performART

Introduction to the Fine and Performing Arts

In the first year of study, you will be introduced to basic craft skills and design possibilities: sculpting, painting, digital media/performance and music/sound installation. Throughout, you will be trained in corporeal work and movement, voice and speech training, and co-creative practices. In addition, you will receive a profound fundamental training in acting.

Set your own focus

From the second year onwards, you can and should set your own study focus. From now on, you can follow one of the above-mentioned subjects continuously in your project-oriented studies or set a different focus each semester respectively cultivate the connection between the subjects in your own studies. With the third semester, reflection begins through courses taught in the Studium Generale, and in the second half of the degree programme, supplementary subjects from the entire spectrum of the university can be attended, for example to deepen scientific areas of interest and to prepare for a Master's degree. However, it is also possible to further deepen your knowledge in the artistic subjects, for example, you can learn how to use a camera and microphone and try out acting in front of a camera.

Your creativity is called for

In the fifth semester, you may conceptualise and realise your own performance or exhibition as an individual artist or as a creative collective. Having previously learned to work artistically on your own, you will now cultivate cooperation, networking and practical experience. In the context of national and international cooperations, there is the possibility to participate in film projects especially or to initiate your own media projects.

Bachelor thesis

For graduation in the sixth semester, you must complete an artistic-practical Bachelor's thesis, which can be a visual work or a performance, as well as its documentation. You will also have the freedom to focus on your interests according to your desired profession or your intended Master's degree, to specialise artistically or to devote yourself to philosophical and human studies.

Click here for the study plan for the Bachelor's programme performART.

The Drama Department has its own venue, the "Hoftheater". It also works closely with various regional and national cooperation partners, such as Theater Bonn, Freies Werkstatttheater Cologne, Theater in der Brotfabrik Bonn and various independent and municipal theatres.

The Bachelor's programme performART is closely linked to the Department of Fine Arts. The curriculum covers the essential areas of contemporary art: from painting, graphics, sculpting, installation, artistic photography and digital media to participatory projects and interventions in public space.

In the field of media, we realise short films and study projects together with international film schools, such as Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles (USA) and the Filmschool Kampala (Uganda).

In seminars and lectures of the supplementary cultural studies programme Studium Generale, students from all disciplines learn together. Interdisciplinary projects, for example with students of the programme "Philosophy, Arts and Social Entrepreneurship" and students of educational science, provide new perspectives.

We welcome you to find out more about the programme and to visit us. It would be a pleasure to give you an insight into the study contents of the Drama Department for one day. You will have the opportunity to meet students, lecturers and staff and to ask them any questions you may have. We look forward to your visit in order to get to know the performART degree programme.

We also offer those interested in the performART programme the opportunity to talk to Prof. René Harder (programme director performART) about the content and objectives of the programme and to ask any questions they may have about the programme. The next dates and the registration form can be found in the event calendar of the Department of Drama.

The degree programme is a fundamental artistic training. For those who would like to work as an artist, we recommend a subsequent Fine Arts Master's degree. Many artists additionally earn their living through artistic-pedagogical activities - for example with children and young people or in social and intercultural projects. The graduates of performART are particularly well prepared for this through the combination of performing and visual arts, supplemented by course-specific offerings such as co-creativity and group building. Those who wish to expand their competencies in this area can follow up with a Master's teaching degree for subject Art or a Master's in Art Therapy at Alanus University. According to well-founded forecasts, around two thirds of the professions in the next few decades have not even been invented yet. The Master's programme in Business Administration at Alanus University does not require a business degree and can also be studied directly afterwards. As artistic personalities, you are well prepared to act in complex operational fields.

The admission requirements for the study program are the general university entrance qualification (Abitur) or a subject-specific university entrance qualification (Fachgebundene Hochschulreife). Admission to studies without a university entrance qualification is possible if outstanding artistic talent is demonstrated in the aptitude test, or if applicants have completed vocational training with at least three years of professional experience.

It is also a requirement for admission that applicants successfully complete the artistic aptitude test to determine their artistic aptitude or outstanding artistic talent.
The aptitude test is carried out by presenting an artistic portfolio and / or a performance in the performing field. The faculty will review the submitted portfolios and/or view your presentation. In addition, there will be a selecting workshop in which all artistic areas of study will be discussed. Afterwards we will inform you about the result of the aptitude test.

Foreign applicants must have sufficient German language skills, both written and spoken (A2 level at the time of enrollment, B2 level at the beginning of the 3rd semester). For further information, please contact the International Office.

It is possible to apply for the Bachelor's programme performART all year round, with the programme starting in the autumn semester. The aptitude tests (determination of artistic aptitude) usually take place in spring and summer. The application consists of sending the formal application documents and the aptitude test (see above: admission requirement).

