Degree Seeking International Students
If you're a degree seeking student, you will have to go through the whole application process which is described below.
If you want to spend a semester at the HBK Braunschweig via Erasmus+ Programme, please contact the International Office at you home university first, because all Erasmus exchange students have to be nominated. More information for Erasmus Exchange you will find on Incoming Exchange at Braunschweig University of Art.
International Students
To study at the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig), you must first apply through our online system before submitting your written application documents in hard copy. Applicants for degrees with a significant arts component will also be asked to submit a portfolio (see below).
Higher semesters
Fine Art students who wish to apply for higher semesters also apply online. There are two application periods per year:
- December 1 to January 15 for summer term (semester start is April)
- June 1 to July 15 for winter term (semester start is October)
Further information on applying for a higher semester can be found on the pages for the individual degree programmes.
Online Application
All applicants must adhere to the application deadline for their chosen course. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
When submitting your hard copy application, please do not use ring-binders, folders or plastic wallets.
Detailed instructions on the online application process can be found at How to complete the online application.
Applicants can register for the application process from the end of January each year up until the relevant application deadline for courses beginning in the following winter semester. Registration is no longer possible after the application deadline has passed.
Artistic application procedure for undergraduate degree programmes
- Diploma in Fine Art
- Performing Arts/Bachelor of Arts
- ART.Education/Bachelor of Arts
Visual Communication (also as a minor subject)/Bachelor of Arts
All degree courses begin in the winter (autumn) semester.
International applicants must provide proof of language proficiency.
Applicants for Fine Art and Visual Art please submit B1 level certificate with application documents,
for all other degree courses B2 level certificate is needed.
Required language certificates, so B2 and C1 must be submitted at least until 30. September for enrolment. Otherwise you have to apply again the following year.
Undergraduate Degree Programmes
The HBK Braunschweig is an academic university of the arts, with equivalent status to other universities. This means that for all undergraduate degree programmes, applicants must possess a qualification entitling them to study at university level, or Hochschulzugangsberechtigung (HZB) in Germany. This is a legal requirement under the provisions of the Lower Saxony University Act (NHG). Only in the diploma degree programme in Fine Arts can the HZB be waived if an "outstanding artistic aptitude" is determined in the artistic admission procedure.
Master’s Degree Programmes
Applicants for a Master’s degree programme at the HBK Braunschweig must be in possession of a bachelor degree or equivalent in a relevant subject as defined under the HBK Braunschweig’s access and admission regulations.
If an applicant has not yet obtained their bachelor degree by the application deadline, their application will be accepted for the selection process provided that the applicant has achieved a minimum number of credit points (ECTS). The minimum number of points is calculated according to their length of the course studied and is defined as 150 for a six-semester degree, 180 for a seven-semester degree and 200 for an eight-semester degree. Their provisional average grade will be used as a basis for the further selection process whether or not their final grade is the same. As part of their application, applicants must submit a letter from their university certifying the number of points obtained during their undergraduate degree.
Postgraduate degree in Fine Art (“Meisterschüler”)
Fine Art (Meisterschüler) applicants must be in possession of a Master's degree.
Qualifications obtained outside Germany will be evaluated under a system designed by the federal consortium of education ministers in Germany (The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany). The system used to assess the comparability of non-German qualifications is a database called anabin.
Applicants can view the criteria used to assess qualifications in the DAAD Database ,which contains the recommendations of the Standing Conference.
The HBK Braunschweig uses uni-assist, the working service point for international student applications, for an initial assessment of non-German qualifications. Uni-assist will evaluate your qualifications and issue a VPD, a preliminary review document.
Qualifications can be submitted to uni-assist for evaluation throughout the year, independently of the HBK Braunschweig application deadline.
uni-assist
Get information in advance (uni-assist)
DAAD-Scholars
DAAD-Scholars are kindly asked to contact the International Office.
The application requirements vary depending on the degree programme and differ from those of international students without DAAD-scholarship. Please keep in mind that all students enrolled for a degree have to hand in B2 or C1 German language certificate, the only exemption for DAAD-scholarship holders is a longer submission deadline. Without the mentioned German language certificate a final degree will be impossible.