Music Design Bachelor - Study at two universities

For those with sound in their blood

This bachelor's degree programme is something special, as we offer it in cooperation with the Trossingen University of Music. Two universities, two perspectives – your studies are guaranteed to be twice as interesting! We consider working with sound as part of an overall production that can be experienced by the listening viewer in a multimedia and multi-sensory way. Learn to create sound from the elements of (composed) music, speech and sound!

ECTS: 240 ECTS
Programme duration: 8 semesters
Campus: Furtwangen
Faculty: Digital Media
Programme begins: winter semester (October)
Application deadline: 15 July (winter semester)
Entry requirements: university entrance qualification or aptitude test and entrance examination
Teaching language: German
Accreditation: yes

Become a professional listener In this degree programme, you'll learn how to analyse sound from an aesthetic and psycho-acoustic perspective. We develop your media skills as well as your musical and artistic creativity.
Not a piano, but a... ... laptop! It's recognised as a fully-fledged musical instrument in this degree programme. So you don't have to be Chopin, musical creativity is important to us. You can show what you can do in an entrance exam.
Talent counts Whether you can read music and whether you have a high school diploma or not... is frankly not that important to us. We're looking for talented people who want to develop their media and artistic skills. You'll learn everything else on the way.
The world is waiting Music and media are "languages" with which you will be able to work all over the world. It's a good thing that we have an international university network from the USA to East Asia!

Apply now for MD!

Details of the programme

Music designers work closely with other artists, marketing and product acoustics experts from the fields of brand communication, product development, architecture, media installation, film, interactive applications and mobile content in the conception and implementation of this production. With this degree programme, we train you for this demanding interdisciplinary collaboration.
We're looking for creative minds with sound in their blood, who want to be different from pure music performers - both newcomers (school leavers) and career changers - cracks from the fields of music, composition, sound design, DJing, sound art, media design and scenography.

Find out more about the MD programme on the website of the Trossingen University of Music.

Foundation courses

In the foundation courses, we teach you basic musical and technical knowledge. We develop your skills in the areas of ear training, improvisation and composition. Musicology, audio technology and basic programming languages are also on your timetable.

Advanced courses

In the advanced semesters, working with musicians and artists of all genres plays a decisive role. Media management and marketing as well as practical projects complete our range of subjects. We guide you so that you can carry out independent projects and constructively reflect on your own work and that of others.

On the home straight

As part of the compulsory elective modules, you can choose an individual focus for your studies, for example Interactive Musical Content and Games, Film Music, Experimental Composition, Music Informatics or Music Mediation. We highly recommend that you spend a semester abroad at one of our numerous partner universities.

Your degree

In the 7th semester, this degree programme includes a practical semester, which then leads to a bachelor's degree in the 8th semester with a bachelor's project and a public presentation at the university. In addition, there are regular workshops with managers and successful personalities from the creative industry and the artistic and musical scene.

What counts is musical talent – even if it is unconventional. Reading music is therefore not a mandatory requirement for the entrance examination, but you are expected to work on this as part of your studies.

In the case of special artistic talent and adequate general education, which is proven separately in a so-called talent test, applicants without a general university entrance qualification can also be admitted to the programme.

We require little - except talent and creativity. Knowledge of music is not essential at the beginning of the course. You can also take the degree programme without a high school diploma, and career changers without previous classical music training are also welcome.

The programme is interdisciplinary - we rely on tradition-based foundations and sound university training. Our team of lecturers also consists of interdisciplinary experts from the fields of art, technology and practice.

Our graduates have a wide range of career prospects in culture and business. You can start your career straight after completing your bachelor's degree!

Download file:MD Study and Examinations Regulations

As a music designer, you can live out your creativity after graduation either as an employee or independently. Our graduates work in the fields of composition, audio/sound design, sound direction, media production, project management and conception. You can take on audio supervision and sound design for production companies (music, video, computer applications/games, advertising) or work for agencies (advertising, commercial film, web, event agencies), as well as for radio/TV stations and music schools.

And if you haven't had enough of studying, a master's degree is also a good option! Just as an idea, here are the master's degree programmes offered by our Faculty of Digital Media: Computer Science in Media Master and Interactive Media Design Master.

Labs & equipment

Music Design Bachelor - Study at two universities (I4957)

Music Design Bachelor - Study at two universities (I4958)

Music Design Bachelor - Study at two universities (I4959)

Music Design Bachelor - Study at two universities (I4960)

Faculty of Digital Media

Shape our digital future! At our Faculty of Digital Media, we live innovative ideas; with curiosity and creativity, we question the tried and tested (preferably ourselves too). We navigate you safely through the fast-moving world of media. Our bachelor's degree programmes provide you with a sound basic understanding and the ability to recognise trends early on and quickly familiarise yourself with new technologies. With our master's degree programmes, we train media experts whose in-depth knowledge makes them sought-after specialists.

Find out more about the Faculty of Digital Media (DM)

Furtwangen University is one of the strongest research universities in the country. We have a dedicated research focus on computer science and media. We find solutions for forms of information and communication that are specially tailored to people and their intellectual, auditory, tactile and visual needs.

Internal link opens in the same window:Current research projects at HFU.

MD Study and Examinations Regulations

Further information about MD on the Trossingen University of Music website