© TU Berlin/Masterstudiengang Bühnenbild_szenischer Raum

Stage Design and Scenography, M.A.

Program overview

The master’s program Bühnenbild_Szenischer Raum aims to equip you with the practical knowledge and skills for a career in the areas of stage design and scenography while strengthening your own distinct artistic and creative development. The dual nature of the program brings together two approaches regarding the dramaturgical design of space: the design of stages for theater, music theater, and dance on the one hand, and scenographic design for exhibitions, installations, and performance on the other hand. Our two-year full-time program equips you with a broad range of the necessary specialist skills and knowledge including theater forms, the dramaturgy of theater and music theater, spatial theory, media staging, costume, lighting, etc. In addition, you participate in interdisciplinary and experimental project work. In general, a strong focus is placed on projects and professional relevance in collaboration with theaters, museums, and institutions.

You are required to pay tuition fees for this program. Details of current fees can be found on the degree program website.

DegreeMaster of Arts
Standard period of study 4 semesters
Credit points120
Program start Winter semester
Admission Restricted admission
Language of instruction German

Admission requirements

The formal admission requirements for the master's program are a first degree qualifying you for professional employment (e.g. bachelor’s, Diplom, or Magister) in architecture, interior design, product design, fine art, theater, stage design, costume design, theater and cultural studies, stage direction, cultural management, visual communication, or other closely related areas as well as one year’s practical experience in a related area in a non-university context gained after completion of this first degree.

The program is primarily taught in German, although a number of workshops are offered in English. Good knowledge of German is therefore a further requirement. Applicants may be admitted with a level of B2 / TestDAf 12-16 points (or equivalent) provided they continue to take German courses to improve their level throughout the program and provide proof of their progress.

Applicants to the master’s program are required to demonstrate particular artistic ability. Please submit a portfolio with details and examples of:

  • Project work in areas such as architecture, stage, scenography, interior spaces, object design, costume, performance, visual and fine arts;
  • Freelance artistic work in the form of picture stories, dramaturgical concepts, photographs, collages, sketches, drawings;
  • Any experience gained in productions, as an assistant, or on internships

A brief project description with title / concept and your area of work would be helpful.

The projects included in your portfolio should demonstrate a particular interest in spatial design and reflect your own personal areas of interest. Original copies can also be presented during the interview.

The application must be submitted in digital form (as a pdf) by email between February and May 15th.

You can find more information about the application, admission and selection procedures in the application and admission regulations of the degree program (see the link "Study and examination regulations").

Program structure

The master’s degree is a full-time four-semester program. The core hours of attendance for the program are 10:00 until 18:00, although excursions and visits to theaters and exhibitions may also take place outside these hours. Sufficient advance notice is provided for intensive weekend seminars. Information concerning all dates and events is provided in an integrated online timetable.

Content and modules

The curriculum is made up of modules encompassing the following areas:

  • Theory: The initial two semesters are taught in lectures and seminars focusing on the fundamentals of typology of stage design/scenography, analysis of theater/exhibitions, theater classifications, direction/dramaturgy, theater history/music and opera history, costume history, spatial theory, musical dramaturgy, costume, communication in space.
  • Stage Design and Scenography Projects: Students work in small groups on two projects per semester. Choosing between stage design and scenographic design (exhibitions, events, performance), students mainly work in realization and collaboration projects. These projects further serve to deepen your knowledge of costume, directorial methods, and costing/competition status.
  • Techniques/ Presentations: The following areas are taught in project-integrated seminars, lectures, and workshops: stage and lighting engineering and design, medial production, drawing, visualization, presentation techniques, makeup, interactive exhibits.
  • Practice: Excursions, two internships, elective subjects.

A proposed course schedule can be found on the degree program website or in the study and examination regulations.

To module database

Internships

You are required to complete two self-organized internships or two self-initiated independent projects lasting a minimum of six weeks.

Stays abroad

No stay abroad is planned for the program.

Acquired skills

The program teaches you strategies of dramaturgical spatial design as well as their methodological and technical implementation in competitions and projects, working in close cooperation with external partners from theaters, museums, businesses, and public institutions. You acquire the ability to independently design the artistic and scenographical representation of a text, libretto, or theme for theater, exhibitions, or other similar events, as well as to oversee the practical realization of your design. Particular emphasis is placed on exploring experimental approaches to the development of spatial strategies. As a graduate you are familiar with the most important production and planning procedures and are able to create calculations and submit tenders on the basis of the assessment of a project’s technical feasibility and cost effectiveness. You possess the skills to create sketches, scenarios, and visualizations for the creation of scale models and prototypes as well as drawings, performance lists, and material specifications. You also acquire practical experience of supervising projects (in theaters, museums, agencies, etc.) for stage design, lighting, stage, and costume rehearsals, focusing on supervision of and communication with the various technical crews.

After your studies

The continuous re-structuring of the theater landscape and an increasing interest in interdisciplinary and performative formats as well as the growing variety of temporary exhibitions, performances, and events, including in business/brand communication, are creating evermore professional openings for graduates of this master’s program. As a flexible, interdisciplinary designer, you will be able to undertake freelance project work as a stage designer or scenographer, working in theaters, exhibitions, installations, performance and festivals, in both closed artificial spaces and urban spaces.

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