Master in Lighting Design & Management

The professional part-time program 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 (taught in English) is to train lighting designers from around the world 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 the 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.

The international Master's program combines studying in your own time with seminar weeks organized 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 program remains open to all those interested from around the world.

The study program is based on more than 15 years of experience in teaching lighting design here in Wismar and has received the proof of accreditation from the German authority.

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

Lichtcampus 2019

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.

Accreditation of the Master Lighting Design

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 a Ph.D.

In addition, the master Professional Studies Lighting Design- Architectural Lighting and Design Management is approved by the State Centre for Distance Learning (ZFU) (168 816 approval no.).

Organization of the Program

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 in 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. The 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 programmes, 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 the winter semester 2012/13.

Course Schedule of the Semester Program

Students with varied International Background

The University of Wismar has a long tradition of 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 that are necessary to manage offices professionally. The latest course, beginning in September 2017, started with 24 students from 11 different countries around the world.

Dashak Agrawal | THEA Love of Light



Please describe your connection to Wismar University - Wings Professional Studies - and your benefits after graduation?



"I studied at the distance learning - Lighting design program at WINGS University from 2014 to 2016. I learned a lot during the course of the program, not only professionally but also personally. With the best of faculty teaching us and eight years of experience in the lighting industry, I have managed to further expand my horizon about this particular field. Alongside, since we were a batch of students belonging to 15 countries, the exposure and interactions have only helped me garner knowledge. All like good things come to an end, so did Wismar. The course at Wismar, not only did it give me friends for life, but also honed my skills and exponentially grew my knowledge in the field of lighting design."