University of the Arts Bremen

Mission Statement

Uniting the disciplines of art and music, our university occupies a unique place in the German educational landscape. Interdisciplinary cooperation between our twin faculties, between Art & Design and Music, is one of our keystones. Students at the University of the Arts Bremen are offered highly qualified tuition and excellent equipment. They are educated in a wide range of artistic practices, as our programmes unite artistic, creative and academic elements. Furthermore, students are taught the importance of the social, cultural and historical dimensions of art. They learn how to deliver innovative work and how to develop a professional outlook. The development of, e.g., new design concepts, products, corporate identities and digital media is one of the aims of our programmes. The university's compact size allows students to enjoy close working relationships with their teachers.

International Role

We have 35 partner universities all over the world. Around one third of all our students enrolled is from abroad. In order to continually ensure that international students are properly taken care of, we have signed the National Conduct on Foreign Students at German Universities. In our BA programme "Integrated Design", the 5th semester is meant for students to go abroad (voluntarily). For those having to stay here, at least one course is taught in English in order to "internationalise" our students. As to our international projects, one of many examples is the perennial cultural dialogue and student exchange with the artistic faculties Applied Arts and Art Education of the University of Helwan in Cairo, Egypt called "Beyond Identity", initiated and coordinated by our Prof. Dr. Andrea Rauschenbusch. This project resulted in a book, a coproduction of professors and students who took part in the exchange "Unfolding perspectives. Beyond identity – and beyond. A dialogical discourse on the nature and intricacies of cultural exchange and knowledge transfer." http://www.hfk-bremen.de/t/print/n/unfolding-perspectives

National Role

University of the Arts combines state-of-the-art tuition with innovative career development, initiatives and professional practice: spin-out companies, start-ups and joint ventures. In 2009, we established a “Professionals in the Arts” laboratory, where successful start-up incubation processes are studied and a concept for establishing a development and start-up centre in Bremen is being worked upon. We closely cooperate with our partner universities, with Bremen’s Gesellschaft für aktuelle Kunst (GAK – Society for Modern Arts) and with Weserburg Museum of Modern Art. The Weserburg Museum’s emphasis on modern and contemporary art makes it an important collaboration partner for us. We also support and cooperate with the Haus der Wissenschaft Science Centre, a non-profit organisation offering insights into research activities in the fields of science, economy, arts and education, conducted by universities and research institutes across the state. Exhibitions, lectures and discussions are offered. http://www.hausderwissenschaft.de/English.shtml

Main Focus

We were just recently re-accredited for restructuring our study programmes to fit the demands of the internationally acknowledged Bachelor and Master programmes. Our institution is marked by its interdisciplinary approach to art education, taking every opportunity to provide our students with an interdisciplinary learning experience, fostering interdepartmental and interdisciplinary projects. Moreover, we want to enable students to engage with experimental perspectives, to familiarise with contemporary academic discourses, to grow their creative personalities through intercultural dialogue and to make use of our manifold cooperative partnerships and networks. We actively endeavour to unite artistic, creative and academic elements within our study programmes rather than exclusively setting a high value on abstract knowledge.