Catalyst – Institute for Creative Arts and Technology opened in Berlin in 2019, born from a belief that creative education needed to catch up with the industry. Built around practice-based learning and professional facilities, it has grown to 22 programmes across four schools, attracting students from 70+ countries. Degrees are validated by Plymouth Marjon University.
At Catalyst, every programme is assessed entirely through portfolio — no exams, no
theoretical briefs. BA programmes build deep technical skills across music production,
filmmaking, visual effects, photography, and acting, with coursework built around live
projects: students produce, direct, record, perform, and publish work that reaches real
audiences while still studying. In our MA programmes, student do independent, inquiry
based work on artistic research projects.
Across all four schools, students are encouraged to work together: a film student scoring
with a music student, an acting student working with a creative psychology peer.
Collaboration is written into the structure, and studio time is accessible beyond class
hours. By graduation, students leave with a body of work, not just a qualification
Catalyst graduates move directly into the industry. Alumni have presented work at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and FEST, launched their own studios, and built careers as producers and sound engineers. The transition from student to professional is expedited by Catalyst’s is industry-level facilities which allow students to graduate with a ready portfolio. Berlin's cultural connections accelerate that further. Graduates enter a job market having already worked alongside the festivals, venues, and organisations that make up Europe's creative economy. MA graduates move into senior creative roles, artistic research, and leadership positions. Across disciplines, the demand is for practitioners who can work across boundaries, and that’s what four schools designed to collaborate produces.
Below you will find scholarships related to Catalyst – Institute for Creative Arts and Technology. Distinction can be made between scholarships provided by the University and those provided by independent providers.
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Student Wellbeing — one-to-one coaching, mental health support, and workshops designed to help students thrive personally and creatively throughout their studies. Student Experience — facilitates campus events, community initiatives, and extracurricular programming that connects students across all four schools. Student Administration — handles enrolment, academic records, and the day-to-day administrative needs of students from arrival to graduation. Film Technicians — on-hand technical support for all film and visual media facilities, ensuring students have the guidance they need to make the most of professional-grade equipment. Music Technicians — dedicated studio support across 25+ music and sound spaces, helping students get the best out of industry-standard production environments.
Catalyst doesn't manage student housing directly, but connects enrolled students with trusted accommodation partners across Berlin. Partners include Spacest, University Living, Uniplaces, Housing Anywhere, and Home in Berlin, offering a range of rooms, studios, and shared apartments to suit different budgets. Enrolled students receive exclusive discount codes and priority support through each partner. A WhatsApp community connect new arrivals with current students, who often share available rooms and sublets.
Are computers and/or internet access offered on campus - Yes
Does the Organisation provide IT support? - Through or Music and Film technicians, we support the use of our professional grade facilities
Student Wellbeing — one-to-one coaching, mental health support, and workshops designed to help students thrive personally and creatively throughout their studies
KALLE sits on Karl-Marx-Strasse in Neukölln, one of Berlin's most central and well-connected neighbourhoods — 30 minutes from Alexanderplatz and right in the heart of the city's independent creative scene. The nearly 5,000m² campus brings all four schools under one roof, housing 58+ recording and production studios, a Dolby Atmos suite, an 8K cinema, a black box theatre, VFX workstations, and a rooftop. A modular social stage, bookable meeting rooms, kitchen spaces, and common areas are spread throughout the building, alongside Etikett Radio's dedicated studio. All facilities are accessible to students beyond class hours.
Catalyst's student life runs on participation. Etikett Radio is a student-run station broadcasting live shows, podcasts, and pop-up residencies, and any student can get involved in production, hosting, or curation. T.A.P.E. is an open programme welcoming all students into experimental performance, improvisation, and avant-garde repertoire. Artistry Connect events bring students across all four schools together to present work and find collaborators.The Flourishing Fortnights series runs workshops rooted in the science of creativity, open to everyone. Beyond organised programmes, students regularly self-organise open mics, jam sessions, film screenings, and exhibitions. The Catties - Catalyst's annual awards - celebrate students who push boundaries across artistic, technical, and community dimensions, culminating in Pulse, the end-of-year showcase.
Catalyst is a private third level education institution based in Berlin and our degree programmes are validated by the University of St Mark and St John (also known as Plymouth Marjon University) in the UK. Catalyst courses are validated by Plymouth Marjon University. The university’s degree courses comply fully with the European Diploma Supplement Transcript and have equivalent ECTS values for all modules in keeping with the Bologna Declaration at the Convention for the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region. Plymouth Marjon University is listed as an accredited degree awarding university on the following UK Government websites:Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) UK Government recognised bodies.
