Master Lighting Design

The professional part time programme is a design-based Master’s in Lighting Design offered by the Wismar University of Applied Sciences: Technology, Business and Design (Germany).

The aim of our professional master's course is to train lighting designers comprehensively. The highly regarded qualifications and skills gained through this degree, offer graduates the opportunity to work in many related fields. Students are encouraged to investigate artistic, physical and psychological aspects of lighting, using creative and autonomous methods. This is to be done while keeping both human well-being and the standards of sustainable architecture in mind.

The combination of ‘Lighting Design’ and ‘Design Management’ provides students with the creative and technical knowledge to manage lighting design projects as well as the economic and marketing aspects necessary to manage offices professionally. Students will understand market analysis tools and the strategic management approach. Design management also includes the vision of design as part of the customer value chain.

Online information event „Master Lighting Design“

The international master's programme combines studying in your own time with seminar weeks organised once every semester in Wismar, Berlin and Bangkok. The seminar weeks are designed around lectures, presentations, workshops and excursion to lighting manufacturers and light installations. The medium of instruction is English, ensuring that the programme remains open to all those interested from around the world.

The study programme is based on 20 years of experience in teaching Lighting design here in Wismar and has received the proof of accreditation from the German authority.

After a successful graduation students will receive the German university degree 'Master of Arts (M.A.)'. 

I will be glad to get in touch with you individually by telephone or email. You can reach me by telephone on +49 (0) 3841 / 7537-229 or by email at r.friedrich@wings.hs-wismar.de.

Next start: winter semester 2025/2026
Application deadline: 31 July 2025
 

APPLY NOW

Initiation session: November (online) 
First seminar week: beginning of January (participation mandatory)

The road to becoming an international student is paved with deadlines. So are most of the milestones you’ll need to pass throughout the process, such as applying for financial aid, tourist visa, the language exam and others.

It is a common fact that, if you want to enrol in an American university, you should begin documenting for your application two years before you actually apply. In other countries and Europe, you can begin the process one year before submitting the documents.

Accelerated WINGS application process:
However, for the professional Master´s programme in Lighting Design at Wismar University we are offering a much faster application process (within one month) and in addition a late application opportunity as long as the admission for our courses is still possible.

Don´t miss the chance and start your studies this year !

212 participants from 19 countries all over the world visited the Lichtcampus 2019 in Wismar. Hosted by the Master Degree Courses of Architectural Lighting Design of the University of Applied Sciences in Wismar, academics, professionals and representatives of the industry met to light up the medieval city.

Impressions of Lichtcampus 2019 - Video

The part time program 'Master Lighting Design - Architectural Lighting and Design Management' - was successfully accredited by the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA) in December 2014. A committee of external experts inspected the Master's program running since 2012. The committee consisted of representatives of other universities (two professors in the field of lighting design) and additional lighting design experts. During the on-site inspection the course leader Prof. Dr. Römhild, some members of the international lecturer team and a number of current students of the program were interviewed to evaluate the curriculum, and the teaching methods. Furthermore the study organization and all teaching materials were checked and discussed. The program offers a unique combination of Lighting Design and Management modules. The Master´s degree enables all graduates to do the PhD.

New specialisation and new curriculum

The specialisation “Heritage Lighting” will offer students the possibility to delve deeper into issues like lighting for heritage sites and buildings, lighting for protected sites, conservation, techniques and strategies for such sites and so on. Students will get the opportunity to opt for this specialisation from the 3rd Semester onwards and culminating in a Master's thesis on heritage lighting.

This specialisation is part of a long term plan to introduce similar specialisations in various field of lighting like “light and health”, “daylight”, “Hospitality and retail lighting” etc. We will keep you all posted on further such developments.

We have also taken this opportunity to further develop and extend the curriculum. Starting from September after a successful completion of the Master's program (taught in English) the students will be offered 120 ECTS Credit points, making this Master’s on par with on-campus Master's program here in the University of Wismar. If you would like to get more information about curriculum details please contact Mr. Robert Friedrich r.friedrich@wings-university.com.

1.

• Design Criteria
• Daylighting
• Artificial Lighting
• Design Project I: Conceptual Lighting Design
• Design Methods 1: Basics
• Lighting Applications and Sustainability

2.

• Design Criteria
• Daylighting
• Artificial Lighting
• Design Project I: Conceptual Lighting Design
• Design Methods 1: Basics
• Lighting Applications and Sustainability

3.

• Strategic Management
• Project Management
• Design Project II: Detailed Lighting Design
• Design Project III: Selected Lighting Design Principles
• Design Methods 2: Visualisation and Calculation

4.

• Design and Economics
• Project Management
• Design Project II: Detailed Lighting Design
• Design Project III: Selected Lighting Design Principles
• Design Methods 3: Branding and Marketing

5.

• Thesis Seminar
• Master´s Thesis and Colloquium

The international Master's program comprises of focussed lectures in Wismar, Berlin and Bangkok. The lectures are taught in English, ensuring that the program remains open to all who are interested from around the world. The course incorporates valuable lessons learned from the Wismar-based program which has developed into a highly sought after course of study with an established faculty. Students consistently evaluate the study program positively. Additional influence was brought by the expertise of the WINGS Company, which currently educates more than 5,000 online and professional part time students for example from the USA. The course was developed on the basis of experience, which was gained from classes, training programs and courses offered both domestically and abroad.

The content of the curriculum was devised from the training concept put forth by the European Lighting Designers Association, ELDA (now PLDA). After discussions with lighting designers and luminaire manufacturers, the content was extended and completed. We were actively encouraged by the professionals to start this part time program in winter semester 2012/13.

