Phoenix Musikakademie

Studienkolleg für Musik

(Music Preparatory Course)
of the Phoenix Academy of Music  

Latest Updates

The start of the Music Studienkolleg planned for April 2021 has been postponed due to Corona related entry restrictions. Nevertheless, foreign students who have received an entry visa will have the opportunity to join during the summer semester 2021. In individual cases, training and counselling, in major and minor subjects, would be possible by arrangement as a video conference.

The music preparatory course programme ("Studienkolleg") at the Phoenix Academy of Music (“Phoenix-Musikakademie”) in Dortmund (planned to start in April 2021) aims to prepare candidates for admission into a conservatory or music college. By bridging the gap between the basic training that most candidates received over many years and the expected level for college admission, the preparatory course forms an important step in the professional career development of beginning musicians.

The main goal of the course programme is a fundamental and comprehensive preparation of the students for the entry examination ("Aufnahmeprüfung", "Eignungsprüfung") at a conservatory or music college, in major as well as the required minor subjects. In addition to intensive training in major and minor subjects, it includes performance training and multiple midterm examinations in simulated college entry examination settings.

Course lecturers of major and minor subjects are highly qualified music professionals of high international acclaim and with many years of performance and pedagogical experience.

Thanks to the collaboration with multiple German and European college professors acting as external experts at the midterm examinations, students will have opportunities to introduce and present themselves to their prospective future lecturers or lecturers from their chosen prospective colleges, which will help them better understand the admission criteria and assess their likelihood of admission in advance. 

In addition to targeted entry examination preparation, the course programme provides its students consultation regarding appropriate choice of conservatory or music college. Each student receives an individual profile based on their skill set and personal goals, based on which a recommendation regarding choice of colleges and lecturers is provided.

Additionally, in collaboration with the Auslandsgesellschaft.de gGmbH, intensive language courses are offered to participants from outside of Europe. Successful completion of these and the respective assessment examinations ("Feststellungsprüfung, FSP") forms a formal eligibility criterion for admission to German music colleges. These officially recognized exams allow students to obtain the required language certificates (the majority of colleges require a B1 or B2 certificate; the more advanced C1 certificate can also be obtained). Moreover, foreign students are being introduced to the German and European cultural traditions throughout the entire course programme. 

The regular duration of the course programme is one semester. Admission to the course programme is based on successful completion of an aptitude test in the major subject, which aims to assess the professional skill level of the candidate. If required, a preparatory year at the Phoenix Academy of Music prior to joining the course programme can be offered.