Department of Fine Arts

With around 2,100 Bachelor and Master students, Zurich University of the Arts is one of the major universities of the arts in Europe. Its diverse range of degree and research programmes include fine arts, design, film, music, dance, theatre and art education. The ZHdK is also a partner of the Shared Campus with active international exchange programmes within the Shared Campus network. The university offers a contemporary environment with “state-of-the-art” facilities and beautiful studio spaces for all students.

Bachelor’s Major in Fine Arts
Would you like to become an artist? The Bachelor’s Major in Fine Arts is one of a kind in Switzerland due to its broad range of media and bilingualism in German and English. You develop your own artistic practice and in the process create the basis to find your feet in the artistic field. Our programme brings together renowned (inter)national artists, curators and art theoreticians to support you on your path. Head of the programme: Martin Jaeggi (ad interim).

Master’s Major in Fine Arts
In the Master’s Major in Fine Arts, you deepen your artistic practice. Here you can find your audience and have an opportunity to develop your practical and theoretical knowledge, consolidate your artistic research, while exploring different contexts of contemporary art at the same time. Head of the programme: Judith Welter.

Master’s Major in Art:ificial Studies
In the Master’s Major in Art:ificial Studies, you focus on the intersections between art, AI technologies, and society. The programme is centred around the question: How do technologies change our relationships with the world and with ourselves? In your studies, you use the instruments of art to engage with the expanding field of AI and other emerging technologies as well as the societal and cultural changes they propel. You reflect on how these technologies influence artistic production and learn to use tools with critical intent. Head of the programme: Judith Welter.

Department of Fine Arts
Teaching and research at the Department of Fine Arts (DFA) has an international profile. They focus on experimental ways of initiating, developing and consolidating diverse, individual and collaborative approaches to interdisciplinary artistic and theoretical practices, employing a variety of strategies and processes.

Firmly established and networked in Zurich (a university city rich in culture, art and media and home to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), the DFA is one of Europe’s leading international training and research institutes for artists, art critics, curators and researchers working in art and aesthetic theory. Head of Department of Fine Arts: Prof. Swetlana Heger.

Tuition fees: Swiss: 720 CHF per semester / Non-Swiss: 1,220 CHF per semester. Duration: BA, six semesters full time study / MA, four semesters full time study.