Unter Krahnenbäumen 87, 50668 Köln, Germany

+49 221 28380 179

Undergraduate program

Bachelor of Music. Studies include performance (classical, jazz/pop, early instruments), choral and orchestral conducting, composition, electronic composition, musicology, ethnomusicology, pedagogy, Protestant and Catholic church music. The elementary music education course needs to be followed by the two-year Master program to gain the qualification for teaching music in schools.

Graduate programs

Master of Arts. In musicology, music education. Master of Music. In performance, choral, orchestral and music theatre conducting, repetiteur training, composition, and arranging, theory and analysis, music business, sound design, church music, arts management, musicians' health. Doctor of Philosophy.

Other program

Konzertexamen. for advanced performance, opera performance.

The Hochschule, founded in 1850, gained its current name and status in 1987. The Hochschule is situated in the heart of the old city of Cologne, in the vicinity of the cathedral and the main railway station. It is one of the largest music academies in Europe, with about 1700 students and more than 300 professors. There are campuses in Aachen and Wuppertal. Originally founded as a conservatory it has provided music training for young people for more than 150 years, focussing on classical as well as on contemporary music and jazz, and also offers programs in dance. The Rheinisch Opernakademy forms a department of the University (see separate entry in the Directory). There are Institutes of Early Music, Historical Musicology, New Music, Music Pedagogical Research, and the Peter Ostwald Institute for Musician Medicine. A Centre for International Arts Management with headquarters at the Hochschule has been organised in co-operation with the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, the Robert Schumann University Düsseldorf and the Music Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. Facilities include an 800-seat concert hall, a new music theatre, an electronic music studio, a chamber music hall and practice and class rooms. The Hochschule owns a gamelan. Three international music competitions – in piano, violin and singing – are organised by the Hochschule. A preparatory program is offered at the Cologne Academy of Music to highly gifted students who may wish to enter the professional program. There are links with many local and international music institutions including Theater Aachen, the Oper Köln and various cultural institutions of the Rhine region. The Dortmund Orchesterzentrum is a joint venture between the four Universities of Music in Cologne, Detmold, Düsseldorf and Essen. It is a collaborative education institution offering training for post-graduate students in preparation for a career as an orchestral musician. An active member of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen.

October 2021