Study Art Studies, Art Pedagogy in Germany

In the field of art studies and art pedagogy, you will learn about the different forms of art, such as, for example, painting, sculpture, or architecture. This field of study comprises the following areas:

• Art history, which focuses on the different genres, epochs, and styles of the past and their development up to the present.
• Art pedagogy, which deals with art education. In this area, you will acquire didactic skills in addition to learning about art studies in general and improving your practical artistic abilities.
• Art theory, which is all about the fundamental concepts and categories of art in a historic and system-wide context and examines the historic and social conditions under which art appears.
• Art studies, which examines the evolution of art as well as its function, and contextualises art in theory and practice.

The main topics and the proportion of theoretical vs. practical units can be very different between the courses of study. However, what they usually have in common is that they require creativity, artistic understanding and an interest in different art forms. In addition, you should be prepared to deal with texts quite intensively in order to be successful in your studies.

Depending on the specific degree programme and/or your preferences, you can often decide whether to take another (minor) subject or choose a two-subject model. However, please note that these options are not available at all higher education institutions.

The good news in advance: There are many degree programmes without any admission restrictions for which the general or subject-specific higher education entrance qualification or an equivalent is already sufficient for admission.

Different admission restrictions may apply to other degree programmes: These can be, for example, aptitude tests or selection interviews. It is important to note that there are often special registration deadlines for aptitude tests, sometimes even months before the start of the semester. In addition, the higher education institution may set a numerus clausus (NC) for admission (a minimum grade), require artistic work (e.g. in the form of a portfolio) or demand certain language certificates.

By the way: You don’t have a general or subject-specific higher education entrance qualification, but would still like to study art studies or art pedagogy? Some higher education institutions will grant admission to students with outstanding artistic achievements or completed vocational training. Just talk to the relevant person at the higher education institution of your choice!

A little bit of advice: Some Master’s programmes only accept graduates from certain Bachelor’s programmes. So, if you already have an idea of the direction you want your Master’s to take, make sure that your Bachelor’s choice matches it.

For the field of study art studies/art pedagogy, Bachelor’s programmes often have a standard period of study of six semesters and Master’s programmes of four semesters.

You will incur various costs during your studies; from semester contributions to the entrance fee for a student party or your next visit to a museum. Let’s take a look at the biggest cost items:

Tuition fees or semester contributions? There are no tuition fees for most degree programmes at public higher education institutions. Nevertheless, you should keep an eye open for the exceptions! If you want to study at a public higher education institution, the semester contributions are more relevant for you. These vary from institution to institution and are between 100 and 400 euros. The fees are used, for example, to pay for all administrative tasks. Sometimes your semester contribution also covers a ticket for local public transport or you can purchase a discounted ticket. Depending on where you study, this may be valid for the city, the region or even for all of Germany. Ask your higher education institution whether such an offer is currently available.

If you want to study at an academy or a private higher education institution, for example, you should expect to pay tuition fees. These often amount to several hundred euros per month and are therefore associated with quite considerable additional costs.

The next – and probably biggest – factor in your budget is your rent payment. Here, the amount depends entirely on the city in which you will be studying. As a rule of thumb, however, you can remember that student halls of residence, shared flats or interim lets are usually the cheapest options. As soon as you have decided on where you want to study, you should start looking, as halls of residence can fill up quickly. Here, you can find information on local halls of residence and the respective application process for most cities.

Your other living costs are influenced by several factors and are therefore difficult to calculate. However, you can keep the costs for study materials and meals down quite well by visiting the library and dining hall.

To finance your studies in Germany, you should also find out about scholarships. There are many different scholarship programmes and excellent grades are not the only deciding factor. You can learn more about scholarships here and find suitable programmes directly on My GUIDE.

Did you know that the provenance of many art objects in museums is unclear? In museums, e.g., you can thus work as an art detective in provenance research in addition to designing exhibitions or guided tours! But other areas are also open to you: For example, you can also find work in adult education, art education or research.

After completing your studies, and depending on your specialisation, you may find a job, e.g., in cultural institutions, publishing houses, libraries, historical monument preservation, schools, or in social and public institutions. You can work in an organisational, planning, teaching or even research capacity.

Your future salary will depend, among other things, on the area in which you end up working. In many institutions, salaries are based on public sector pay scales. Lower salaries are more likely in smaller cultural institutions. By the way, you may need further internships or traineeships before you can really gain a stable foothold in your chosen sector. You may also have to start out with temporary jobs.