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Winter semester 2023/24: May 15th, 2023 to June 15th, 2023
Summer semester 2024: Estimated as of now for mid-November 2023 to December 15th, 2023
As a communication designer you develop creative and strategic solutions across all media. You develop concepts, you do layouts, you take care of typography, you photograph, you write, you draw or illustrate. You design fonts, books, magazines, posters, flyers, corporate designs, websites, apps, interactive installations and animations, and are always in a dialog with other disciplines. Together with architects, you plan trade fair stands or exhibitions and develop signage systems for museums, buildings and festivals. In cooperation with curators, you will design the concept of exhibitions - from posters and wall texts to the opening event. As a designer, you bring the messages of companies and institutions to the point through visual concepts and appearances. And perhaps you will discover your strengths as a copywriter during your studies and find the right words. Multimedia design concepts and cross-media forms of communication are created in your agencies and studios, as are photographs and illustrations for scientific and business communication.
The career prospects for graduates of our degree program are varied. After successfully completing their studies, designers with interdisciplinary experience can work in business and industry, cultural and state institutions, design studios, advertising agencies and as freelance graphic artists with their own studio.
In the first two semesters, you will acquire sound technical and theoretical design fundamentals in our courses. In addition, there are introductions to realization techniques (computer technology, program training) and workshops (bookbinding, digital printing, traditional printmaking, screen printing , photo lab, photo studio and library).
In the first two semesters of the draft year, you will expand and deepen your knowledge and skills, and you will be able to explore and define your first focal points.
Conception and drafting
In this module you will familiarize yourself with different design methods taking theoretical and aesthetic basics into account. The module gives you the opportunity to set your own personal study focuses according to your own criteria and with the help of the study advising previously received.
Design initiatives
Design initiatives focus on the design of simple communication systems, for example for a series of lectures, an information event, a small publication or for presentation at the end of the semester.
Communication design theory
The subjects of this module provide you with theoretical, vocational and general academic competences.
The third year is characterised by its strong practical relevance and prepares you for entering the world of work.
Practical semester
You will spend the internship semester, for example, at an advertising agency, a design office, in the communications department of a museum, at a publishing house, at a radio or TV station. As an alternative to the practical semester, you can also take a semester abroad at one of our partner universities.
Interdisciplinary projects
In interdisciplinary projects you will work on complex tasks from all areas of applied and free design. It is crucial that different creative and scientific methods are combined in these projects. The study and research results and the visual results of these projects are regularly published, presented in exhibition cooperations with museums, and reflected in symposia or series of lectures with representatives from the practical side.
The seventh semester serves to prepare your bachelor's thesis. This is accompanied by the module "Exhibiting", which covers different approaches to present one's own work to the public. Special theory courses which prepare you for additional aspects of professional practice such as law or foreign languages round off the programme.
You complete your studies with your bachelor's thesis and the public exhibition of your bachelor's project. Afterwards, you can start your professional career. The bachelor's degree also qualifies you for admission to the master's degree program, where you may further develop your practical and theoretical skills.
Advertising Art and Cultural History Book Design Conceptual Design Corporate Design Copywriting Cultural Orientation Design Management Drawing Editorial Design Exhibition Design History of Design Illustration | Information Design |
Gregor Ade – Corporate Design/Corporate Identity
Monika Aichele – Illustration/Drawing
Kirstin Arndt – Free Design
llka Becker – Art an cultural history
Johannes Bergerhausen – Book Design/Typography
Katja Davar – Experimental Drawing
Petra Eisele – History of Design/Theory of Design
Stefan Enders – Photography
Florian Jenett – Media Informatics and Digital Design
Nadja Mayer – Text Design
Isabel Naegele – Fundamentals of Design/Typography
Claudia Nass Bauer – Design strategy
Sylvie Pagé – Text Design
Philipp Pape – Conceptual Design/Typography
Holger Reckter – Media Informatics
Matthias Riedel – Marketing/Psychology
Anna-Lisa Schönecker – Information Design/Interactive Design
Charlotte Schröner – Conceptual Design
David Voss – Editorial design/Typography
The Communication Design degree program is globally networked with universities and academies with similar focal points. The partner universities are located in almost all European countries, as well as in Australia, North America, South Korea, India, Thailand, Israel, Jordan and Turkey. Information on partner universities and the exchange program can be obtained from the International Office. As an alternative to a stay abroad, you can also complete an internship.
