Application
BA (Bachelor of Arts)
Application period:
October 15 – November 15 for the summer semester
Admission requirements:
❶ Proof of artistic aptitude
❷ For international applicants: sufficient German language skills (For application German language certificate at level B1 and for enrollment German language certificate at level B2)
Duration of studies and degree awarded:
Standard period of study: 6 semesters, 180 credit points
Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
MA (Master of Arts)
Application period:
October 15 – November 15 for the summer semester
Admission requirements:
❶ A university degree in the Bachelor’s program in Costume Design at the Berlin University of the Arts or in an equivalent program at another university
❷ Proof of artistic aptitude
❸ German language skills at level B2 (CEFR)
Duration of studies and degree awarded:
Standard period of study: 4 semesters, 120 credit points
Degree: Master of Arts (MA)
Your application – Step by step
https://www.udk-berlin.de/bewerbung/bewerbungsguide/kostuembild-bachelor/
https://www.udk-berlin.de/bewerbung/bewerbungsguide/kostuembild-master/
Admissions Counseling for Bachelor’s and Master’s Programs
Admissions Counseling for everyone interested on September 18, 2026, at 10 a.m.
Register at j.ress@udk-berlin.de
Faculty
Prof. Beatrix von Pilgrim
Head of Studies (Interim)
stage designer, visual artist, creates theatrical spaces and costumes for theater productions and performances, works in the fields of visual arts, film, video and light installations.
Ateliers in Berlin/Brunswick/Genoa.
http://www.bvpilgrim.com/
bvpilgrim(at)udk- berlin.de
Lea Søvsø
Film Costume Design Professor
Lea Sövsö will take over as director of the two costume design programs effective October 1, 2026.
Lea Søvsø, born 1982 in Daenmark. Lives and works as a costume designer and performance artsit in Berlin. Sie studied costume design at the udk under Florence von Gerkan and was a guest student for fine arts under Hito Steyerl. Since 2007 she works freelance for theater and film and realizes projects with She She Pop, Hito Steyerl, the musictheater Kollektiv Hauen und Stechen, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Amir Reza Koohestani and Julia Langhof ect. Besides that her artistic practice also includes performances and exhibitions at institutions such as the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and the Kunst-Werke Berlin. Other works have been presented at venues including the Academie of Science in Berlin-Brandenburg, the Kino Arsenal (Berlin) and the Beton Salon (Paris).
leasovso@gmail.com
https://www.leasovso.de/
Dr. Julia Burde
Cultural History of Clothing
In addition to her work as a costume and set designer (opera and theater), Julia Burde began teaching cultural history of clothing in 1995. She currently teaches at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design (ABK), and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover. In 2019, Julia Burde’s dissertation on the straightening of the waistline in 19th-century men’s fashion was published. She has also published articles on film costumes, dandy caricatures, historical fashion mannequins, and the history of theater costumes
Julia.burde(at)t-online.de
Vivienne Waneck
Experimental technique
Vivienne Waneck studied costume design at the UdK Berlin. Together with five other costume and stage designer she is part of a Workshop collective. They design and make costumes, spaces, objects and puppets for theatre and opera productions, as well as for film and advertisements. Over the last few years they made projects for the Salzburger Festspiele, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Hamburger Bahnhof, Humboldt Forum and many more places.
v.waneck@gmail.com
www.werkstattkollektiv.com
Christian Schiebe
Drawing
Christian Schiebe works as a visual artist and curator for various exhibition formats.
mail@christian-schiebe.de
www.christian-schiebe.de
Charlotte Pistorius
Fundamental
Charlotte Pistorius works as a freelance costume and stage designer. She studied visual arts at HfbK Hamburg and costume design in Berlin at UdK under Florence von Gerkan. She collaborated with artist from the independent theatre scene, municipal/ state theatres and in international contexts. Charlotte Pistorius teaches the introductory courses in the bachelor’s program in the summer semester of 2026.
c.pistorius@udk-berlin.de
http://www.charlottepistorius.com/
Eva Rach
sewing workshop
As a trained seamstress she has aquired a lot of knowledge since 2002 in various different fields of the craft: from costumes to accessories and bridal wear, through children’s clothing, custom-made garments, and festival attire, She is temporarily leading the sewing workshop.
eva.rach(at)gmx.de
Zana Bosnjak
As a stage and costume designer, she works at the intersection of space, image and performative action. Her work on the Staatstheater Stuttgart an the opera Halle in cooperation with Falk Richter and Nele Lindemann, among others, as well as film projects and exhibition design, define a visual-dramaturgical practice. She is interestes in how scenografy functions as perception architecture and how it evolves through media levels.
