Just about anybody can apply to HfG. All applicants must submit a portfolio. If you have a higher education entrance qualification (German Abitur or an equivalent) then you need to prove your artistic talent with your portfolio; but if you do not have a higher education entrance qualification your portfolio can still convince us of your outstanding artistic talent. Please note that special rules apply to the School of Design.

More information here.

If you are interested in studying Art/Design, either in the School of Art or in the School of Design, you should definitely visit our Student and Portfolio Advisory Service, offered regularly by both departments. Feel free to just come by – you do not need to register in advance. And preferably bring some of your art/design work with you. But this is not a must! Our professors and senior students will look at your work and the work of other potential students with you, evaluate it for you and give you important tips and suggestions for your portfolio.

So you are ready to apply to HfG? For the admission procedure you will need the usual documents (application form, a copy of your last report) plus your portfolio with around 30 examples of your own art/design work.​
​

Special rules for the Department of Design

With the Department of Design there are two ways that you can qualify for the entrance exam:
​

• 1. With a portfolio/folder of your work
• 2. By independently completing a piece of homework within a set time-frame, see here

Once you have submitted your portfolio, if you receive an invitation to the entrance exam this means that you need to present yourself at HfG for an exam with two to three tasks to be completed within a set timeframe. This is normally followed by a personal interview by the admission committee.

School of Art

Letters with the results of the portfolio review (mid-June 2020, the exact dates of the portfolio review will be announced) will be sent out at the end of June 2020. E-mails with the question when the letters will be sent will not be answered due to lack of time! We ask for your understanding.

Take a look at the short filmic portraits and you will get this information first hand. HfG students tell how they came to the HfG, what motivations they had for applying, what drives them; they tell about university life and their plans for the future. To this end, they open their studios and workshops, reflect on their working methods, talk about their ways of finding ideas and present their previous and current works. Each of these films works out individual focal points and depicts different facets of study at the HfG. All episodes together form a mosaic-like overview of the diversity of a course of study at the HfG Offenbach.

Who can apply?

Admission takes place once a year for the winter semester (Deadline 2020: 2 June). Admission criteria are: A German Abitur or equivalent and artistic talent. Artistic talent is assessed by a portfolio of works produced by the applicant and an entrance examination. You should therefore check in one of the Student and Portfolio Advisory Service whether you fit in with the creative concepts and objectives of HfG.
​Those students with exceptional artistic talent may also be admitted without a higher education entrance qualification. Someone who has successfully completed higher education studies is deemed to have qualifications equal to an Abitur even if they do not possess such a certificate. Similarly, someone who has completed a basic course within technical college studies, a graded course of studies at a university or a comparable part of studies is also deemed to have a subject-specific certificate of aptitude for higher education.
​

You can find further information on university admission criteria under: wissenschaft.hessen.de/studium/zugangsvoraussetzungen/hochschulreife

A foreign school education is checked for equivalence to the German Abitur within the framework of the admission procedure.

What has to be submitted for the application (2 June, 2020)?

The usual documents are required (copies of certificates, application form) and a portfolio with at least 30 examples of the applicant’s creative-artistic work. The portfolios remain at the university until the entrance examination and are returned after the exam. Exception: Homework in the School of Design (see box).

What is the procedure for the entrance examination?

Generally, the entrance examinations take place at the end of June (Design) and mid-July (Art). Selected applicants are invited to sit the exams on the merit of portfolios submitted. The entrance exam consists of two or three creative tasks each of which is to be realized in one to two hours on site. Afterwards, applicants present their works to an admissions committee.

School of Art

Drawings, sketchbooks, pencil drawings and coloured works on paper, collages, graphics, prints, photos, videos, films and analogue and digital animations on DVDs. Please submit sculptural works and paintings on canvas only as photographic images.

School of Design

Sketchbooks, drawings and photos. Please submit computer graphics and other digital visualizations only as a print-out, and three-dimensional works and models only as colour photos.

Application deadline (for both faculties)

2 June, 2020, midday (School of Design) or 1 p.m. (School of Art)
All application documentation must have been received by the university by the application deadline (time limit).

