University in Germany
Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
University profile
The Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (HfMT Köln) is a state university of music and dance with three sites, in Cologne, Wuppertal and Aachen. Founded in 1845, it is the second-oldest music academy in Germany and counts among the largest in Europe, with around 1,550 students, 331 teaching and administrative staff, 57 principal subjects and 56 Bachelor's and Master's programmes.
The main site is at Unter Krahnenbäumen 87 in Cologne, about ten minutes' walk from Cologne Cathedral, and houses the central administration with a separate administration building at Theodor-Heuss-Ring 38-40. The Zentrum für Zeitgenössischen Tanz (Fachbereich 7) is based at Dagobertstraße in Cologne. The Wuppertal site occupies a listed building on Sedanstraße, and the Aachen site sits in the city centre at Theaterplatz, close to Theater Aachen.
Study covers orchestral and solo instruments, voice, historical instruments and early music, conducting, composition including electronic composition, jazz and pop, church music, music education and school music teaching (Lehramt), musicology, music-related health (Musikermedizin), arts management, and contemporary dance, dance mediation and dance studies. The university is organised in seven faculties (Fachbereiche 1 to 7), including Fachbereich 5 for musicology and music education and Fachbereich 7 / Zentrum für Zeitgenössischen Tanz. Degrees run from Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts (Dance and Lehramt) and Master of Music, Master of Arts and Master of Education to the Konzertexamen and doctorates, alongside the PreCollege Cologne for gifted children and young people and a Jungstudium.
The Institut für Alte Musik, the Institut für Neue Musik (founded 2009) and the Peter-Oswald-Institut für Musikergesundheit are among its specialist institutes. The university also uses the Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano, Italy, for artistic work and study stays.
Students and teachers come from over 50 nations, and the university has 43 partner institutions worldwide and takes part in Erasmus+. Food and housing are arranged through the local Studierendenwerke in Cologne, Aachen and Wuppertal, and the university provides a central student advisory service, an International Office and a free consultation for musicians' health.
No tuition fee applies to the programmes described here beyond the charges below. Every student pays a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag), which is not tuition. It covers the Deutschland-Semesterticket, social fees for the Studierendenwerk, AStA student body fees, university sport and the social hardship regulation, and is given as roughly 300 to 400 EUR per semester. Applicants also pay a 50.00 EUR fee for the selection procedure.
The HfMT awards Deutschlandstipendien each year from October for twelve months, for Bachelor's and Master's students who are first-time enrolled at the HfMT and have at least two semesters of standard study time remaining. The award is 3,600 EUR per year, paid as 300 EUR per month, financed half by private donors and half by the federal government. Selection is mainly by achievement and talent, with social commitment and difficult personal circumstances also considered, decided by a subject commission and a social commission. The 2026 call ran from 1 May to 10 June 2026 via muvac. Contact: [email protected]. Official page.
The Minnemann Förderstipendium of the Jazz / Pop department, supported by the Förderverein, funds student projects in Jazz / Pop. The Gleichstellungskommission announces scholarships for graduation projects with a gender focus, and a Beihilfe from the Freunde und Förderer supports students who cannot afford the own contribution for a stay at the Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano. The Förderverein also supports students with grants for master classes and workshops or in financial hardship. The International Office advises on Erasmus+, and on the DAAD programmes STIBET and PROMOS. Current calls.
The university also points students to BAföG, the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, the Otto Benecke Stiftung (Garantiefonds Hochschulbereich), the University of Cologne Studierendenförderungsfonds and the Studierendenwerke in Cologne, Aachen and Wuppertal for housing, finance and social advice. Study financing overview.
Browse the scholarships listed for Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln →Admission requires the general higher education entrance qualification (Abitur) or a qualification recognised as equivalent by the competent state authority, plus a subject-specific aptitude test (Eignungsprüfung) for every artistic and artistic-pedagogical programme. For the artistic Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts Dance programmes, applicants with exceptional artistic talent may be admitted without the Abitur if they pass a special artistic aptitude test; proof of completed schooling is then sufficient. Programmes with special requirements include the Master of Arts in Musicology, Music Education and Dance Studies and the Master of Education (Lehramt).
Applications, admission and enrolment are made entirely online through the platform muvac; paper or email applications are not considered. Documents are uploaded as PDF or readable image files: proof of university entrance qualification, a list of the pieces prepared for the aptitude test, proof of payment of the application fee and a CV. Master's applicants add proof of a completed Bachelor's degree as required by the aptitude test regulations, or a current enrolment certificate if not yet completed. A participation fee of 50.00 EUR for the selection procedure is charged once per applicant, even for several programmes, and is not refunded except where the university cannot offer places at short notice.
Winter semester: applications are usually open from early January to 1 March (for 2027/28: 1 March 2027 for Bachelor's, Master of Music, Master of Education, Konzertexamen, Master of Arts Dance Mediation, Jungstudium and PreCollege Cologne; 1 June 2027 for the other Master of Arts programmes). Summer semester: usually early September to 1 October, only for Lehramt Music (Bachelor and Master), Protestant and Catholic church music, PreCollege Cologne and Jungstudium. Aptitude tests for winter 2027/28 are expected from May to June 2027.
Applicants from the EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland may study with a school-leaving certificate that qualifies for university entrance in their home country. Others should check the validity of their certificate in the DAAD admissions database or anabin. Applicants with degrees from China, India or Vietnam need an APS certificate. Non-EU students must show proof of financing when applying for a visa and must hold health insurance in Germany; EU/EEA students insured at home need the EHIC. Visas for most countries must be applied for before entry and converted to a residence permit for study at the Ausländerbehörde.
Applicants who did not obtain their qualification in German must prove German skills. For Bachelor of Music, at least TestDaF level 3 (TDN 3) or CEFR B2 is due by the end of the second semester. For Master of Music, at least level A2 is due by the end of the first semester. Admission lapses with exmatriculation if the proof is not submitted in time. PreCollege and Jungstudium applicants need level A1 before starting. Conditions for the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Education are given in the muvac application.
Master's programmes require a completed relevant Bachelor's degree as set out in the aptitude test regulations of each programme. Doctorates are available in musicology, music education, dance studies, music medicine and arts management.
External venues include the Urania Theater and the Fronleichnamskirche der Ursulinen. The Aachen site has no canteen of its own; students may use the RWTH Aachen canteens with a guest card. Cologne and Wuppertal canteens are run by the local Studierendenwerke.
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