Fine Arts for the study year 2025/2026
Dear applicants,
The Admission Examination for the 2025/2026 academic year in Fine Arts consists of two parts.
Registration, the first part of the Admission examination, and the submission of work samples take place exclusively online via www.akbild.ac.at/admission.
After a positive assessment of your work samples by the examination senate, the 2nd part of the Admission examination for the Studio Groups Painting and Photography will take place in person in Vienna.
After positive assessment of your work samples by the examination senate, the 2nd part of the admission examination for the Studio groups Sculpture and Media will take place digitally.
We strongly recommend not to wait until the last day to register online and to upload the portfolio.
Please use the latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
Part 1
Online Registration form January 22, 2025, 10 h CET to February 12, 12 h NOON CET, only via www.akbild.ac.at/admission
Registrations for the Admission examination via e-mail are excluded and will not be answered or considered.
The following data* must be used according to a valid passport as part of the online registration process.
*(first and last name, date of birth, etc.)
The artist name can also be specified in the "Artist name" field, if desired.
To specify the applicant's artistic self-assessment, one of the following three studio groups must be selected during online registration:
- Painting and Photography: includes the studios Abstraction (Prof. Michaela Eichwald), Expansion (Prof. Daniel Richter), Graphics (Prof. Christian Schwarzwald), Figuration (Prof. Alastair MacKinven), Context (Prof. Alice Creischer), Drawing (Prof. Veronika Dirnhofer) and Photography (tba).
- Sculpture: includes the studios Spatial Strategies (Prof. Iman Issa), Public Sphere (Prof. Mona Hahn), Environment (Prof. Judith Huemer), Object (Prof. Julian Göthe), Installation (Prof. Nora Schultz)
- Media: includes the studios Concept (Prof. Marina Grzinic), Media (Prof. Constanze Ruhm), Film (Prof. Tizza Covi), Performance (Prof. Carola Dertnig), Video (Prof. Dorit Margreiter Choy)
After completing the online registration, all applicants will receive a confirmation of registration by e-mail, which contains the registration number and the link with all information for uploading the digital portfolios (enter valid / active email address, check spam folder). The registration number is required in the further course of the application.
Your registration number is essential for the further application process; please note it carefully!
Submission of digital work samples/portfolios via upload from January 22, 2025, 10 h CET to February 12. 2025, 12 h NOON CET
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The digital submission of work samples is only possible after successful online registration and receipt of the registration number.
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Portfolios can only be submitted digitally via upload. The registration and/or submission of work samples/portfolios by e-mail is excluded, as is the personal submission of physical portfolios/work samples, USB sticks or other data carriers.
Work samples/portfolios sent by e-mail will not be considered.
Requirements for digital portfolios
- Please submit a portfolio in PDFformat with a maximum size of 50 MB.
- Your name and registration number must be stated on the first page of the portfolio.
- The portfolio must include a curriculum vitae.
- Applicants are free to decide on the further content of the portfolio.
- Uploads with more than 50 MB cannot be considered for technical reasons.
- Links to videos/audio material must be included in the portfolio (links to clouds, YouTube, websites, etc.), remember to include the password if applicable. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the links work. If links do not work, applicants will not be contacted by us.
- The file name of the portfolio file must be as follows:
Registration number_surname_first name (example file name: 0123_Miller_Anne.pdf)
Recommendation for digital portfolios/work samples
- The work samples serve as proof of the ability in autonomous artistic practice.
- Applicants are expected to submit independent artistic works that reveal specific interests, skills, motivations and working methods.
- The selection of works should be based on the applicant's own artistic working practice. It is recommended that works created at school or in various art courses should only be submitted if they support the applicant's artistic position.
Review of the submitted works by the examination senate from February 12, 2025 to March 6, 2025
Based on the artistic portfolios submitted, the examination senate decides which applicants will be invited to the entrance examination.
Announcement of the invited applicants March 12, 2025 from 13 h CET
All applicants will be notified by e-mail and the list of applicants invited to the admission examination will be published on the Academy's notice board.
Part 2
Admission Examination via Zoom video conference for the Sculpture and Media studio groups.
The examination consists of an examination task and a personal interview with the professors and their staff. Possible interview contents include the artistic work created as part of the examination task, the submitted portfolio and the applicant's artistic practice. The interview will last approximately 30 minutes. The examination task and the personal interview date will be sent to applicants by e-mail on May 6, 2025, between 10 h and 16 h.
Interviews with the invited applicants will only take place digitally on the following days:
May 20, 2025, between 9 h and 17 h CET
May 21, 2025, between 9 h and 17 h CET
May 22, 2025, between 9 h and 12 h CET
Please keep these days free for the interviews. Due to the high number of applicants, we cannot accommodate individual appointment requests. The interview will be held in German or English.
Admission examination with personal attendance for the Painting and Photography studio groups.
The admission examination for the studio groups Painting and Photography will take place on the following days
May 20, 2025, between 9 h and 17 h CET
May 21, 2025, between 9 h and 17 h CET
May 22, 2025, between 9 h and 12 h CET
in the Mehrzwecksaal, 2nd floor, Atelierhaus location, Lehárgasse 8, 1060 Vienna.
The examination consists of an examination task and personal discussions with the professors and staff of the Painting and Photography studios.
The examination task will be sent in advance by e-mail on May 6, 2025, between 10 h and 16 h CET.
In addition to the examination task, work samples from the submitted portfolio and working materials must be brought along.
Possible interview topics include the artistic work created as part of the examination task, the submitted portfolio and the applicant's artistic practice. The interview will be held in German or English.
Attendance on site on the three examination days is mandatory.
If personal appearance is not possible, this must be reported by May 12th, 12 h CET 2025 by e-mail to the Vice-Rectorate for Art and Teaching vizerektorin_kunst_lehre@akbild.ac.at. Exceptional reasons are for example rejected visa applications, health obstacles, financial issues or ecological concerns in connection with extensive air travel. In exceptional cases the admission test in person can be replaced by an admission test via Zoom video conference. The application for exceptions will be reviewed and approved by the Vice-Rectorate for Art and Teaching.
Applicants will be informed by e-mail and invited to the admission examination via Zoom video conference. The examination consists of an examination task and a personal interview with the professors and their staff. Possible interview topics include the artistic work created as part of the examination task, the submitted portfolio and the applicant's artistic practice. The interview will last approximately 30 minutes and will be held in German or English.
Announcement of the final result May 27, 2025 from 13 h CET.
All applicants will be notified by e-mail and the list of applicants admitted to study at the Academy of Fine Arts will be published on the Academy's notice board.
Contact:
Institute for Fine Arts: office_ibk@akbild.ac.at
Student Welcome Center: studentwelcome@akbild.ac.at
E-mails with questions, the answer of which can already be found in the tender text, will only be answered with reference to the info text on the website.
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna supports the application of people with disabilities and strives to create an admission examination as accessible as possible. Applicants may contact the responsible person, Christina Fasching in the Student Welcome Center with their questions: studentwelcome@akbild.ac.at.