University in Germany
Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany
University profile
The Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main (HfMDK) is the state university of music, theatre and dance in Frankfurt. It describes itself as Hesse's only university of the performative arts and their mediation, and it places a particular emphasis on contemporary artistic work. 938 students from more than 50 nations study here, taught by 67 professors, 39 teaching staff in the artistic and academic middle tier and 302 freelance lecturers, in 28 degree programmes (Kerndatensatz 2025). Around 2,200 prospective students apply each year.
The main building stands on Eschersheimer Landstraße in the Westend, close to the Grüneburgweg U-Bahn station, in the former Hessischer Rundfunk broadcasting house of 1930 and its 1990 extension. It holds teaching and practice rooms, the Grosser Saal and Kleiner Saal, the Opernstudio, the Schauspielstudio, the dance department, the library, the canteen (Mensa) and an audio-visual studio. Further buildings are on Gervinusstraße, Eschersheimer Landstraße 54 and Schmidtstraße in the Gallus district.
Teaching is organised in three departments (Fachbereiche). Fachbereich 1, Künstlerische Instrumentalausbildung und Dirigieren, covers artistic music studies, instrumental pedagogy, historical interpretation practice and church music with more than 400 students, and also hosts the Young Academy for musically gifted young people and the cooperation programmes with the Kronberg Academy. Fachbereich 2, Lehrämter, Wissenschaft und Komposition, has about 300 students in the teaching degrees for all school types, the Master Musikpädagogik, composition, the MA Bigband and the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA). Fachbereich 3, Darstellende Kunst, covers singing, directing, acting, dance, the Master of Contemporary Dance Education (MA CoDE) and theatre and orchestra management.
Two institutes work across departments: the Institut für Historische Interpretationspraxis and the Institut für zeitgenössische Musik (IzM), both founded in 2005. The Hessische Theaterakademie (HTA), based at the university since 2002, links theatre training in Hesse with the state theatres and municipal theatres, and the third-year acting students work for a season at partner theatres in the Studiojahr Schauspiel.
Students take part in self-government through the AStA, the StuPa, the department councils and working groups. The International Office advises foreign students, coordinates German courses and runs Erasmus+ and DAAD-related exchange. The university is a state institution under the Hessian higher education act, with a Hochschulrat of external members since 2003. The state of Hesse is funding a new building for the university at the Kulturcampus in Frankfurt-Bockenheim with 170 million euros from the HEUREKA programme.
There are no tuition fees. The semester fee for the winter semester 2026/27 is 399.78 euros (a semester contribution, not tuition): semester ticket 226.80, Call a Bike 2.98, culture ticket 1.50, student body AStA 12.00, administration fee 50.00 and Studierendenwerk 106.50 euros. For the summer semester 2026 it was 381.78 euros. Late enrolment or re-registration costs 30 euros, a duplicate student ID 15 euros and a duplicate certificate 55 euros.
About 73 Deutschlandstipendien are expected for the winter semester 2026/27, at 300 euros per month, normally for two semesters, with re-application possible within the standard period of study. Enrolled students and applicants about to start can apply, German and international alike; doctoral candidates and IEMA students are excluded. For 2026/27, enrolled students could apply until 31 July 2026 and first-year students from 1 to 31 August 2026. Contact: [email protected]. Official page.
The university lists scholarships (including Carls Stiftung work scholarships in teacher education), concert cooperations, project funding such as KunstPAKT (deadline 1 September 2026 in the current round) and a sustainability fund of up to 200 euros, and prizes: the Walter H. Krämer prize (600 euros), the New-Comer-Preis Schauspiel in memoriam Peter Beer (500 euros) and the Exzellenzpreis for the best academic paper (1,000 euros). The SOS-Stipendium gives a one-off payment in acute financial emergencies (applications currently suspended; contact [email protected]). The Freiräume-Förderfonds of the Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer provides about 10,000 euros a year for student projects. Scholarships and financial aid.
International students in financial hardship can apply to the STIBET emergency fund through the International Office ([email protected]), which also advises on DAAD programmes, PROMOS and Erasmus+. Students get a 10 percent discount on Goethe-Institut Frankfurt language courses. The Studierendenwerk Frankfurt advises on BAföG, housing allowance and student loans.