School of Art

Portfolio submission: 15 May to 2 June, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., but not on Saturday or Sunday (Ascension Day on 21 May 2020 and Whit Monday on 1 June 2020).
Room 115 a, Eva Novak, novak@hfg-offenbach.de

School of Design

Portfolio submission: 15 May to 2 June, 2020, 9.30 a.m. to midday, but not on Saturday or Sunday (Ascension Day on 21 May 2020 and Whit Monday on 1 June 2020).
Room 213 b, Elvira Werner, werner@hfg-offenbach.de

Applicants who already have a degree (Bachelor, etc.) have the opportunity to be placed in a higher semester. This varies from case to case and depends on passing the entrance examination and on whether the university from which they come is equivalent.

Under certain circumstances, the practical part of the entrance examination may be waived after the portfolio review. Please submit your portfolio during the application deadline and enclose the completed application form. Please note on the application form that you are a »Überwechsler_in«.

The placement in a higher semester will be decided after the successful completion of the entrance examination or in October after the start of lectures. We strongly recommend that you visit our study and portfolio advisory service.

In the case of foreigners and stateless persons, the foreign university entrance qualification or equivalent foreign educational certificates will be checked by the university during the application process for equivalence with the German university entrance qualification. Please submit your certificates together with the other required documents and your portfolio. By decree the Minister of Science and Art regulates jurisdiction, the principles for concurrence, and procedures for evaluating foreign university entrance qualifications and equivalent foreign educational certificates. In particular the decree can also entail applicants having to attend a preparatory course and undergo an assessment test. As part of the admission procedure, this test can be conducted by the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Offenbach, but only in relation to a course of study there.

In order to be admitted, foreign applicants must prove that they have a sufficient knowledge of German. There are the following possibilities:

School of Art and Design: DSH-2, TestDAF-4, Certificate »telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule«
​

The result must be verified by 1 October at the latest. If you cannot prove that you have sufficient knowledge of German by mid-September, you cannot begin your studies in October despite having passed the entrance examination! However, as the successful entrance examination is valid for three years, you can start your studies within this period in each case in the winter semester, as long as you can prove that you have sufficient knowledge of German.

Prospective international students as exchange students

If you are studying at a university abroad and would like to spend one or two semesters at the HfG, please contact the International Office, team.internationales@hfg-offenbach.de.

In the Student and Portfolio Advisory Service of both Schools both teaching staff and students inform and advise potential students. The service is available on a continuous basis from mid-October to the beginning of July. Prior registration in the School of Art is not necessary. The following applies to the School of Design: Study counselling from February 20 to April 10, 2019 only on pre-registration at kuehn-wilkens@hfg-offenbach.de by 12:00 noon on the respective Friday before.

APPLICATION
​

Do I need to register for the Student and Portfolio Advisory Service?
The Student and Portfolio Advisory Service is open to everyone free of charge. Prior registration in the School of Art is not necessary. The following applies to the School of Design: Portfolio Advisory Service​ from 20 February to 10 April 2020 only on pre-registration at kuehn-wilkens@hfg-offenbach.de by 12 noon on the respective Friday before.​Dates and further information are listed here.

Should I submit my portfolio online or by post?
Portfolios can either be submitted in person, or by post. Unfortunately, online submission is not possible. Please also bear in mind that the folder must be received at the latest on the last day of the application deadline (usually 1 June). Further information here.

What should be included in the application dossier?
The normal documents are required (copies of certificates, application form) and a portfolio with at least 30 examples of your own art/design work. More information here.

Must I submit originals, or can I send photos of my works?
Normally, originals of your works must be submitted. Should you have any questions about the form the portfolio must take, please attend an academic consultation. 

• Submission regulations for the School of Art: Drawings, sketchbooks, pencil drawings, and coloured works on paper, collages, prints, graphic prints, photos, videos, films, but also digital and analogue animations on DVDs. Please only submit sculptural works and pictures on canvas as photos.
• Submission regulations for the School of Design: Sketchbooks, drawings and photos. Please submit computer graphics and other digital visualisations as printouts only, and three-dimensional works or models only as photos.

