The Masterstudio Scenography course at Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW equips students with the knowledge and tools to translate complex social themes into staged spaces.

The Institute of Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP) at the Basel Academy of Art and Design offers a unique programme at the campus, featuring the Masterstudio Design and three studios: Industrial Design, Fashion Design and Scenography.

To fully harness the potential of design as a practice that shapes living environments and thus impacts the world around us in response to today's urgent issues, we have made the studios more permeable. We offer our students – currently from over 17 nations – training in design, space, fashion, art and related disciplines, allowing them to collaborate and network internationally with each other, faculty, visiting lecturers and experts from both academic and practical fields.

The Masterstudio Design at the Institute of Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP) is composed of three studios: Masterstudio Industrial Design, Masterstudio Scenography and Masterstudio Fashion Design. Each studio has a disciplinary focus. In addition, the research discourse of the ICDP focuses on digital integration, design cultures and circular design and is reflected and communicated multi-dimensionally.

In the Masterstudio Scenography, complex social, political and ecological contents are translated into accessible spatial images, and staged spaces with narrative qualities and social relevance are created. The Masterstudio Scenography sees itself as a discursive community and physical infrastructure of collective research for the experimental spatial communication of relevant content.

Practices of scenographic design in the context of public, semi-public and private spaces are explored in the Masterstudio Scenography and new narrative formats are developed that are positioned between installation, exhibition, performance, stage design, augmented reality and virtual reality.

In the first two semesters, the Masterstudio Scenography proposes design projects on current issues. This is when the tools of staging and spatial-dramaturgical conception – in particular the scenographic score and the storyboard – are introduced and tested.

In the course of the second semester, students will also begin to work on the individual conception of the topic for their master's thesis, which concludes the program.

The project-based written and practical master's thesis can be completed in either one semester (full-time) or two semesters (part-time). The choice of the extended project format – installation, exhibition, performance, stage design, augmented reality, virtual reality, etc. – is left to the students. The choice of mentors depends on the requirements of the project format and its content.

School: Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW
Course: Masterstudio Scenography
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Course dates: September 2026 to July 2028 (three or four semesters starting annually)
Application deadline: 15 March 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Take up progressive positions in the context of scenography
– Relevance in the sense of 'social scenography', the economical use of resources and the application of contemporary production techniques form the framework of project-based, research-based practice

What are the requirements?

– A Bachelor's degree in design or a related field of study

What facilities and resources are available?

– Studios, labs and central campus workshops, the Basel Academy of Art and Design offers ideal conditions for combining making, curiosity, sustainable practices and digital skills
–Students have their own workspace available around the clock

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