a computing centre (Rechenzentrum). The specialist library holds about 75,000 titles and over 80 current journals with access to online resources (opening Tuesday to Thursday 11:00-18:30, Friday 11:00-16:00 in term time). The Galerie (Tuesday to Friday 14:00-18:00) hosts exhibitions; the Archiv holds matriculation books from 1937 and photographic and graphic study works from 1955 to 1990. Psychological counselling for students is offered weekly in term time free of charge, and the Studentenwerk Leipzig runs student housing and canteens.
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