Based on 9 reviews
I was a student at Catalyst enrolled in the 3-year Bachelor Film Production program. Overall it was very much worth the experience for me. The principle behind the school is to learn by doing, and although it might depend on the person, for me it was the perfect way to learn everything I needed to learn. You pretty much learn mostly from just making films right away. The first year we made films every other week, the second year a film each semester, and the third year, one last big project, and this is besides all the film sets you might help on in other capacities or make on your own free time or weekends. I loved that you were given a lot of freedom in your learning, as long as you are sticking to your deadlines, I was working on and learning how to make the films I wanted to make, the school projects and my own projects on the side, and working on so many other people�s films and film sets in every role one can think of. I don�t think I could have gotten the amount of experience in film I did elsewhere or in any other school or format in such a short time. It was really just being in that film and creative environment that is the biggest advantage. It is also really nice that the teachers are all people who actually work in the industry too. The best classes also were when they invited people to do masterclasses. It helps a lot to be near people who are actively working in the industry you want to join. Teachers and staff are also all very open to feedback and interested in improving things, so I imagine the school will be even much different for students in the coming years then it was for me, they are always changing and evolving. Overall it was a really good experience, I made countless friends and connections (one of the best parts of the experience), I have a varied portfolio of work now which I didn�t before, and know what it takes to put a film together now and what it will require. If you go you�d have to be prepared to put as much into it as it gives you. Be prepared to bring your own initiative in making films for example, networking, and collaborating with others. If you do you can get an enormous amount out of your time at the school. If you go just to attend classes you won�t really get much. It all just depends on how much you�re willing to put in or how passionate about it you are. But that is what I was personally looking for anyways, somewhere I can learn and work practically and develop for the next 3 years. Anything else you can learn online anyways and is sort of becoming obsolete I think for an institution. Film is an art form after all and you will only really learn it by practicing it, and here they give you all the equipment and resources to do that. One complaint I have actually is that the program should be 4 years instead of 3, just because of how fast it will go by, I could have used one more year probably.
I found my people here. Every step of the way, catalyst was exactly what it said it was. A catalyst. The university forces you into real world scenarios really quickly and you're driven by your own motivation and ofcourse supported by all the wonderful staff. Classes are not very technical. They rather show you the doors and you will have to be the one to walk through it. Best 3 years of my life.
It�s a playground - not a school. If you want good quality education - don�t come here for that. For a community maybe. For practical experience. But the quality of education and management are pretty poor� I signed up for a Bachelor Degree in Film first and then switched to 1 year program because I realised that it is not worth it. The structure of the program is very intense and quite sporadic. And not in the good way. 90% of the people who come here have zero experience, which is normal of course. But the teachers barely teach you the basics and then just throw you into the production (with very stressful deadlines) to see if you can swim. Almost no good work comes out of the first year of course - first of all because they just want you to make your own mistakes to learn from them instead of giving you good education. Second of all 90% of the students are rich kids that don�t want to work - they just want to �make art�. And the teachers indulge that. But the film industry doesn�t work like that. Film is discipline, work, professional standards, vision. I would say it�s a playground. Not a school. Now about the lessons and teachers. The good thing is that they invite some really cool industry professionals to teach on a freelance basis. I enjoyed some classes a lot when an established director or scriptwriter led the lessons. On the other hand, majority of the contracted stuff seem underqualified or disengaged� The cinematography taught in the first year is just shallow. I don�t think I learned anything from those classes. Later on, the same teacher gives us feedback and advice on our projects, and I�m sorry, but this is just not the person I want to hear feedback from. He imagines he�s an amazing mentor while making factual mistakes and not being able to get his thoughts straight. And then he gives us feedback on our final projects. And our adviser is literally just not trained for this job, as she admitted herself. Why do they put a person without training in such an important position? She made my year so stressful. First of all, when she�s supposed to guide and support us throughout our productions, she just reads the academic guidelines out loud. Where she�s supposed to help resolve a problem or conflict (which happens a lot in production), she just avoids it and sugarcoats everything until it blows up. She literally humiliated me at the screening of my first-ever short film. And you can�t do anything about it. You can�t go up the chain of command because everyone just says, �Talk to your adviser.� So you�re just stuck. There are two other advisers who are better, so if you�re going to this program, pray that you get lucky. On the positive side � the community. Catalyst brings very different people together, and I�ve met some truly great people here. It�s up to you in the end.
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