@zanabosnjak.com
https://zanabosnjak.com
Ute Freund
Ute Freund is a freelance cinematographer based in Berlin. She makes experimental art films, documentaries and feature films. She studied art history and worked as a camera assistant before completing her studies in cinematography at the Hamburg Media School. Since 2009, she has been teaching film and visual design on a regular basis in various settings.
utefreund@gmail.com
https://cinematographinnen.net/en/ute-freund/
Anna Bergel
In the summer semester 2026 Anna Bergel leads the job oriented workshop “Get started” and “Aufführungsanalyse”. Anna Bergel was at first a dancer, before she studied Theatre- cultural studies and Journalism at the University Leipzig. She is a artistic and academic staff member at the Departement of stage design at UdK Berlin and teaches “Performance Analysis” and “Project management”. Additionally she works as a artistic production leader and dramaturg for various Theater and dance companies.
a.bergel@udk-berlin.de
Birte Meier
As a makeup artist, Birte Meier has been offering makeup workshops for both the bachelor’s and
master’s programs for years. These workshops focus on the respective
semester’s theme while also covering the fundamentals of makeup artistry.
Prof. Renata Helker,
Film scholar
Renata Helker. Film scholar, author, and curator. Studied theatre and film studies, German language, and philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin. Honorary professor at the University of Television and Film Munich. Also teaches at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, the Berlin University of the Arts, and the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Research areas and main fields of work: film and acting aesthetics, queer cinema, documentary film, and film history. Publications include: Die Tschechows – Wege in die Moderne (2005) and Carl Raddatz – Der melancholische Realist (2018). Based in Berlin.
Renata-helker(at)t-online.de
Luise Würth
Luise Würth (she/her/no pronouns) is a dramaturg, curator, and professor. Queerness, anti-ableistic praqtices and intersectional Feminism in art and work process play a huge role in Luises Work between state and independent theatre scene. Since 2023 she co-leads the Berlin model project «Fairstage». There, Luise advocates for fair and non-discriminatory working conditions at the theater.
m.wuerth@udk-berlin.de
https://fairstage.berlin/
Anton Fischer
Dramaturg
Anton Fischer studied
dramatury and aesthetics in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main. Since 2024 he has been studying playwriting at the Berlin University of A rts. His play «Und weiter Nichts.» has received the Ingeborg-Springenschmid Prize. Anton Fischer was nominated for the Retzhofer Drama Prize in 2025. His Plays have been invited to the DramatikerInnenfestival Graz and zum Langen Wochenende der Neuen Dramatik in the theatre Münster, among others. Since August 2025 he has been represented by henschel SCHAUSPIEL. Anna Schlote and Anton Fischer will work during the summer semester of 2026 as a dramaturgy duo with the students on the semester theme “Nearly nothing” and will also accompany the performance during the tour days in July 2026.
Anna Schlote
Dramaturg
Anna Schlote studied dramaturgy and aesthetics at the University of Music and
Theatre in Leipzig and at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. She has worked as
a dramaturg on theater, short film, and audio drama projects. As part of the research project “The Art of Counter-Investigation,” she works at the Institute for Social Research. In 2025, she worked as a research assistant in the Department of Philosophy/Aesthetics at the Offenbach University of Art and Design and taught at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. Anna Schlote and Anton Fischer will work during the summer semester of 2026 as a dramaturgy duo with the students on the semester theme “Nearly nothing” and will also accompany the performance during the tour days in July 2026.
schlote.anna@gmx.de
Student Employees
Momo Reß
j.ress_(at)udk-berlin.de
Employees before summersemester 2026
Prof. Anette Guther (Film costume designer)
Stefan Tigges (Dramaturg)
Karolina Serafin (Video-Projection)
Lottie Sebes (Soundartist)
Sara Migliorati (Specialised in historical corsets)
Ben Tyrell/Christian Dieckmann (Patina experts)
Ella Tümpel (student employee)