The Graduate School of the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) is a postgraduate programme aimed at highly qualified graduates from any discipline with experience of at least three years who have already developed their own artistic or design profile. Candidates are asked to submit a project proposal that can be completed within two years.

The fellowship programme welcomes applicants who consider an exchange with other disciplines to be an essential part of their work. In this spirit of collaboration, the fellowship assists the recipients as they work intensively for two years on researching and/or producing their project. It strives to be a support in practical as well as conceptual and discursive terms. In addition, the Graduate School offers an opportunity to teach at the UdK Berlin. The fellowship as a whole is undertaken in close collaboration and dialogue with visiting professor Tirdad Zolghadr.

Regular group sessions among the fellows offer mutual feedback, and public events such as the Salon für Ästhetische Experimente (Salon for Aesthetic Experiments) or the concluding Graduale (Graduate) presentation are opportunities to share ongoing work with the Berlin public. Generally speaking, the UdK Berlin aspires to be a platform from which fellows can reach out and initiate interdisciplinary collaborations. For this reason, the jury will prioritise candidates interested in a genuine exchange within the group and with others at the UdK Berlin.

The following support is provided over the two-year period of the fellowship:

• a monthly bursary of €1,365 as contribution to living expenses as well as €103 material costs
• grants for project research and production costs based on project needs and available funds
• child allowance(s) where applicable
• individual office space that can be adapted as studio space subject to opening hours at the UdK Berlin
• access to the wider range of the university’s facilities and resources (e.g. libraries, workshops, labs, courses), subject to availability
• information and support for international students as provided by the UdK international office

Fellows are responsible for finding their own accommodation in Berlin. The UdK Berlin can assist with this to some extent through the International Student Services, but please note this is not a residency programme.

Prospective starting date: 1 October 2023.

The Graduate School will award at least four fellowships, subject to the approval of the Berlin Senate.

The UdK Berlin is committed to a discrimination-free learning, teaching and working environment that provides equal opportunities. It seeks to remove any structural barriers that impede this, such as physical, linguistic, racial, age-related, gender-specific, heteronormative barriers and others. With particular regard to an intersectional approach, the university aims to increase the proportion of BIPoCs and individuals with a migration history as well as of women and trans-, inter-, and non-binary people, in particular by seeking to appoint them to leadership positions. Applicants with a severe disability or chronic illness will be given preferential consideration in cases where candidates are equally well qualified. Please mention any severe disability you have in your application form.

Applications will be accepted in both German and English but interviews are conducted only in English, which is the working language among fellows at the Graduate School.

The application process will take place in two stages.

The first stage is completed online. Please upload the following documents as one PDF file (maximum 10 MB) in the Application Form:

• Curriculum vitae
• Cover letter (no more than two A4 pages) addressing the following questions: How would your professional development benefit from a fellowship? What do you expect from the exchange between the Graduate School fellows? How do you see your contribution to this forum? Within which contexts do you situate your practice (artistically, socially, historically)?
• Project outline, provisional schedule, budget and financing plan (no more than four A4 pages overall, minimum font size 11)
• Copy of university degree certificate(s) (equivalent to a Master's degree or Diploma) or proof of outstanding artistic aptitude and particular skills in your discipline, as attested by at least three years of successful professional practice in the form of certificates or other documents
• Up to 3 work samples from your own artistic practice (online cross-references should be included as hyperlinks in the PDF).

The application deadline is 11/04/2023 (23:59 CET).

Please note: the time of the electronic receipt of your application will determine whether the deadline has been met. Due to system overload, the transmission of applications tends to take longer during the last few hours before the deadline, so we recommend submitting your application ahead of time. Applications received after the application deadline cannot be considered.

Candidates who are successful during the first stage will be informed by the beginning of May 2023 and invited to an interview.

The second stage consists of interviews, conducted either online or face to face. Candidates invited to the second stage are required to fill in the application form for the second stage. There you have the possibility to upload further supporting documents as one PDF file (maximum 10 MB):

• if relevant: details of a planned course to be taught at the UdK
• the names of any proposed project partners
• a reference in a discipline that is central to this project (please provide contact details of the referee)

The application deadline is 10/05/2023 (23:59 CET).

The interviews are expected to take place in the second half of May 2023. Please be sure to make yourself available. You will be informed of the final outcome of your application by the beginning of June 2023.

Applications that are not submitted by the respective deadlines or fail to comply with formal requirements will not be considered.

Please also see our FAQs.

For any further questions, please contact studyguide_ @udk-berlin / Tel.: +49 30 3185 1480