Oscar und Vera Ritter-Stiftung, Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, Hans und Eugenia Jütting-Stiftung, Böckler hoch K and the Mozart-Stiftung von 1838 (usually 400-500 euros a month for up to two years for composers up to 35). External scholarships.
Browse the scholarships listed for Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main →Entry to a Bachelor programme requires the Abitur or an equivalent higher education entrance qualification under section 54 of the Hessian higher education act, plus a passed aptitude test (Eignungsprüfung). For the Bachelor in Schauspiel only the Abitur counts, and a missing entrance qualification can be replaced by outstanding artistic talent shown in the aptitude test (at least 19 of 25 points). Applications are made through the university's own online portal, which is open only in the application period.
Applications for the summer semester 2027 run from 1 October to 1 December 2026 for the Master Instrumentalpädagogik, the Master Historische Interpretationspraxis, the Young Academy, Church Music (BA/MA), Composition (BA/MA), teaching degrees and the Master Musikpädagogik. The Bachelor Tanz for the winter semester 2027/28 has an application period of 15 November 2026 to 1 February 2027. Aptitude tests for the summer semester 2027 take place on 27-29 January 2027 (Master Musikpädagogik on 28-29 January) and for the Bachelor Tanz on 9-10 April 2027. Not every programme starts in the summer semester, and dates are subject to change.
A passport photo, a complete tabular CV, the school-leaving certificate (the latest school report is enough at first; foreign certificates need a certified translation into German or English), for Master applications the Bachelor certificate or equivalent with a transcript of records, for the Konzertexamen the Master certificate or equivalent, and language certificates. Applicants from the People's Republic of China and Vietnam must provide the APS certificate. Individual programmes ask for extra items such as a motivation letter, set tasks or a phoniatric report for singers. An administrative fee of 50 euros is invoiced per applicant after the deadline and the application is complete only once it is paid; it is not refunded, also if the application is withdrawn, and is not charged again for a second subject in the same round.
Each certificate must cover reading, writing, listening and speaking. Most artistic programmes (Artistic Music Studies, Church Music, Composition BA, Directing, Dance, Voice in Musical Theatre) require German at TestDaF 3, B1, DSH I or KMK I. Opera and Voice, Concert (Classical Voice) and Theater- und Orchestermanagement require B2 (TestDaF 3, DSH I, KMK I). The Master Educational Science in Music, all teaching degrees (Staatsexamen) and the Bachelor Schauspiel require TestDaF 4, C1, DSH II or KMK II. For the doctorate TestDaF 4 or 5 or Goethe C2 applies, or English at B1, IELTS 3.5-4.5, TOEIC at least 381, TOEFL iBT at least 57 or UNIcert I. English can replace German in the Master Composition, the IEMA, Dance (BA) and MA CoDE, at B1, IELTS 3.5-5.5, TOEFL iBT at least 43, TOEIC (listening and reading at least 275, speaking and writing at least 120) or UNIcert I (Composition adds German A2). The MA Bigband requires German at the standard level plus working English. The Kronberg Academy Master and the Konzertexamen need no language certificate. A German-speaking Abitur and certain other German qualifications exempt applicants from a German test.
Master programmes require a Bachelor degree or equivalent in a relevant field with transcript of records and a passed aptitude test. Doctoral study in Musikwissenschaft, Musikpädagogik or Tanzwissenschaft requires a Master or a teaching degree for Gymnasien in the subject, a dissertation and an oral defence (Disputation) under the Promotionsordnung of 2023, awarding the Dr. phil.
The Studierendensekretariat is reached on +49 69 154007330 or at [email protected], with phone hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and in-person hours at Gervinusstraße 15 on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The library holds about 130,000 media units, including more than 85,000 editions of printed music, 28,000 books and 16,000 sound and video recordings, with an online catalogue and licensed streaming and database services. Loans are open to students and teachers; external users may consult items on site. Counselling for students includes open consultation hours, a financial emergency and scholarship advice service, anti-discrimination and equal opportunities officers and psychosocial support.
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