Mission Statement

The Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK) brings together musicians, performing artists and researchers from all over the world and offers them opportunities for artistic and academic development in an open-minded, appreciative and innovative atmosphere. Regular collaboration with partners in Austria and abroad forms part of its self-conception. Building on Vienna’s rich artistic tradition, the students and staff of the MUK jointly develop, research and advance music and the performing arts. They bring their work and expertise to the world at large, fully aware of their strength and responsibility as cultural practitioners.

An Autonomous Municipal University with a Tradition

The MUK is an autonomous university for music and the performing arts and offers artistic, artistic-scientific and artistic-pedagogical degree programmes and continuing education courses. As a place of artistic practice and education, it is committed to the further development of music and the performing arts, to the research, development and advancement of the arts, and to artistic freedom. The MUK is committed to ensuring a diversity of schools of thought and theories in art and research through a variety of methods.

Through its predecessor institutions, the MUK has a long tradition dating back to the early twentieth century. In awareness of the institutional co-responsibility of its predecessor institutions for the crimes of National Socialism, the MUK preserves the memory of its displaced and murdered students and teachers.

Upon attaining university status in 2005, the MUK became an independent municipal university and an indispensable part of Vienna’s educational and cultural landscape. Public sponsorship and funding by the City of Vienna provide the basis for an excellent yet affordable artistic education, from which the city’s arts and cultural institutions also benefit. Through the expertise they have acquired, graduates working internationally further strengthen Vienna’s reputation as a city of culture throughout the world.

The preservation of this affordable excellence in education promotes internationalisation and counteracts social barriers to access. Through a wide range of public events and collaborations, the MUK makes a significant contribution to the cultural life of the city. A central objective is also to strengthen its engagement with Vienna’s wider urban community.

Research, Development and Advancement of the Arts as a Core Mission

The MUK advances and researches both traditional and contemporary art forms while developing innovative concepts for arts education. Contemporary artistic movements are as much a focus of teaching and research as historical artistic practice and theory.

In addition, researchers in the fields of musicology, theatre studies, dance studies and pedagogy contribute to the generation and dissemination of knowledge in diverse forms at an international level and as part of a scholarly community committed to standards of excellence. Teaching and the advancement of the arts are continuously interconnected in an interactive manner and encompass the fields of interpretation and creation, scholarship and research, as well as mediation and participation.

A central concern of the university is the complementing of discipline-specific education through interdisciplinary, cross-faculty work and transdisciplinary projects. The diverse and consistent integration of mediation and participation into study, teaching and research through a variety of formats ensures the fulfilment of this core mission.

Study and Teaching with a Focus on Talents and Competences

For students and teachers, admission to the MUK is based on criteria of excellence with regard both to artistic talent and professional suitability. Building on this foundation, the comprehensive education and development of the independent artistic personality of students and teachers at the MUK is of central importance.

Students are supported in accordance with their diverse talents and personal visions in order to develop professional identities on the basis of the competences acquired during their studies. In addition to established professional profiles, student-centred education focuses in particular on the individual artistic development of students within their respective fields of artistic practice.
To achieve this objective in the best possible way, teachers and students work together in individual and group artistic lessons, in teams and in ensembles, applying the principles of co-determination, co-creation and shared responsibility.

In line with its participatory orientation, the MUK makes sustainable contributions to promoting the next generation of artists, artistic researchers and artistic-pedagogical professionals. Through collaborations beyond the university sector, the MUK develops programmes in the fields of informal learning, Community Music and music education for specific target groups in urban environments.

Diversity, Equal Opportunities and Equality as a Lived Understanding

Collaboration between students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff is based on the principles of appreciation, acceptance and transparency. The MUK forms a diverse and intercultural community and promotes the willingness to recognise different identities without thereby creating structural inequalities between people. Members of the MUK respect personal identities without reservation. The MUK is firmly committed to the principles of anti-discrimination and equal opportunities, to the promotion of equality for all genders, and to the advancement of women.

A significant focus lies on promoting diversity, both with regard to students and teachers and in relation to artistic forms of expression. The objective is not merely to articulate values but to put them into practice through role models, communication, project content and a culture of dialogue.

Third Mission

Through formats of mediation in art, teaching and research, the MUK engages in an active dialogue with society on the relevant questions and challenges of our time, through formats dedicated to communicating its artistic work, its teaching and the transfer of knowledge.

It sees itself as an active part of society that assumes responsibility for inclusion, sustainability and participation. In all artistic disciplines represented at the university, the MUK aspires to international artistic competitiveness and presents its achievements to a critical public through regular events.
A university-wide objective is to connect the institution with society in order to address relevant social issues through art and research and to prepare students for their responsibilities within society.

Quality in the Spotlight — Collaborations

In accordance with its self-conception, the MUK is a learning organisation and, with the participation of all its bodies, committees and members, promotes a vibrant culture of quality supported by closely interlinked formal and informal communication structures.

Through university-based and external collaborations with renowned cultural and educational institutions, an extensive and active network is maintained.

Maintaining, actively seeking and promoting such collaborations is a continuous endeavour of the MUK. This ensures intensive exchange among teachers, students and researchers, as well as ongoing engagement with current artistic and academic developments and issues.