The instrumental majors ("Instrumentale HauptfŠcher") are eight semesters long and lead to the final degree, or "DiplomprŸfung", which is equivalent to a Bachelor of Music degree. Students who have completed at least four semesters of study at another school and transfer to Berlin are generally placed in the fifth semester.
Graduates who have received their degree, or "DiplomprŸfung", with the highest possible grade of "1.0" have the option to continue their studies for four semesters in the "Zusatzstudium" program, which is a graduate program in music performance. This leads to the degree of "Konzertexamen", which is the highest possible postgraduate degree in music performance in Germany.
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The school year is divided into two semesters, from October to February and from April to July, during which time students receive a weekly private lesson. In addition, students of Prof. Wolf's doublebass class have the opportunity to rehearse each week with our pianist, take part in group lessons and orchestral studies, work with our complete MIDI studio (including a MIDI grand piano), and perform in our bi-weekly class recitals.
Undergraduate instrument majors also perform in the university orchestra, but allowances are always made for those in apprentice programs ("Praktikanten") or with positions in professional orchestras.
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Since higher education is free for everyone studying in Germany, each school has only a limited number of "StudienplŠtze", or individual places, to offer students. For music students, these places are awarded based on their performance at an entrance audition.
All applicants must audition in person. The auditions take place twice a year, generally in February for the summer semester and in July for the winter semester. Required are two or three works of three different styles. For pieces with several movements, only one or two movements are necessary.
The choice of pieces for the audition is very important, and should, if at all possible, be discussed beforehand. Since the postgraduate studies, or "Zusatzstudium", is so exclusive in Berlin (applicants must have received the highest possible grade of "1.0" for their undergraduate degree), the expected level of playing is much higher and more strictly judged than for students who have not yet completed their bachelor degrees and wish to transfer to Berlin.
Students that must travel by air and wish to avoid the high cost of transporting a doublebass, may contact Prof. Wolf to discuss the possibility of borrowing an instrument for the auditions. In any event, arranging to send a demo tape or to have a private lesson before the entrance auditions is highly recommended.
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The deadlines to apply to take part in the entrance auditions are very early (November 14th for the auditions in February and April 14th for the auditions in July). No late applications can be accepted; there are no exceptions. Effectively, students wishing to begin studying in Berlin in the winter semester in October must arrange to receive the application forms in the first few months of the year.
The application forms can be downloaded here as a PDF-file or can be ordered together with an information pamphlet at beratung@udk-berlin.de.
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The university education in Germany is completely subsidized by the German state, that is, all students, both German nationals and foreigners, receive a full scholarship.
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Student exchanges are possible between most institutions and the UniversitŠt der KŸnste Berlin. Students coming from schools which demand registration fees should be aware that their school will, as a rule, require that this fee also be paid during the time spent in Berlin, although the UniversitŠt der KŸnste itself charges no fees at all. The implication is that, although studying in Berlin as a registered student is free, coming as an exchange student could involve costs at your own institution. For this reason, students coming from particularly expensive universities may find their own school less than helpful in setting up an exchange.Students coming from institutions which are members of the ERASMUS program do not, of course, have this problem and can apply for one semester exchanges quite easily.
The word "exchange" can falsely conjure up the image of two students from identical programs having to simultaneously change schools. This is almost never the case. Normally, the return flow of students coming from Berlin back to your school is arranged by the schools themselves and do not necessarily involve students that play the same instrument (or, in the case of other schools of fine arts, not even necessarily two music students).
For further information, contact the Office of International Relations at internat@hdk-berlin.de.
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Although all foreign applicants are technically required to have "an adequate knowledge of German", students transferring from other institutions after two years or more of study are typically given credit for all undergraduate courses completed. They therefore enter the UniversitŠt der KŸnste Berlin in the fifth semester and are not required to repeat earlier courses (such as theory or history) in German. Although it would be a lost opportunity to come to Germany and not take advantage of the opportunity to learn the language, it is generally not a problem in completing the last two years of study.
Students beginning with the first semester, however, will be required to take their freshman courses in German, and should prepare at home with at least a few months of language studies, either in the form of a class or private tutoring.
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Many German orchestras offer paid apprenticeships for young musicians. These positions as "Praktikant" may run from six months to one year, during which time one is engaged to play a portion of the orchestral services. Unlike similiar internships in other countries, such as in American symphony orchestras, where students are expected to pay up to $2500 and more to be allowed to play, German apprenticeships offer students a generous salary for their work.
In addition the apprenticeship programs, the high number of professional full-time orchestras (more than all the rest of the world together!) provides ample opportunity for students to gain experience playing as substitutes in major symphony orchestras.
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For more information about studying music at the Universityof the Fine Arts Berlin, visit the school website:
- Information about stuying as an instrument major (in English or German). Also links to application forms (in German only) here.
- General information for foriegn students and the foriegn student office here (in English and in German)
- An example of a previous music theory/ear training entrance exam (Schriftliche ZugangsprŸfung in Gehšrbildung/Tonsatz) can be found here
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