Do I submit my documents using Uni Assist?
No. Please put your documents in the dossier. The documents will be examined at HfG in the course of the admissions procedure.

Must I attend a preparatory program?
Should the review of the documents you submitted and the result of the entrance examination require you to first attend a preparatory program, HfG will register you for the preparatory program in Frankfurt.

Which course on the preparatory program must I attend?
As a rule, you must attend the G-course.

In what form should I send my certificates?
Certificates must be submitted as certified, translated into German or English. More information here.

What questions should I answer on my application form?
The application form must be answered in detail, in particular the second page. The answer to the question about your motives depends largely on you as an individual, and your chosen subject, and should provide a general picture of yourself, your experiences to date, and your motives for wishing to study at HfG Offenbach. Should there be insufficient space, please use an additional piece of paper.

LANGUAGE

​In what language are the courses given?
Generally speaking, courses are taught in German. By arrangement, professors can also give practical courses in English. However, all theoretical courses are in German.

What level of German is necessary?
Applicants must supply evidence of DSH-2 or Test DAF-4 or the certificate »telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule« by 1 October at the latest. There will be no enrolment in October 2020 without proof of sufficient language skills. Please make sure that you arrange the appropriate language courses and examinations in good time! If you are unable to provide proof of sufficient German language skills by mid-September, you can begin your studies up to three years later.

Is it necessary to submit the APS certificate?
Yes, Chinese applicants must submit the APS certificate!

Must the application letter be in German?
No, it is not absolutely necessary to write the application in German. You can find the application forms here​.

DEADLINES

What do I do once I have submitted my portfolio?
Once you have submitted your application, we will view your portfolio and decide whether to invite you to take the entrance exam. We will contact you by post around 4 to 6 weeks after the deadline for submission.

When is the application deadline?
Applications must have been received by 2 June 2020.

​When do entrance exams begin?
As a rule, entrance exams take place at the end of June (School of Design) and mid-July (School of Art). Exact dates and more detailed information is given here.

When will I receive confirmation to register for a visa?
Around 4 to 6 weeks after the deadline for submitting portfolios you will receive written confirmation on whether you have been invited to take the entrance exam. Should you live outside Europe, you will also be informed by email. Please note that you should make your visa application before you apply, so that the user is granted in time for the entrance exam.

COSTS

What costs are involved?
As currently there are no tuition fees in Hessen, you will only pay a semester fee. In winter semester 2020/21 this will be EUR 268,42. This includes a public transport ticket – allowing you to use buses and local trains free of charge. More detailed information here.

How high are tuition fees?
There are currently no tuition fees charged in Hessen. See above.

STUDY

What are halls of residence like, and can I apply for a place in one as an incoming student?
The halls of residence are managed by the student administration (Studentenwerk) Frankfurt. As only a limited number of places are available it is advisable to apply early. More information is available here.

Is there a Masters course?
No, Offenbach University of Art and Design is currently still offering the equivalent of a BA (Diplom).

Will my Bachelor’s degree be credited?
The Admissions Board, in conjunction with the Review Board, decides whether your Bachelor’s degree will be credited during the admission procedure, or in October after the beginning of lectures. Information here.

What faculties are there?
There are two, the School of Art and the School of Design. Both offer various subject areas.​

• The School of Art offers the following: Stage Design, Communications Design, Art, and Media.
  More information on the School of Art is available here.
• The School of Design offers the following subject areas: Integral Design, Visualisation and Materialisation, Intercultural Design, Furniture Design and Products in Public Space, Technical Products and Product Systems.
  More information on the School of Design is available here.

How can I specialise?
​As soon as you have enrolled in one of the two faculties you can choose your theoretical and practical courses at the beginning of the semester. Naturally, in choosing your courses you influence the focus of your studies. The entire system is kept open so that you can change your specialisation at a later date, but it is advisable to settle on a special area as soon as possible.