University in Germany
Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
University profile
The Kunstakademie Münster (University of Fine Arts Münster) is a small art academy in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, with about 360 students and a little over 70 teaching and other staff. Study centres on developing an independent artistic position, based on the freedom of art and scholarship, with practical, theoretical and cultural diversity, international cooperation and interdisciplinary teaching as stated priorities. The students divide roughly equally between Freie Kunst (Fine Art) and the teacher-training programmes with Art as a subject.
Teaching is organised in artistic classes rather than in courses. After a two-semester Orientierungsbereich, students continue in one of 13 classes led by professors, each a studio community of about 15 to 35 students of all semesters and programmes. The classes cover painting, sculpture and installation, sculpture in public space, performance, extended photography, film and video, and cooperative strategies, and students may change class during their studies. The studio study is supplemented by workshops and by academic teaching in art history, art education and aesthetic education, art and public sphere, and aesthetics and art studies.
The academy sits on the Leonardo-Campus, a 10-hectare former cavalry-barracks site near Münster's old town where it has been based since 2001. Its main building was designed by the Austrian architect Günther Domenig; class studios, workshops and the library occupy the listed former stable range. Round-the-clock access, including at weekends, is regarded by the academy leadership as essential. Workshops cover film and video, etching and graphics, wood, ceramics, screen and digital printing, metal, photography, painting techniques, mould-making and 3D printing, and digital arts.
Student life is campus-centred: the academy's own Casino, a café run by FH Münster students, the campus Mensa and a green courtyard serve as meeting places. Students take part in self-government through the Studierendenparlament (StuPa) and the AStA, and the annual Rundgang and Hochschultag Münster present student work and the academy to the public. The Wewerka Pavillon on the Aasee is used several times a year for student exhibitions.
International students and teachers are part of the academy's profile. It takes part in Erasmus+ and has partnerships with nearly 30 art schools worldwide, and an International Office advises incoming and outgoing students. The Kunstakademie Münster is a state art academy with the right to award doctorates (Dr. phil.) in art education, art history and art studies.
Students pay a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag), which is not tuition and which includes the fee for the Deutschland-Semesterticket. The payment deadline for the summer semester 2027 is 5 February 2027.
The academy links its Deutschlandstipendium to a six-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, supported by the Freunde der Kunstakademie Münster e. V. It covers the studio costs and a monthly grant of currently 800 euros (650 euros from the Freunde and 150 euros from the Deutschlandstipendium). Class professors nominate students, a jury elected by the Senate selects two, and the final choice rests with the Cité. Individual applications are not possible.
The academy awards a DAAD Prize of 1,000 euros to an outstanding international student or doctoral candidate with excellent academic results and notable social or intercultural engagement (funded through the DAAD STIBET programme). Class professors nominate candidates by 31 May. DAAD final-degree grants (Studienabschlussstipendien) for international students about to take their artistic examination aim at at least 250 euros for up to three months; applications are due by 31 March (examination in the summer semester) or 30 September (examination in the winter semester).
Further awards are the Förderpreis of the Freunde der Kunstakademie Münster e. V. (three awards, 4,500 euros in total, shown in an exhibition at the Kunsthalle Münster), the Bundespreis für Kunststudierende (the academy may nominate up to two students or teams; prize money 30,000 euros plus production grants of 18,000 euros in total), the Gotland grant of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (nomination of five applicants), travel grants from quality-improvement funds (nomination by 15 November, application by 1 December 2026) and Erasmus+ and PROMOS grants for stays abroad (Erasmus+ applications by 1 November for the following winter semester).
Students in financial need can apply at any time for support towards actual childcare or care costs under the NRW programme for equal-opportunity universities, by e-mail to the equal opportunities office. The academy also names the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Cusanuswerk and the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff grant among scholarships for which it handles nominations.
Official pages: Prizes, scholarships and funding | Deadlines and semester dates | International Office.
