Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden

Bachelor and Staatsexamen

Admission requires the general higher education entrance qualification (allgemeine Hochschulreife, for example Abitur) and comprehensive musical preparation, and is granted only after a passed entrance audition. There is no age limit. Applicants without a Hochschulzugangsberechtigung may still apply and, where the audition shows exceptional artistic aptitude, may study; this does not apply to Lehramt, Instrumental- und Gesangspädagogik or Rhythmik/EMP. International applicants can check on the uni-assist website whether their school certificate counts as a Hochschulzugangsberechtigung; the university notes that a school leaving certificate from the home country is not always recognised and further steps such as national entrance tests or prior study may be needed. Bachelor and Staatsexamen programmes start only in the winter semester; summer semester applications are limited to Master, Meisterklasse and Bachelor entry into the 2nd subject semester or higher for transferring students in selected subjects.

Application and audition

Applications are made through the online application portal: collect documents, register once, pay the application fee and check completeness. Required uploads include a passport photo, a tabular CV, proof of entrance qualification (Bachelor/Staatsexamen) or first degree or transcript (Master), the audition programme, proof of payment of the processing fee, and, where required, an audition video. Documents not in German must be provided in an official English version. The Bearbeitungsgebuehr is 75 euros under the fee regulations in force from 14 July 2026 and is not refunded. For summer semester 2027 the application period runs from 1 October to 1 November 2026; auditions for the Meisterklasse are on 5 and 6 January 2027 and for Bachelor and Master on 7 to 15 January 2027. Many subjects use a video preselection (for Klavier about 10 minutes, hands and keyboard visible, maximum 2 GB), followed by an on-site audition for successful candidates. The audition covers the main subject and, where applicable, a written test in music theory and ear training, a piano or voice minor, and for artistic-pedagogical and Lehramt courses an aptitude interview or speech element. Applicants for Lehramt Musik apply at HfM Dresden first and then apply to TU Dresden after passing the audition.

Language requirements

Language proof is needed at enrolment. For the Klavier Bachelor (artistic) and Master the German requirement is B1 CEFR; for Klavier Bachelor artistic-pedagogical it is B2; for Lehramt Musik it is C1. Accepted certificates are TestDaF, telc, Goethe-Zertifikat, UNICert and ÖSD, as well as certificates from language schools with recognised quality management. Students admitted subject to proof of German must submit the certificate by the end of the first semester. Requirements differ by subject, so the page of each programme applies. For Erasmus exchange students, German B2 is recommended for conducting, repetiteur work, composition, music theory, instrumental and vocal pedagogy and voice, and B1 for other courses, with English B2 as an alternative; Lehramt needs a German B2 certificate.

Master

A first academic degree (Bachelor, Diplom, Staatsexamen) or, if not yet available, a current transcript is required, together with an entrance audition. Further-education Master programmes require about one year of relevant professional experience. Meisterklasse applicants provide references from two established artists and bring their own repetiteur to the audition.

Doctorate and habilitation

Doctorates are offered in musicology, music theory and music education. Admission requires a Diplom, Master, Magister or Staatsexamen Lehramt Musik degree in the subject with at least the grade gut, and a habilitated professor (or equivalent) who agrees to supervise. Holders of a Bachelor or a non-academic Master and graduates of other academic subjects can be admitted under certain conditions. The Promotionskommission decides on admission under the Promotionsordnung and meets twice per semester; enquiries go to [email protected].

• Main campus, Wettiner Platz 13, Dresden: central site between Neustadt and Altstadt with a historic building and a modern new building; concert halls, ensemble rooms, rehearsal stages, practice rooms (booked at the porter's desk with the student card), recording studio, Hybrid Music Lab, library (nearly 100,000 music media, digital services including medici.tv and Naxos Music Library) and the canteen Stimmgabel with its canteen concerts. Fakultät II institutes use rooms at Wettiner Platz 10.
• Könneritzstraße 29, Dresden: used by the artistic-pedagogical training (Künstlerisch-Pädagogische Ausbildung).
• Institut für Musikermedizin, Leubnitzer Straße 17b, Dresden: musicians' outpatient clinic and consultations.
• Sächsisches Landesgymnasium für Musik, Dresden-Blasewitz: Mendelssohnallee 34 (artistic training and boarding) and Kretschmerstraße 27 (school building).