Founding Year

1989

Opening

On 15 October 1990 with 25 students for the diploma course "Audiovisual Media"; 1994 expansion of the range of courses to include the undergraduate diploma course "Audiovisual Media"; the first year had 40 students; since 2004 doctoral program; 2010 renaming of the two diploma courses to "Media Arts" and addition of the specialization "Camera/Image Design"; since 2017/18 the additional specialization "Literary Writing".

The art academy was launched in 1990 as a “talent factory”, “a new type of art academy”, an “electronic Bauhaus”, a “bird of paradise”, an “experiment with no guarantee of success” and also an “unloved child” of Cologne's cultural landscape. Initially, it was primarily associated with the closure of the former Cologne Werkschulen and thus with the loss of training in “fine arts” and the “end of the printed word”.
Today, the KHM is firmly and successfully part of the canon of German art and film schools. It has remained true to and unique in its project-oriented approach (no master classes, cross-disciplinary supervision by professors, diploma degrees in undergraduate and postgraduate studies), which produces “cross-over talents” between art, media, film and science.

Anke Brunn (SPD), then Minister for Science and Research, described the background and ulterior motives behind the founding of the program as follows:

"The classical arts have lost their monopoly. The concept of art has been expanded. Artists no longer only create with paint, on paper or canvas, in wood, bronze or stone. New artistic tools have been added, such as video, film, laser, photography, sound and computers. Modern technologies and means of communication, the achievements of this century, have also become its means of representation." (Lab 1, KHM magazine, 1991)

Körperschaft

According to Section 1 (2) of the Art University Act, the KHM is a corporation under public law and an institution of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia is responsible, with which a university contract is agreed for four years at a time.

Excellent!

Three graduation films at the KHM have already been awarded the Student Oscar in Gold by the Academy in Los Angeles (AMPAS): 2016 "Ayny" by Ahmad Saleh (animation), 2008 "Auf der Strecke" by Reto Caffi (feature film); 1997 "Ein einfacher Auftrag" by Raymond Boy" (feature film).
KHM graduates are regularly invited to the Venice Art Biennale: 2022 Sandra Vásquez de la Horra and Yunchul Kim; 2017 Peter Miller; 2015 Rosa Barba; 2013 Glenda Léon, Kríšs Salmanis; 2011 Marianna Christofides; 1999 artist group “knowbotic research”.
Four KHM graduates have been accepted into the Junge Kolleg of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts since 2015: 2023 Viktor Brim; 2019 Lea Letzel; 2018 Ale Bachlechner; 2015 Rozbeh Asmani.
You can find an overview of other important KHM awards here 

Media Arts degree course

- undergraduate / Diploma 1 (= 9 semesters)

- postgraduate / Diploma 2 (= 4 semesters)

- Doctoral degree course (Dr. Phil.)

- English-language teaching: partly
- Semester fee / semester: approx. 400 euros

Around 400 students are enrolled at KHM each year, at least a third of whom come from abroad. Around 70 new applicants are accepted each winter semester.