We are aware of the fact that many of you have to plan your free days for the seminar weeks in advance. Therefore we would like to announce the dates for the upcomming workshop weeks for programme Architectural Lighting and Design Management.

Introduction session: November 2024 (online)
Workshop week 1:  beginning of January 2025
Workshop week 2:  mid July 2025 in Berlin
Workshop week 3:  mid February 2026 in Bangkok
Workshop week 4:  mid July 2026 in Berlin (meeting the first semester)
Workshop week 5:  beginning of January 2027 in Wismar

You are interested in joining a lecture in one of these cities and meet our professors or famous guest lecturers? You are more then welcome! Please let us know and you can listen to a speech you like.

The University of Wismar has a long tradition in teaching Lighting Design. The combination of Lighting Design and Management is unique in professional studies and it will provide you with creative and technical knowledge to manage lighting design projects as well as economic and marketing aspects which are necessary to manage offices professionally. The latest course, beginning in September 2017, started with 24 students from 11 different countries around the world.

The professional Master in Architectural Lighting and Design Management is a further education programme. To be admitted into our programme you need to meet the following requirements:

First academic degree (Bachelor, Master or Diploma - min. 180 ECTS-Credits) in:

• Art and design study programmes like Architecture, Interior Architecture, Design or Theater Studies*
  or
• Engineering study programmes like Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science**
  or
• Business study programmes like Business Economics, Business Informatics or Economic Law**

In addition you please hand in:

• Portofilio of work experience in related fields
• Proof of English proficiency
   

*    At least one year of professional work experience within the related field.
**  At least two years of professional work experience within the related field.

Exception: If the first academic degree is not related to the field of study, the approval to study can only be given with proof of professional work experience. Please contact us to discuss the admission requirements related to your personal situation in detail.

The application consists of two steps. The first step is to check the most important documents, if an application could be possible. These documents can be handed in by email. In a second step you will be asked to hand in more detailed information by airmail, this means the documents should be certified/notarized.

Documents for the pre check (as .pdf file and by email r.friedrich@wings-university.com, max 2MB):

• CV
• University degree and transcript (if you already hold a master´s degree we need the Bachelor´s degree as well)
• portfolio of professional work experience (if you do not have a portfolio yet, you can prepare it and submit this after checking you university degree) 
• confirmation of work experience (at least one year)
• Proof of English proficiency (TOEFL Test with 80 points or IELTS with 6.0 or similar) - similar:
  • you are a native English speaker or
  • your first degree was taught in English or
  • your business language is English.
• for Chinese applicants only:
  Before you apply for our master’s degree, please contact the following institute APS and have your academic degree certified (Please note, this process takes minimum one month!)

Your application should contain the following documents (after pre check and handed in by airmail):

• High school leaving certificate*
• university degree and transcipt of records*
• passport idetity photo (or similar, but should be a valid photo)
• original signed course contract (please find here)
• or online application

* in English language
* certified copy (If the original document is NOT in English or German, you will be asked to submit a certified/notarized copy of the original document as well as an official translated document that is not required for additional certification)
Please note: certified/notarized copy means to hand in a copy of the original document, which has an ORIGINAL signature and stamp of a notary or a public authority!

The tuition fee of €4,900 (approx. $5,290) per semester includes the following services related to your part-time programme Master Lighting Design:

• Comprehensive class materials (scripts, specialist literature) 
• Learning platform myWINGS & study app 
• Video lectures & live tutorials 
• One workshop week per semester (6-10 days) in Bangkok, Berlin & Wismar including all hotel accommondations, 2 days of excursions, practical design projects, guest lectures by experts from arround the world as well as catering & unforgettable evening events
• Access to online libraries
• Teaching & examination costs 
• Personal study support 
• Master's thesis & colloquium

» All prices are final prices. Since WINGS GmbH is exempt from VAT, no sales tax is charged. You are also welcome to pay by monthly installments.

Projects

Villa 403 - Is a residential project done by us in Hyderabad, India

We were invited by the Architect - MORIQ Interiors and Design Consultants - to work on this amazing home for a family of 3 generations. The line of thought/concept was very clear . To work and express through light the different forms of architecture and finishes of the home. At any point the home would convert to a big social gathering or a very quiet private space. Light was given importance to work on and freedom of expression was ensured.

Jewellery Store- Is a premium Jewellery Boutique project, Hyderabad India

The owners of the jewellery store have been dealing in antique gold jewellery, high-end diamonds and exquisite Kundan jewellery (a traditional form of Indian gemstone jewellery) since 1920. The colour palette included in the interiors already had reds and beiges. Hence, from a lighting perspective, we wanted to emphasize on yellow to golden colours, which can bring out the richness of the jewellery. The awe-inducing touch to the ceiling comes in the form of three 18th-century antique chandeliers. These crystal chandeliers, owned by the owners and passed on from their ancestors, are undoubtedly the highlight of the entire showroom. The mythological reference, which also became the primary inspiration for the design, is Hindu Lord Shiva’s mount — Nandi. The revered Nandi, also symbolic of happiness, joy and satisfaction, is captured in cut-outs on the entire focal wall of the showroom. The idea was to play with light and shadow for this concept. Here, Nandi is highlighted with artificial light signifying happiness and joy, leaving behind the shadow, which is associated with evil and all things negative in Indian mythology.

Lighting Designer Dashak Argawal - The Love of Light

Here you can request further information regarding the Master Programme Lighting Design at the Wismar University.

Please, fill out the contact form. We will  send information material out to you immediately.