A 1-year technical preparatory internship is a prerequisite for admission to the BA degree course in Jewellery at Pforzheim University, School of Design.

The technical pre-study internship is intended for applicants who have not completed a goldsmith apprenticeship, a related apprenticeship (e.g. dental technology) or a craft internship in a company. A technical examination may take place at the end of the pre-study internship. 

The Jewellery program offers a number of internships directly at the university. Places are limited to 6 people per semester; if there are more applicants, the university reserves the right to carry out a selection process. The one-year preliminary course, consisting of 2 semesters, can be started in the winter semester, at the beginning of October or in the summer semester in mid-March. Applicants who have already completed a six-month related internship can attend a subsequent six-month preliminary course in the summer semester from mid-March.  

Topics of the preparatory course:
1st semester: 
Basic techniques such as sawing, bending, filing and soldering using simple practice pieces. First assembly work using the basic techniques already learned.
Production of wax models as a preliminary stage to the casting technique.
Basic techniques such as driving, mounting, cross-section forming.
Flat engraving in copper, brass and silver, guilloché

2nd semester: 
Deepening of basic techniques by assembling more complex pieces of jewelry, expanding skills by learning techniques such as grinding, scratching, polishing, forming sheet metal and wires, riveting, gluing, etc., simple gemstone setting.
Consolidation of basic techniques by making cups, bowls, cutlery and boxes.
Production of wax models as a preliminary stage to the casting technique.
Reworking the cast parts and, if necessary, creating rubber or silicone molds as starting objects for model production, reproducing the models.
More elaborate flat engravings, raising and shaping of objects in putty and lead with chasing punches, surface treatment.

Costs: 800 € per semester 
Tools: approx. 700 € (will be purchased together at the beginning of the course) 
Start: in the winter semester (beginning of October) or in the summer semester (mid-March)
Application deadline: June 30 for the winter semester, January 31 for the summer semester

To apply for an internship in the jewelry department, please send a written application with motivation, a CV, a passport photo and proof of your university entrance qualification to the following address (applicants whose native language is NOT German should also enclose proof of their language skills, Goethe-Zertifikat C1, DSH 2, or TestDaF TDN 4):

Hochschule Pforzheim 
StudiCenter Fakultät für Gestaltung
Holzgartenstrasse 36 
75175 Pforzheim

ATTENTION:

Completing the technical pre-study internship is no guarantee of passing the entrance examination. Please refer to the page 'Applying for a Bachelor's degree program' for the additional requirements for admission to the degree program.

If you have any questions about the technical pre-study internship, please contact Mr. Thomas Leicht.