Guiding philosophy of the University of Art and Design in Halle

Visionary thinking and design

The art school in Halle offers artistically talented young people a wide range of artistic and theoretical teaching as well as a place where they can experiment with their skills and develop them to a professional level in an environment of intellectual exchange and practical cooperation with university teaching staff and fellow students. The university was founded in 1915 and now has over one thousand enrolled students from all over the world. Students in the Design courses graduate with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, students in Art courses graduate with ‘Diplom’ degrees, while those in teaching courses complete their first state exam.

Visionary thinking and design beyond any considerations of commercial exploitation are nurtured alongside the development of practical career skills. As befits both art and design, students are given a significant degree of freedom and are encouraged to follow their own individual paths. BURG takes a stand against extreme right-wing views and contempt for democracy and opposes discrimination of all types.

With their ideas and works and their visions and positions, students should be able to contribute to societal discourse as articulate, involved, critical and independent individuals. The framework for achieving this is provided by a broadly based training in the fundamentals of both theory and practice, by well-equipped laboratories and workshops, by research and other projects – which may also be involve cooperation with institutions and companies – and by interdisciplinary links and dialogue.

The university fulfils its research responsibilities in artistic disciplines by allowing teaching artists to develop their own work and to pass on the knowledge they gain in the course of conceptual and production processes. Design principles are investigated with regard to systems, processes and products in the design disciplines. Issues of mobility, living and working, of communication and intercultural exchange, and of life-long learning are interlinked here with questions regarding the future viability of various lifestyles.