The city of Mainz am Rhein is strongly influenced by the students of Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Johannes Gutenberg University. Original restaurants, small owner-managed shops, trendy pubs, theaters and museums enliven the city center and enrich the everyday life of students. At the same time, numerous companies in the media industry - including ZDF, SWR, publishers and agencies in Mainz and the Rhine-Main region - will enable you to complete various internships and later on to easily start your career.
Mainz University of Applied Sciences guarantees all students childcare facilities for children starting at the age of six months. For further information on the network of daycare providers or the on-campus nursery school (Kita Campulino) please contact the University's Equal Opportunities Representative. Mainz University of Applied Sciences has been awarded the basic certificate "Family-friendly university".
SEMESTER 1 30 CP/25 SWS | SEMESTER 2 30 CP/25 SWS | SEMESTER 3 30 CP/16 SWS | SEMESTER 4 30 CP/16 SWS | SEMESTER 5 30 CP/3 SWS | SEMESTER 6 30 CP/16 SWS | SEMESTER 7 30 CP/ 9,33 SWS |
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Design basics | Photography 6 CP/5 SWS Photo technology 1 CP/2 SWS | Concept and design A 10 CP/5 SWS | Concept and design C 10 CP/5 SWS | Work placement or semester abroad 25 CP | Interdisciplinary project A 10 CP/5 SWS | Bachelor-Thesis 12 CP/0,33 SWS |
Typography 1 6 CP/5 SWS | Typography 2 6 CP/5 SWS | Concept and design B 10 CP/5 SWS | Concept and design D 10 CP/5 SWS | Colloquiums 5 CP/3 SWS | Interdisciplinary project B 10 CP/5 SWS | Bachelor documentation and colloquiums 8 CP |
Language and text 6 CP/5 SWS | Art history 5 CP/3 SWS | Self motivated work 5 CP/3 SWS | Design initiative 5 CP/3 SWS | Theory of communication design B 5 CP/3 SWS | Professional experience A 3 CP/3 SWS | |
Drawing | Art basics 6 CP/5 SWS | Design history/theory 5 CP/3 SWS | Theory of communication design A 5 CP/3 SWS | Theorie of communication design C 5 CP/3 SWS | Professional experience B 3 CP/3 SWS | |
Interactive design basics 1 6 CP/5 SWS | Interactive design basics 2 6 CP/5 SWS | Exhibition 4 CP/3 SWS |
SeMESTER 1 30 CP/23 SWS | SEMESTER 2 30 CP/23 SWS | SEMESTER 3 30 CP/16 SWS | SEMESTER 4 30 CP/16 SWS | SEMESTER 5 30 CP/1 SWS | SEMESTER 6 30 CP/23 SWS | SEMESTER 7 30 CP |
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Fundamentals of Design | Fundamentals of Design 2 6 CP/5 SWS | Conception & Design 1 10 CP/5 SWS | Conception & Design 3 10 CP/5 SWS | Practical semester or semester abroad 30 CP/1 SWS | Interdisciplinary project 1 12 CP/10 SWS | Bachelor's thesis 12 CP |
Typography 1 6 CP/5 SWS | Typography 2 6 CP/5 SWS | Conception & Design 2 10 CP/5 SWS | Conception & Design 4 10 CP/5 SWS | Interdisciplinary project 2 12 CP/10 SWS | Bachelor's colloquium 8 CP | |
Sprache&Text 6 CP/5 SWS | Photography 6 CP/5 SWS | Design Initiative 1 4 CP/3 SWS | Design Initiative 2 4 CP/3 SWS | Theory 3 6 CP/3 SWS | Work experience 1 5 CP | |
Foundations of Art | Foundations of Art 2 6 CP/5 SWS | Theory 1 6 CP/3 SWS | Theory 2 6 CP/3 SWS | Work experience 2 5 CP | ||
Historical Foundations 6 CP/3 SWS | Historical Foundations 2 6 CP/3 SWS |