Registration and admissions process

MA Art Education, Critical Social Practice in Art Education

Thank you for your interest in the Master's programme in Art Education, Critical Social Practice in Art Education at Zurich University of the Arts.

If interested in a Master’s degree applicants apply for admission to their chosen Major. Afterwards they separately choose their Minor. Both programmes Major and Minor will start in the first semester.

→ Detailed information on the Major-Minor programme structure at ZHdK
→ Detailed information on Minor Selection

→ The information days will take place mid-November. Detailed information please find on zhdk.ch/en/information-days

Admissions requirements

The requirements for admission to the degree programme and for enrolment are governed by the Regulatory Framework for Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Zurich University of the Arts (RO §§ 19–24).

Additional admission requirements for the selected major programme, including the required language skills, are set out in the Degree Programme Regulations of the Master of Art Education at Zurich University of the Arts (StO MA Art Education § 4 ff.).

In exceptional cases, ZHdK may admit individuals without a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification from a recognized and accredited university. → Further information (PDF).

  • Application documents

    1. Covering letter
      The letter outlines the applicant’s vision of their future teaching and artistic-educational work against the backdrop of their experience to date and taking into account their own education biography (scope: maximum of two A4 pages).
       
    2. Portfolio/work samples/project idea
      Portfolio in the form of digital documentation of project work and creative-artistic work.
      Documentation of three to four larger, thematically and medially different creative-artistic and/or self-initiated artistic-educative or collaborative projects from the last three years.
      Depending on the type of work, the documentation may include research, sketches, images, text and audio material. The portfolio must be submitted digitally as a PDF. Film and audio material can be embedded in the PDF as an external link.
      We welcome your own project idea with reference to social, educational and creative approaches that could be developed in the course of your studies.
       
    3. References
      Please provide references from two to three people (employer, university). Only their name/address/e-mail are required, no reference letters.
       
    4. Transcripts
      For ZHdK staff and student applicants: evidence of Bachelor of Arts achievements (certificates/learning biography)
      For non-ZHdK applicants: proof of academic achievements (learning biography/transcript of records) as well as any confirmation of internships.
       
    5. Swiss Matriculation number
      The field «matriculation number» only concerns applicants who have already studied at a university or applied university in Switzerland. Applicants who have studied abroad (not in Switzerland) are not required to fill in the field «matriculation number». 
      All students receive a matriculation number when they register for the first time at a university or an applied university in Switzerland or at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in the shape of a yellow sticker, which is affixed to the reverse of their qualifying diploma (e.g. baccalaureate certificate, Swiss Federal Certificate of Competence). Please provide this number when registering and submit your university entrance qualification certificate as a PDF file.
       
    6. Ex-matriculation certificate / Proof of withdrawal
      Confirmation of ex-matriculation or proof of withdrawal is issued at Swiss universities upon graduation or upon termination of studies. If issue is pending, confirmation must be submitted later.
       
    7. Swiss Social security number
      If you live or work in Switzerland, you will find your Swiss social security number (756...) on your AHV card or on your Swiss health insurance card. Applicants who wish to come to Switzerland to study do not yet have a Swiss social security number and therefore do not need to provide one.
       
    8. Personal photo as JPG
      Please upload a recent passport quality photo – no copies/screenshots of the passport page or identity card. The photo must be a frontal shot of the face that is 2/3 of the frame and at least 320 x 400 pixels.
       
    9. Identity card or passport
      A PDF of the identity card (both sides) or passport must be uploaded. If a residence permit for Switzerland is available, please also submit a PDF of it.
       
    10. Resume / Curriculum Vitae
      Please submit in tabular form, no prose texts.
       

    11. Language skills
      The language skills required are listed for each degree programme in the programme regulations. Language skills can be demonstrated as follows:
      –   Native speaker (does not have to be proven)
      –    Required language as a subject in the educational certificate, passed or at least grade 4 (submit the upper secondary education transcript as a PDF)
      –    Recognized certificate (according to the list «Recognized Certificates for Language Requirements»)
      –    University degree (Bachelor’s/Master’s) in a degree programme where the language of instruction corresponds to the language skills required by the study regulations (submit diploma supplement or official confirmation from the university as a PDF)

      Note: The language certificates should usually be no more than five years old. The decision on whether the admission requirements regarding language skills have been met is made during the formal review of the documents.

    12. Further documents
      Please submit the corresponding transcripts, diplomas and certificates to provide evidence of your:
      • Educational qualifications
      • Professional activities (relevant to your degree programme/chosen specialization)
      • Internships (relevant to your degree programme/chosen specialization)

    Documents must be uploaded in PDF format. If you wish to upload several individual PDF files, you may do so one after the other.

