Catalyst - Institute for Creative Arts and Technology GmbH
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering
Berlin, Germany
BA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 Mar 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 5,528 / per semester **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Please visit website for deadlines in more detail!
** Scholarships & Funding available
Key Summary
Develop your creative practice for music and sound through hands-on production and critical exploration.
This programme is for future and emerging producers and sound engineers ready to develop a personal approach to audio – one that blends technical precision, creative thinking and real-world experience. You’ll walk the line between studio engineering and artistic authorship, learning how to shape sound with purpose, clarity and originality.
From your first week, you’ll be immersed in studio-based practice. You’ll work across a wide range of solo and collaborative projects, mastering every step of the process – from recording and mixing to creative composition and post-production. As you build skills, you’ll also build a body of work that reflects your evolving identity as an audio professional.
What to expect:
- Hands-on learning in professional studios and acoustic spaces
- Technical training in recording, mixing, mastering and signal flow
- Creative exploration through music production, composition and remixing
- Collaborative projects with students across film, music, acting and visual media
- Professional outcomes such as singles, EPs, soundtrack work, engineering projects and a full-length studio album
- A personal portfolio that documents your growth and readiness for industry practice
Throughout the programme, you’ll be supported by experienced sound engineers, producers and educators who understand the artistic and technical demands of audio production today. They’ll help you strengthen your practice, ask better questions, and stay curious about the tools and choices you make.
Open a world of musical possibilities
Our studios become an extension of your creative process. You’ll learn to record, edit, and mix with intention – developing the ability to work fluidly across musical styles, formats and roles.
- As a sound engineer, you’ll focus on capturing and shaping sound with precision and care
- As a producer, you’ll guide creative vision from concept to delivery
- As a studio-based composer, you’ll fuse roles and create original work that is both technically solid and artistically driven
Rather than teach you how to mimic others, we create space for musical self-discovery. Whether you’re building your first signal chain, composing in a DAW, collaborating with artists or exploring acoustic theory, you’ll always learn by doing.
You can study this programme as a full three-year BA degree or begin with the one-year HE Certificate, which mirrors Year 1 of the degree and can be taken as a standalone experience.
Completing the one-year HE Certificate course will put you in a position to work as a freelance sound engineer. Completing the full three-year BA (Hons) course will set you up for a huge range of career possibilities.
As the focus of the course is on helping others actualize their own sound, you'll be well-positioned to become a studio engineer specializing in recording, mixing, or mastering, or a live engineer for events. Working as a music artist who records and tours your own music will also certainly be a route available to you. You'll be ready for roles in songwriting, composing, and arranging, or taking a step back and diving into acoustics and studio construction. You’ll be able to work in content creation, making sample packs, branding, adverts, or jingles as well as being able to design the tools as a software or plug-in designer. You may opt to explore the role of a media artist, working with audiovisual, sound, and interactive installations.
Year 1: Foundations in audio production
Learn the core skills of studio recording, mixing and music production.
In your first year – which also forms the HE Certificate – you’ll develop the essential techniques and critical understanding needed to produce music for yourself or others. Working with industry-standard tools in real-world scenarios, you’ll begin to build a portfolio that reflects your identity as a music producer or sound engineer.
You’ll learn how to:
- Record and mix music using professional workflows
- Understand signal flow, mic techniques and acoustic environments
- Work fluently across multiple DAWs and hardware setups
- Use sampling, sequencing and synthesis as creative tools
- Produce finished tracks from concept to release
- Develop a basic understanding of sound perception and studio acoustics
- Begin mapping out your place within the wider music industry
The one-year HE Certificate mirrors the first year of the BA and is a standalone qualification. You’ll study alongside BA students, with the option to continue into Year 2 of the BA (subject to academic performance and availability).
Year 2: Developing your sound and production voice
Refine your technical skills and grow your creative confidence.
Year 2 is about depth and detail. You’ll work on larger-scale studio projects, develop advanced recording and mixing techniques, and expand your understanding of sound across formats and media. You’ll also explore your personal production style, applying critical listening and creative strategies to everything you create.
You’ll learn how to:
- Record and produce full-band sessions in larger studio environments
- Mix and master longer-form projects such as albums and EPs
- Experiment with sequencing, synthesis and sampling at a higher level
- Compose and produce sound for multimedia and visual contexts
- Work confidently across multiple DAWs and hardware systems
- Evaluate and refine your own creative and technical workflows
Projects will include: collaborative recordings, solo production work, scoring and composition for media, and in-depth critical listening assignments.
Year 3: Defining and presenting your creative practice
Lead your own projects and prepare for life after graduation.
In your final year, you’ll consolidate everything you’ve learned by designing and delivering a major creative project – from concept to final mix and public release. You’ll take creative control while working in collaboration with artists, performers and other media practitioners.
You’ll learn how to:
- Define your personal approach to music production and engineering
- Manage and deliver complex projects from idea to outcome
- Work with others as a producer, engineer or creative contributor
- Lead professional studio sessions with technical and creative confidence
- Innovate new workflows, tools or methodologies in your practice
- Contextualise your work within 75 years of music production history
Core components include:
- Major Project – an original body of work shared with a public audience
- PUSH modules – structured guidance through ideation, development and launch
- Portfolio development – curating your work for industry presentation
- Collaboration – working with artists, filmmakers, composers and more
By the end of your time at Catalyst, you’ll graduate with more than just a portfolio. You’ll have a refined sound, a resilient creative practice, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to projects across music, audio and beyond.
We offer a range of funding opportunities and scholarships to support your studies. From national options like BAföG to scholarships of up to €6,000, there are several ways to make your time at Catalyst more financially accessible.
Our learning method and philosophy
Why do we teach this way? Because sound is meant to be made and not just studied.
The best way to grow as a music producer or sound engineer is by doing the work – recording, mixing, experimenting and collaborating in real-world scenarios. That’s why our learning approach is built around practice-based education: a dynamic mix of hands-on exploration, critical listening, and creative decision-making.
What this means for you:
Want to move beyond theory?
You’ll dive straight into studio practice – tracking, editing, mixing and producing music from your first weeks on campus. Each project gives you the chance to apply technical skills in creative and authentic ways.
Ready to define your sound?
Your sonic identity is built through repetition, reflection and experimentation. With feedback from tutors and peers, you’ll learn to listen deeply and make intentional creative choices that shape your own approach to production and engineering.
Interested in working across genres and contexts?
You’ll collaborate with a diverse group of artists, musicians and media makers – building communication skills and creative adaptability that reflect how audio professionals work today.
Looking to build confidence in the studio?
Whether you’re leading a recording session or producing someone else’s track, you’ll learn to navigate the tools, environments and dynamics of studio work with clarity and purpose.
Need space to take creative risks?
Here, experimentation is part of the process. You’ll be supported to try new techniques, test unfamiliar workflows and even fail – because each iteration helps you build resilience, skill and trust in your own instincts.
By the time you graduate, you won’t just understand how sound works but you’ll know how to shape it, lead with it, and share it. You’ll leave with a portfolio of original work, a confident creative process, and the tools to forge your own path in music and audio.