Deutschlandstipendium at Kunstakademie Münster (Cité Internationale des Arts Paris residency) →
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View scholarships for Kunstakademie Münster →Study begins only in the winter semester (semester start 1 October). The academy offers Freie Kunst (Akademiebrief, equivalent to a Diplom, 10 semesters: a two-semester orientation phase and eight semesters of studio study in an artistic class), and teacher-training programmes with Art for primary, Hauptschule/Realschule/Sekundarschule/Gesamtschule and Gymnasium/Gesamtschule (six-semester Bachelor followed by a four-semester Master of Education), run with the University of Münster, as well as Erweiterungsfach and Drittfach routes. No Master of Fine Arts is offered for Freie Kunst.
Admission depends on a portfolio assessment, not on school grades. A commission of artistic professors judges the submitted work on artistic design ability, ability to realise work in the chosen media, and artistic concept and intensity; there is no further practical exam, and an interview may be held in cases of doubt. Applicants submit at least 20 original works in a medium of their choice, or at least three films or videos if applying with film only. Applicants with only original digital works submit at least 20 as one PDF of up to 20 MB. Physical portfolios may be no larger than DIN A0. Results are communicated by e-mail, expected mid-May. Applicants may reapply in later years with no limit on attempts, and deferral of a place is no longer possible from the 2026-27 winter semester.
Applications are made directly to the academy through its online platform, not through uni-assist. For the 2027-28 procedure, the online application runs from 1 to 15 March 2027 (cut-off deadline). Portfolios are handed in personally on 14 to 16 April 2027 at Leonardo-Campus 2, or sent by post from 16 March 2027 until 30 April 2027 (cut-off deadline). Uploaded documents include the school-leaving certificate or latest certificate, a CV and a transcript of records where relevant; certificates not in German or English need an officially certified German or English translation.
Applicants for Freie Kunst can apply without the Abitur by demonstrating outstanding artistic talent in the portfolio test, or as vocationally qualified persons (Meisterbrief or equivalent, or at least a two-year vocational training followed by at least three years of work in a related occupation, under the BBHZVO). Vocationally qualified applicants for the teacher-training Bachelor programmes must also apply to the University of Münster. Teacher-training Master applicants need a relevant Bachelor degree (teacher-training oriented under the LABG 2009 and LZV 2009 or equivalent) and must also gain admission to the University of Münster for the second subject. Enrolment in the teacher-training programmes requires written consent of a class professor. Transfer applicants who have passed an aptitude test and at least two semesters at another NRW academy, art school or university in the same programme can be admitted without a portfolio with the written consent of a class professor, submitted by 30 September.
Applicants from the People's Republic of China, India and Vietnam upload an APS certificate; applicants without APS are assessed for outstanding artistic talent. International applicants upload their last school certificate, any university entrance examination certificate, and university certificates and transcripts where applicable. Portfolios from outside the EU must be marked as application documents without commercial value; the academy does not pay customs duties or shipping costs, and portfolios on which duties are payable are not accepted.
A German-language certificate is recommended with the application (recommended level B1), and is required for enrolment. For Freie Kunst the required level is B2: DSH-1, TestDaF TDN 3, telc Deutsch B2, Goethe-Zertifikat B2 or the Deutsches Sprachdiplom of the KMK Stufe II at B2 in all parts. For the teacher-training programmes the required level is C1: DSH-2, TestDaF TDN 4, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, Goethe-Zertifikat C2 (Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom) or the KMK Sprachdiplom Stufe II at C1. The academy does not offer German courses. Theory lectures and seminars are held in German, and technical workshops need the German safety instruction.
The academy has the right to award doctorates. A Dr. phil. can be pursued in the subjects Kunstdidaktik, Kunstgeschichte and Kunstwissenschaft; enquiries go to the full-time teachers of the art-related sciences, and the Promotionsordnung of the academy applies.
Erasmus and exchange students must be nominated by their home university and apply online by 30 April for the winter semester or by 31 October for the summer semester (cut-off deadlines) with a CV, artistic portfolio, letter of motivation, transcript of records and a copy of ID or passport.
Leonardo-Campus, Münster (Leonardo-Campus 2, 48149 Münster): the single site of the academy, on a 10-hectare former barracks area near the old town, shared with the Architecture and Design departments of FH Münster and institutes of the University of Münster.
Students receive a transponder for access to their class, and access to the studios is available day and night, including weekends. The academy states that its buildings are not wheelchair accessible in all areas and is removing barriers step by step.
Study programmes offered at Kunstakademie Münster.
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