Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle

Visionary thinking and design beyond commercial contexts are promoted, as is the development of practical professional skills. In terms of art and design, freedom is offered and individual and idiosyncratic paths are encouraged. The BURG takes a stand against right-wing extremist ideas and hostility to democracy and opposes discrimination of any kind.

With their ideas and works, their visions and positions, the students should contribute to the social discourse as responsible, critical and independent individuals. A broad-based basic training in theory and practice, well-equipped laboratories and workshops, research and project plans – also in cooperation with institutions and companies – and interdisciplinary networks and discourses form the framework for this.

In the artistic disciplines, the university fulfills its research mandate in that the teaching artists develop their own work and pass on the knowledge gained in the conception and production process. In the design disciplines, design principles are examined in relation to systems, processes and products. Questions of mobility, living and working, communication and intercultural exchange as well as lifelong learning are linked with those of the future viability of individual life plans.

What does the BURG stand for?

Studying at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art in Halle (more on the history) founded in 1915 by Paul Thiersch means learning different forms of action and design, formulating points of view and trying out artistic forms in the field of tension between the diverse disciplines of art or design. In doing so, one’s own artistic language and attitude or one’s own repertoire for solving design tasks should be developed.

Studying here at the BURG also means entering into dialogue with others, discussing in a team, experimenting in the studio – and all this on a campus with facilities that are second to none in Germany. At the same time, the BURG offers a variety of opportunities to make contacts in other countries through its international network. Committed teachers and employees accompany the approximately 1,000 students in projects, seminars and individual discussions, in studios and workshops, in an interplay of theory and practice.

The study ends in the art department with a diploma or state examination and in the design department with a Bachelor of Arts, which can be followed by a master’s degree. Even after their studies, the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle supports its graduates on their way with scholarships, advice, alumni exhibitions or support for starting a business in the Designhaus Halle .

The decision to study at the BURG, to study at an art college, means daring freedom, taking responsibility for the path you have chosen, savoring freedom and designing it at the same time. It also includes using the opportunities to reflect on our living environment, to take a stand, to actively shape things and life, to transform one’s own reflections, observations and thoughts into worlds that can be experienced visually