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The MA in Creative Production (Music) is a postgraduate programme for musicians, producers, composers and sound artists ready to carve out new directions in their creative practice. Rooted in experimentation, research and self-directed learning, this course invites you to investigate the questions that drive your artistic evolution – and explore how music can be a tool for discovery, expression and change.

Rather than following a fixed curriculum, you’ll co-design your own path through a framework of practice-based research, guided by supportive mentorship, collaborative workshops and community dialogue. Through this flexible structure, you'll develop a personal research proposal and translate it into a series of iterative creative projects, culminating in a major final work.

This course is not about finding answers – it’s about cultivating new ways of listening, making and thinking. You’ll explore theory and practice side by side, expand your conceptual vocabulary and engage with current artistic, social and philosophical debates. The emphasis is on depth, rigour and innovation, as you refine your technical and conceptual craft in a defined area of focus.

Whether you're exploring electronic composition, interdisciplinary sound, immersive audio or songwriting and performance, you’ll have access to Catalyst’s extensive studio facilities and a like-minded postgraduate community at Berlin’s legendary Funkhaus. It's a space where curiosity becomes process, and process becomes practice.

What is creative production?

Creative production is an intentionally broad term. Within the realm of music, it covers – but isn’t limited to – music production, recording, composition, programming, performance, sound design, improvisation, instrument design, sound art, sound for games, sound for film, field recording, artistic research, critical theory, new media, cross media, or interdisciplinary work. For us, creative production refers more specifically to the iterative process of production and reflection, rather than the outcomes you aim for or mediums you choose to work with.

Through exploration and innovation, your capabilities as a music producer, sound engineer, electronic music artist, performer, composer or sonic artist will develop and excel, if that is your chosen route. Equally, you can undertake projects with practitioners from other artistic fields to grow your own practice and creative industry profile. You bring your field of interest and your inspiration as a starting point, and we’ll help you develop from there!

An international learning community:

Our international creative campus is located at the historic Funkhaus in Berlin – it’s hard to imagine a better location for creative endeavour and learning! Through the lens of an international cohort of students, we aim to promote and support the exchange and debate of philosophical, political, social and ethical issues from a range of different cultures and backgrounds.

Our engaged postgraduate community is then well-placed to spearhead these conversations and create work that addresses the challenges of a multicultural but ever more connected world – to see our shared human concerns, whilst celebrating our diversity and our mutually enriching differences.

Is this programme for me?

You’ll find this course suitable if you’re interested in:

• Diving deeply into your own individual practice, creative concepts and/or musical ideas.
• Strengthening and refining your creative vision and approach.
• Deepening the relationship with your work within and beyond your own parameters.
• Establishing your own distinct approach to creative production with research.
• Expanding your understanding of other creative pathways.
• Navigating between different aspects of musical inquiry and concepts.
• Engaging in independent practice-led research.
• Developing new and innovative production techniques.
• Receiving mentorship from field and industry experts.
• Realising the full potential of your creative work.
• Joining a progressive learning community, supported by a dedicated team of experienced facilitators.
• Living and working in Berlin, one of the most exciting cities on the planet for music makers.
• Collaborating with an artistic community of like-minded people from over 75 different countries.

Our MA students have come from various backgrounds, including songwriting, house, techno, folk, jazz, composition for dance choreography, experimental and electroacoustic music and free improvisation.

Previous student projects include themes such as field recording and hydraulic sounds, artificial intelligence, human voice and spirituality, hauntology, Janet Jackson, the roles of electronics and sampling in popular music, semiotics, free improvisation and song forms, interactive delay network installation, culture jamming and 4D multichannel composition using the internationally unique Monom system based at the Funkhaus.

If you'd like to receive a final project portfolio from a recently graduated MA student, please contact our admissions@catalyst-berlin.com and we'll be happy to share the document with you for reference.

Our team:

Our tutors are industry-acclaimed experts in their field, with a passion for passing on their knowledge to others. Here a few of the experienced and friendly tutors that will be supporting you throughout your learning process: Richard Scott, Doron Sadja and Renée Coulombe.

Visit the Creative Production (Music) MA page on the Catalyst - Institute for Creative Arts and Technology website for more details!

Fees

Tuition fees: From €4,018 per semester

Payment options*

Full-time

• Per semester: €4,018
• Annual payment: €11,693 per year (3% discount)

Part-time

• Per semester: €4,903
• Annual payment: €7,134 per year (3% discount)

Other payment options

• Flexible plans: Monthly and extended payment options available
• Upfront discount: Save on total tuition when paying in full
• Enrolment fee: €895 per study year (non-refundable, due before each academic year begins). Visa support is included as part of the enrolment fee.

Scholarships & financial support

• Eligible for BAföG and other national funding schemes you can check 
• €2,000 scholarships available
• With scholarships and extended payment plans, tuition can be reduced to as low as €422/month, spread across three years (including one year post-graduation)
• Additional tuition reduction for early enrolment - visit website for more details.