You have decided to study performART with us? Wonderful!
International degree-seeking students are asked to contact the General Student Advisory Service for the admission procedure. Please contact the person at this office who is responsible for the degree programme you are interested in.
If you have any questions about the application process, please fill out the contact form. We will then get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Please prepare the following documents for your application (accepted file formats: PDF, JPG, PNG):

• Curriculum vitae
• Letter of motivation
• Certified copies of certificates (foreign certificates in officially certified German translation)
• Passport photo
• Electronic registration for student health insurance through your own statutory health insurance. If you have private health insurance or health insurance abroad, you will need an exemption from compulsory insurance. This must also be reported digitally by any statutory health insurance company in Germany (can be submitted later during the application process).
• For foreign applicants: Proof of sufficient German language skills (through TestDaF, DSH or an equivalent certificate), for further requirements please contact the general student advisory service.

After we have received your application documents, you will be invited to an aptitude test. Please bring your portfolio to this appointment or prepare for a performing presentation. For planning purposes, we ask you to indicate whether you wish to apply with an artistic portfolio and/or a performance presentation.

In exceptional cases, for example in the case of applications from abroad, it is possible to submit a digital portfolio as an alternative to the portfolio and to conduct the admission interview digitally as well. In this case, please contact us in advance.

Information on the performing arts presentation and portfolio

Application focus on performing arts

For the first part of the aptitude test, prepare two dramatic performances (one of which should be a classical drama text) and, in addition, a self-designed artistic performance such as a dance or song of one to three minutes duration.

Those applying with a focus on the performing arts will be interviewed about their artwork after the role audition. Bring work of your own to this. This can also be art work from school. For media works and artworks that are not suitable to be brought along, please send us links in advance so that we can see the works, or bring a USB stick.

Application focus on artwork

Please mark your portfolio clearly with your name and bring it with you to the qualifying examination.

The portfolio should document your artistic work as extensively as possible. The works must be created independently and should not be older than three years. They should reflect the motivation to study and the joy of experimenting.

The portfolio should include the following:
A meaningful number of paintings, drawings, sketchbooks and/or artistic photography and/or sculptural works, collections of materials and/or media documentation of larger sculptural objects and installations and/or film and video works.

Help with the application

Do you have further questions about your application? Our colleagues in the Student Administration Office will be happy to help you.

Full scholarship: Alanus Art Scholarship.

Applications are possible until June 15, 2023.

The Alanus Art Scholarship is a full scholarship and thus enables scholarship recipients to study the subject of their choice, even if they would otherwise not be able to afford it.

In addition to professional aptitude, the motivation and social involvement of the applicants are particularly important. The scholarship recipients commit themselves to developing and implementing social projects independently in small teams as part of their studies.

If you are interested in the Alanus Art Scholarship, please contact kunststipendium@alanus.edu for more information on how to apply.

Our financial aid service will be happy to advise you on other funding options and scholarships.

We offer our acclaimed preparatory course in acting twice a year. Performances in this course can be credited to performART and Business & Acting.

This course prepares you as best as possible for an entrance examination at an art university or academy. You will gain first insights into professional acting training, learn in small study groups and receive intensive instruction, advice and individual support from our university lecturers with many years of professional and teaching experience.

Here you can finde further information on the preparatory course in acting.

The Department of Drama is part of a strong network with numerous collaborations that provide students with numerous opportunities to gain professional practical experience and establish valuable contacts.

Is there an age limit? If so, what is it?
There is no age limit. In principle, applications are open to all (see admission requirements).

Which degree will I receive?
The programme leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree, which entitles the holder to continue on to a Master's programme.

Can I call myself a trained actor and actress and apply to theatres with this degree?
You will receive a Bachelor's degree, which is based on numerous modules in acting, among other things. During your studies, you have the opportunity to work on audition roles for theatres. Depending on your focus, talent and choice of (additional) modules, you can take your exam before the ZAV and/or become ready for the stage.
Some universities and colleges, such as Zurich, Munich and Basel, offer Master's programmes that can be followed up.

Is the study programme eligible for BAföG?
Yes, the degree programme is eligible for BAföG. There are also numerous options for financing your studies, such as KfW student loans, scholarships for gifted students, student loans from banks, student education funds and scholarships. Our financial aid service will be happy to advise you.

Is it possible to acknowledge achievements from other training/professional experience?
On request, the university can give you credit for other skills and qualifications based on the documents you submit. You can get credit for up to 50% of the achievements you need for your degree if your skills and qualifications are the same level and content as what you need to do for the exams.

If the performART / Business & Drama degree programme did not yet exist in this form, to what extent can it be recognised?
Alanus University received state recognition back in 2002. Since then Alanus University has been constantly working on expanding and profiling its study programmes. The institutional accreditation by the Science Council, which is the highest advisory committee of the Federal Government and the governments of the German states to ensure quality in research and teaching, took place in May 2010. Alanus University received the highest possible recognition with the 10-year accreditation and the award of the right to confer doctoral degrees in the Department of Education. The institutional re-accreditation of Alanus University by the Science Council has been decided in 2021.