Protestant University of Church Music Halle for International Students

EHK Halle is a state-recognised university run by the Protestant Church in Central Germany. Under its fee statute, all degree programmes are tuition-free, and there are no second-degree or long-term study fees.

No tuition does not mean no proof of funds. For the student visa you still need to show 11,904 EUR for the year, usually in a blocked account, and that money has to be transferred months before the semester starts.

Every programme requires a passed aptitude test. You apply by registering for a test date with your written application by its registration deadline; there is no separate application deadline. The Bachelor's and Master's in Church Music and most Master's programmes start in winter or summer; the combined Bachelor's with music teacher training starts only in winter.

With your registration you submit a written application with a photo, a CV, proof of your musical training, your school-leaving certificate, proof of German for international applicants and, for most programmes, a phoniatric report from an ENT doctor. Choose a test date early enough to leave time for your visa before the semester starts.

No degree programme at EHK Halle is taught in English. International applicants who did not obtain their school-leaving qualification at a German or German-language school must prove German through a recognised language test, at least at level B1 for the Bachelor's and Master's in Church Music. The other Master's programmes have their own aptitude-test regulations, so check the required level for your programme.

Applicants for the Bachelor's should normally be under 30 and applicants for the Master's in Church Music under 35, with exceptions for exceptional artistic talent.

The Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Halle is a state-recognised university of church music run by the Protestant Church in Central Germany. It was founded in 1926 as a church music school in Aschersleben, moved to Halle in 1939 and celebrates its centenary in 2026. With around 60 students, it describes itself as the oldest and largest state-recognised independent university of church music in Germany.

EHK offers a Bachelor's and Master's in Church Music, a combined Bachelor's in Church Music with music teacher training for Gymnasium (with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg), and Master's programmes in organ, choral and orchestral conducting, concert and oratorio singing, and church popular music. The Master's in Concert and Oratorio Singing and in Church Popular Music are part-time programmes and are not suitable for a student visa. The campus is in the Händelhaus quarter, next to the university's musicology institute.