Research in Design, Art and Media — Designing the Future (Master of Arts) Merz Akademie, University of Applied Arts, Design and Media Stuttgart

The transdisciplinary Master of Arts programme "Research in Design, Art and Media – Designing the Future" offers you considerable freedom in the structuring of your studies and the media you choose to create your individual project.

Under close individual supervision, you will develop a long-term project over the course of the entire study programme, benefiting from synergies within a diverse group of students while acquiring and deepening your practical skills at the Merz Akademie’s numerous labs (virtual reality, sound studio, green box/video and media lab, screen printing, photo studio, print/scan lab, bookbinding, etc.).

The programme offers specialisations in: Photography / Film / Graphic Design / Illustration / Games / Media Art / Artistic Research.

From application to graduation, the programme focuses predominantly on the individual project and its intellectual and artistic background, enabling you both to further develop and sharpen your knowledge and skills while at the same time realising a major project that will serve as a springboard for your future career.

The study programme works between the notion of “experimental world building” on the one hand and of “experimental documentary practice” on the other hand. This distinction is to be understood both in practical and in philosophical terms, thinking about the media, tools, and processes that underline students’ practice, while at the same time posing theoretical questions about our relationship to the world. While the division is used to group students and professors according to their specialisations and practice, negotiating the fluidity of distinctions between “world building” and “documentary practice” becomes an integral part of the study programme.

There are several application rounds each semester; the current deadlines can be found on the website. Applications may be submitted for up to the next three semesters. We strongly encourage applicants to apply as early as possible, as both funding arrangements and visa procedures can be time-consuming.

Applicants need a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (e.g. Diplom) with 210 or 180 ECTS credits from an artistic/design, humanities / cultural studies or natural sciences (e.g. computer science) programme.

Applicants whose Bachelor’s degree has 180 ECTS credits must complete 30 credits in the form of additional study-relevant coursework as part of a preliminary semester in order to complete the Master’s degree with 300 ECTS credits. In this case, the duration of the study programme is four semesters.

A complete application includes:

• Curriculum vitae
• Proof of a first university degree (certified copies of certificates including transcript of records)
• Passport photo
• Exposé outlining a project you would like to work on as part of the Master’s degree programme
• Letter of motivation
• Portfolio of one to three current textual and/or artistic/design works relevant to the Master’s programme
• Proof of English language proficiency (level B2)

Application materials will be reviewed. If the formal and qualitative requirements are met, applicants will be invited to an admission interview with the programme directors to present their project proposals and portfolios and explain their motivation in the Master of Arts programme at Merz Akademie. Admission will then be decided upon.

96.50 EUR

Fact Sheet for International Students (PDF)

Approx. 900 to 1,000 EUR per month (excluding tuition fees)
Rent for apartment/room: approx. 350 to 700 EUR per month
Health insurance: 100 to 150 EUR per month

Miscellaneous costs (external link with exemplary amounts for food, internet, free time)

International students often face financial, personal, and organisational challenges that can jeopardise their academic success, particularly in the final phase of their studies. The STIBET I programme addresses these challenges by providing targeted financial support to international Master’s students. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) funds the scholarship programme STIBET with funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA).

More information about funding opportunities: https://www.merz-akademie.de/en/finanzierung/

Merz Akademie "on-campus" accommodations: https://www.merz-akademie.de/en/campus-wgs/

A quota of rooms is available for international students. Please note deadlines for the housing application process:

• For winter semester: 15 June
• For summer semester: 15 December

In addition, Merz Akademie cooperates with Studierendenwerk Stuttgart. It owns and maintains several student dorms in Stuttgart: https://www.studierendenwerk-stuttgart.de/wohnen/.