    The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is generally permitted, except where it is explicitly not accepted for certain documents to be submitted. The use of AI must be declared when the application is submitted.

  • Aptitude interview

    Aptitude interview with a brief outline or rehearsal of an artistic-educational practice

    During a 30 to 40-minute meeting with representatives of the relevant major, applicants are invited to outline and/or rehearse a situation or exercise related to artistic-educational practice. Competencies in key areas of the program are assessed, and any questions remaining after reviewing the application materials are addressed. The exercise and discussion also serve to clarify the applicants’ expectations of the program, the connection to their own professional experience, and the career prospects associated with the program. 

    Admission decision

    An assessment will be undertaken on the basis of the interview and the supporting documentation. The applicants will be accepted unconditionally if they are deemed suitable for the programme and study places are available. The following criteria are relevant during the process:

    1. Creative and artistic, artistic and cultural, linguistic or media studies and educational skills related to their own questions in the study programme of choice
    2. Outstanding specialist and methodological skills in the original discipline
    3. Nuanced aesthetic perceptual skills, linguistic expressiveness and conceptual strength 
    4. A keen interest in current developments, discourses and positions in the fields of art, education and society, and education
    5. a high degree of self-motivation, the ability to engage in self-reflection, and the capacity to consider context-specific social conditions and infrastructures, as well as one’s own social positionality within the context of artistic-educational work,
    6. Suitability and potential for development for the professional field as well as motivation to study at Master’s level

    In the case of outstanding Bachelor of Arts degrees, admission will be granted on a conditional basis. Applicants will be informed about the decision in writing.

    No further information will be provided about the process. Applicants who are not accepted into the programme are not entitled to an explanation; however, relevant explanations may be provided over the phone (please contact Claudia Hummel by e-mail in this regard).

  • Dates

    Information days – majors

    18 November 2026

    Online application opens for major admissions process

    16 November 2026

    Application deadline (incl. portfolio) for major admissions process

    2 March 2027

    Registration confirmation – major

    By 11 March 2027

    Rejection or summons to pay examination fee / major aptitude test

    23 March 2027

    Invitation to major aptitude test
    (subject to settlement of examination fee)

    1. April 2027

    Aptitude tests – major

    14–16 April 2027

    Admissions decisions – major - major /acceptance / rejection / waiting list)

    20 April 2027

    Minor selection

    7–18 May 2027

    Assessment of entry-level competencies for minor
    (only if the minor requires specific entry-level competencies)

    25–29 May 2027

    Allocation of places – minor

    3 June 2027

    Module registration – major and minor

    17–22 June 2027

    Course commencement – major and minor

    20 September 2027

  • Registration and examination fee

    The registration fee for the admissions process is CHF 100 Registrations are valid once the registration fee has been paid. Payment is made online by credit card, TWINT or PostFinance Card. Applicants who are invited to the second part of the aptitude test (interview or examination) pay an additional examination fee of CHF 200 for participation in the second part of the aptitude test. The payment request is sent by e-mail. Once the payment has been transferred, the invitation with the examination dates will be made available in the online registration.
    Fees are based on the Directive on Tuition Fees of Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the corresponding fact sheet on Tuition Fees at ZHdK.

  • Entry into Switzerland

    Different rules apply for entry to Switzerland. In principle, a distinction is made between nationals of EU/EFTA countries and third-country nationals. 

    You can find all the key information on passport and visa requirements by nationality, as well as on living and working in Switzerland, at: Everyday Life and Living in Zurich

  • Information regarding online registration

    • Login to the online registration with SWITCH edu-ID
      • To register online, you will need a SWITCH edu-ID, which must be created once. If you do not yet have a SWITCH edu-ID, you can create one during the registration process. Please ensure you use your personal email address to register.
        → How to create and use a SWITCH edu-ID

      • Each person should only have one SWITCH edu-ID. 
        If you forget your password, you can create a new password via “Reset Password”

    • You may interrupt your application at any time and continue at a later stage. Any information entered will be stored.
    • Compulsory fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
    • Once all the details have been entered and the documents submitted, you must finalise your application by clicking “Complete entry” and pay the registration fee. The registration cannot be changed afterwards. The registration is only considered to be submitted and checked once the registration fee has been paid.
    • If the registration has not been completed, including payment of the registration fee, the data will be deleted after the registration deadline.
    • For technical enquiries and in emergencies, you can contact us on +41 43 446 44 00. 

Registration

→ From 16 November 2026 you can register online here.