The Institute for Pop Music

The Institute for Pop Music at the Folkwang University of the Arts was established at the university’s Bochum campus in October 2014. It runs a postgraduate Masters course for pop artists, who, under the supervision of a team of professionally qualified lecturers, extensively develop their artistic profile over four semesters. The ability to freely combine various artistic disciplines, coupled with joint and individual projects, sees a pooling of aesthetics, reflection, economics and legal aspects, culminating in the Master of Music degree.

The Institute considers itself a place of both learning and thinking. It doesn’t see pop music simply as a rigid ‘style’, but rather as a dynamic form of contemporary art that always appears in relation to other art forms, and which is further reflected upon and constantly developed in the context of pop culture – from a technical, discursive, political and aesthetic perspective. The Institute for Pop Music seeks to not only track the evolution of pop into the future, but to continuously shape it. And this of course also involves learning from the older generations.

The Institute is designed as a place for young creatives, artists and innovative players from the pop-music industry, and stands for teaching popular music at a high artistic level. The Masters course seeks to encourage outstanding young personalities and liven up Germany’s music scene.