Study course

Conceptual Textile Design

Master's course in the Design Faculty

M.A. in Conceptual Textile Design

The students will be prepared for a professional environment, in which conception, communication, presentation and cooperation are just as important as the development of the product itself. The orientation towards production and markets as well as the close contact with science and research result in an open, varied job profile for textile designers. In the master’s degree course Conceptual Textile Design, the students deepen their professional competence, e.g. conceptual thinking, strategic action and structured design, preparing them to work in leading positions in various textile related and neighbouring fields of activity.

The extensively equipped textile workshops, the possibility of cooperating with other degree courses – like Fashion, Interior Architecture and Industrial Design – as well as the large variety of theory-based design subjects offer the students some excellent options. They can achieve a complex understanding of textile design; experimentally research visionary material and project ideas; further explore questions concerning trendsetting solutions for products, interiors and clothing, which are in line with aesthetic appeal, sustainability and functionality.

The extensive equipment of textile-related workshops, the opportunity to cooperate with the Fashion Design, Interior Architecture and Industrial Design study courses and a wide range of design science subjects offer students excellent options for developing a complex understanding of textile design; for experimentally researching visionary material and product ideas; for expanding their questions to include future-oriented solutions for products, spaces and clothing in which aesthetics, sustainability and function are in harmony with each other.

In the Conceptual Textile Design master’s programme, students further develop professional skills such as conceptual thought, strategic action and structured design so that they will be able to work in positions of responsibility in various textile-related and other associated fields.

Teaching content

The comprehensive equipment available in textiles workshops, the opportunity for cooperation with the Fashion, Interior Architecture and Industrial Design courses, and the wide range of design theory subjects available provide the students with excellent options for the development of a sophisticated understanding of textile design, for experimental investigation of visionary material and product ideas, and for broadening the search for innovative solutions for products, spaces and clothing that combine aesthetics, sustainability and function in a harmonious manner.

Course of study

The two-semester master’s course can be taken after an eight-semester bachelor’s course has been completed. The focus here is on a comprehensive master’s thesis on an individual design topic. 

The four-semester master’s course offers students conceptual project studies in the first two semesters; a study programme oriented towards individual focal areas can be assembled here from various elective choices. The course of study is completed by a master’s thesis that will visualise a complex concept.

Prerequisites

The master’s courses are aimed at graduates with a bachelor’s or a ‘Diplom’ degree with an artistic/design emphasis. However, interested graduates of other disciplines who have relevant qualifications may also be admitted to a master’s course after taking the course-specific entrance test.

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

university and examination regulations

Study-relevant legal bases

Workshops for tailoring/dressmaking, knitting and electronic knitting, a course-specific computer pool, workshops for flat-film printing and digital textile printing, a weaving shop with mechanical and electronic Jacquard weaving, cooperations with the local dyeing works, hand-knitting and weaving.

Research projects of the Textile study programme and the Master's course Conceptual Textile Design

Prerequisites

Master’s courses at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design are aimed at graduates of bachelor’s or Diplom courses with an artistic/design emphasis. All applicants have to take a course-specific entrance test; interested graduates of other disciplines who have relevant qualifications may also be admitted to a master’s course after taking this test. Most courses also require proof of relevant practical placements or comparable practical experience along with this test.

Standard duration of course

The duration of the master’s course is flexible and depends on the duration of the preceding successfully completed degree:

  • Two semesters: In the case of a preceding completed degree in the same subject after a four-year bachelor’s course with 240 ECTS points or a comparable Diplom degree.
  • Four semesters: In the case of a preceding completed degree in the same subject after a three-year bachelor’s course or for graduates of art/design courses in a different subject area or other courses

Application documents

Internal: Exposé, letter of motivation, portfolio

External: Focus of content (concept paper), letter of motivation, portfolio

Guidelines for the design of the portfolio

Application deadlines

Applications for a Bachelor's programme: 1 December to 11 March

Internal Master's applications: 1 October to 15 November

Internal and external Master's applications: 1 April to 15 May