HGB charges no tuition for a first degree or for Meisterschüler studies, for EU and non-EU students alike, because Saxony does not charge general tuition fees. Two fees can still apply. A second Diplom degree costs 100 EUR per semester once total study time exceeds the standard period of the earlier degree by six semesters. Long-term study above the 14th subject semester costs 500 EUR per semester. A bill to charge non-EU students 1,500 EUR per semester was heard in the Saxon state parliament on 27 April 2026 and had not been adopted at that point.

Every student pays the semester contribution of 325.80 EUR for winter 2026/27. Of that, 208.80 EUR is the Deutschland-Semesterticket, which covers public transport across Germany.

No tuition does not mean no proof of funds. For the student visa you still need to show 11,904 EUR for the year (2026, Federal Foreign Office), usually in a blocked account.

HGB publishes one deadline for all applicants. There is no separate earlier date for non-EU applicants.

Entrance exams for the Diplom programmes take place in March. Painting/Printmaking portfolios are posted as originals, and the other programmes upload theirs as PDFs.

None. HGB offers no degree programme taught in English. Its degree programmes are:

• Book Design / Graphic Design (Diplom)
• Photography (Diplom)
• Painting / Printmaking (Diplom)
• Media Art (Diplom)
• Cultures of the Curatorial (MA, currently paused)

Non-native speakers need DSH, TestDaF or telc Deutsch C1 for the Diplom programmes.

The Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, HGB) is a public art school in Leipzig, Saxony, founded in 1764. It has 544 students and offers Diplom programmes in book design and graphic design, photography, painting and printmaking, and media art, plus a postgraduate Meisterschüler programme.