Fine Arts BA

Educational qualifications
As a rule, admission to the aptitude assessment for a Bachelor’s degree programme in Fine Arts requires one of the following educational qualifications:

• a certified vocational baccalaureate
• a certified specialized baccalaureate
• a certified upper secondary school (level II) baccalaureate
• proof of an equivalent educational degree at an upper secondary school (level II) obtained otherwise (e.g. Vocational College HF) 
  

Language of tuition
The language of tuition is German (B2 or equivalent) and partly English. Proof of language proficiency is required at the start of the degree programme.

Workplace experience or preparatory course in design.
One year of practical workplace experience or completion of a preparatory course are not mandatory, but recommended.

approved professional fields (PDF in German)
Is a list of approved vocational trainings and professional fields, respectively.

Catching up on the vocational baccalaureate
Applicants who have not completed at least three years of upper secondary schooling (level II) are not legally entitled to admission to a Bachelor's degree programme. Information concerning full-time or part-time on-the-job training courses focusing on a vocational, design-based or specialized baccalaureate is provided by the local vocational colleges.

Admission on the basis of exceptional talent (1)
In exceptional cases, applicants can be admitted to the Bachelor’s degree programmes in Design and in Fine Arts without being in possession of an upper secondary school (level II) certificate (Swiss education system), link, namely if they can provide proof of exceptional talent, either in a design-related or an arts-related field.
Note: We recommend that you make enquiries by means of an email to the office of the respective degree programme at YWRtaXNzaW9uLkJBLWt1bnN0Lmhna0BmaG53LmNo  at least two weeks prior to the application deadline (15 February), or arrange an appointment with the Head of the degree programme.

Documents to be submitted (online registration)

• Motivation letter
• Portfolio (documentation of creative work to date)
• CV in tabular format
  
  The Head of the degree programme decides whether sufficient proof has been provided on the basis of the application documents
  

____________
(1) If you are in possession of one of the following educational degrees, you are eligible for this mode of admission:
Federal Certificate of Vocational Proficiency EFZ (apprenticeship), Professional Certificate EBA, Specialized Secondary School (FMS), Compulsory Schooling, no educational qualification

The detailed information on the aptitude assessment will be published on 1 November 2023.
To apply for a place at the HGK, the required documents must be submitted by 15.02.2024.

Please send enquiries regarding specific degree programmes to the appropriate email address.

Info aptitude assessment 2024 (german)

Dates 2024

• 01.11.2023
  Publication of the detailed information on the aptitude assessment
  
• 15.02.2024
  Registration deadline and deadline for submitting the required documents for the aptitude assessment.
• 09.- 13.09.2024
  Introductory weeks at the HGK Basel (mandatory)
• 16.09.2024
  Fall Semester begin 2024/25

Study Regulation, Fine Arts, Bachelor (PDF Download in German)

We expect of our students a high degree of curiosity and a willingness to develop an enhanced sense of what they themselves create and what others bring into being. Prerequisite is the ability to think differently. We expect from students to be able to comprehend modes of thought different to their own. The Institute of Art appreciates students who feel drawn to the unknown and who wish to join the debates on creating art.
Finding one’s own voice takes time. The Institute of Art is willing to support you on this journey when and wherever it can. Studying art offers no clear-cut answers but it can you help find and formulate the right questions. We want you to understand that these questions – the questions of art – lead a public life.

Over the three-year study period, the course programme covers four independent subject fields: “Art and Practice”, “Art and Communication”, “Art and Reflection” and “Art and Presentation”. The four modules provide you with in-depth practical as well as theoretical knowledge and understanding which you will require for your future artistic practice. Each module relies on different forms of teaching and learning. In addition, the Institute organizes trans-disciplinary events in the form of seminars, lectures and block weeks where you acquire broader knowledge with regards to cultural history and perception.

In addition, the bachelor’s students attend CoCreate, the course catalogue of all bachelor’s study programmes, with courses and lectures. In the roughly 140 courses of the CoCreate programme each year, students work collaboratively, experimentally and interdisciplinarily in groups. Representatives of all study programmes and students take part in the development of teaching content and formats.

Art and Practice

In this module, students gain an overview of the different media and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in media-specific workshops as well as through supplementary inputs offered by the workshops along with their own personal specialization in the context of their artistic practice. Art and Practice builds on the students’ self-initiative with regard to the choice of media, with respect to the further development of their technical know-how, and in connection with the experiences gained in their own artistic practice.

Art and Communication

Since the ability to engage in discourse and handle critique competently are important in the development of artistic processes, students learn to master these skills in regular discussions with lecturers as well as in sessions with co-students, allowing them to talk about their own artistic work, as well about art in general in exhibition contexts. Art and Reflection In this module students work on their reflective skills and theoretical knowledge with regard to their own work as well as general methodology. In particular, they acquire knowledge in basic cultural-scientific fields and specific art theoretical issues.

Art and Reflection

In this module you develop reflective theoretical knowledge with regard to your own work and gain a sound foundation in general theory. Emphases include basic knowledge in cultural history and selected art theoretical questions.

Art and Presentation

In addition to the work presentations each semester, this module comprises all the important exams in the three-year BA degree course, including the Basic thesis and the BA thesis. Apart from showcasing their own artistic work in the context of a presentation or exhibition, students are asked to write a mentored paper to test their written reflective skills.

The three-year Bachelor course introduces you to issues of current-day art practice and helps you to develop your own work approach. It is not a training in art history; instead you gather experience and are confronted with a wide array of ideas, forms, media, materials and questions relating to matters such as individuality. Apart from working in the studio, group discussions with other students and lecturers form a core of the course. On a regular basis artists and art theoreticians from Switzerland and abroad are invited as visiting scholars to support you in your studies. In the three-year BA course you acquire technical skills and expand your knowledge concerning the questions and topics that drive today’s art practice.

The BA degree programme in Fine Arts lays the foundation for understanding oneself as an emerging artist.

With its studios and central Campus.Workshops, HGK offers ideal conditions for combining craft curiosity, the acquisition of technical skills, and the necessary digital know-how. In addition, all students have their own 24/7 workspace in one of the spacious studios. Students also have access to the Institute’s internal workshops for analogue and digital media as well as the required equipment and software. On top of that, the institute also has its own exhibition space – the TANK – which can be used by students.

Here you will find everything you need to know about the enrolment process at the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW.

Apart from the enrolment and tuition fees, reckon with the following further costs:

Bachelor Thesis fee: CHF 300.-

For materials, travels, excursions, books, storage media, etc. students must reckon with the following additional costs:

Semesters 1 – 5: up to CHF 2,000.- per semester; Semester 6 up to CHF 3,500.-

visit the Teamsite of the Institute Art Gender Nature (german)

Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW
Institute Art Gender Nature (IAGN)
Freilager-Platz 1
Postfach

CH-4002 Basel

Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW
Institute Art Gender Nature (IAGN)

Oslo-Strasse 3, Ateliergebäude: A 1.10
4142 Basel/Münchenstein

T +41 61 228 40 77
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