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A city that supports innovation, wellbeing, and social impact

Berlin is more than just a place to study—it’s an active collaborator in your journey as a practitioner of Applied Creative Psychology. With its legacy of radical art movements, community-based healing, and interdisciplinary experimentation, Berlin is fertile ground for creative mental health practice, personal growth, and social transformation.

Berlin is a city that doesn’t wait for ideas—it actively invites you to test them, live. Whether you're designing expressive arts workshops, experimenting with creative coaching, or building inclusive community programmes, Berlin is the perfect living lab.

Why Berlin is ideal for Applied Creative Psychology students

Grassroots art collectives, trauma-informed spaces, and socially engaged residencies working on topics like climate grief, gender justice, and migrant wellness.

Progressive cultural festivals like CTM, Month of Performance Art, and Floating University that integrate activism, embodiment, and mental wellbeing.

Therapeutic and educational spaces using music, movement, and storytelling to support healing, identity, and belonging—especially for marginalised groups.

A culture of public arts funding and access—through the Goethe Institute, district councils, and open artist networks.

Berlin invites you not just to participate—but to contribute.

Whether you’re leading a neurodiversity-informed workshop, testing a new coaching framework, or collaborating on social impact research, this city offers audiences, collaborators, and real-world opportunities that will help your ideas thrive.

Berlin as your classroom for Applied Creative Psychology

In Berlin, creative practice, mental health, and social innovation aren’t separate spheres—they converge daily. As a student in our MA in Applied Creative Psychology, you’ll step into a city where your practice can have immediate relevance and visible impact.

Here are just a few of the many initiatives you might connect with:

A non-profit venue dedicated to mental health and healing through art, MHAS empowers underrepresented voices through exhibitions, talks, and trauma-informed practices.
👉 mhasberlin.com

This grassroots organisation creates inclusive spaces where international residents connect through movement, music, and art—offering emotional grounding and creative expression in Berlin’s urban landscape.
👉 vostel.de

Open Art Space (Give Something Back to Berlin)

A gentle and welcoming weekly gathering, offering art supplies, silence, and supportive space for mindful creativity—no expectations, just presence.
👉 step-ahead-berlin.de

!KF – Institute for Artistic Research Berlin

A transdisciplinary research lab uniting artists, scientists and cultural practitioners—an ideal space for creative psychology students exploring research-through-practice.
👉  artistic-research.de 

An NGO fostering civic engagement through art and culture, MitOst supports international collaboration and local transformation—perfect for those interested in applied creativity and systems change.
👉 mitost.org

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human and Machine Creativity (Conference)

A live dialogue between AI, neuroscience, psychology, and art—offering exposure to cutting-edge research on creativity and cognition.
👉 mpib-berlin.mpg.de

Berlin, a city where change is unfolding on a daily basis

Our MA in Applied Creative Psychology places you in the heart of where change is already happening.

Practical studies aren’t meant to be abstract. Your learning is directly shaped by your environment. Whether that’s a participatory project at an artist-run space, a workshop in a community garden, or a collaborative research initiative with a local NGO.

Through our MA in Applied Creative Psychology, you’ll learn how to:

Navigate cross-cultural environments with empathy and nuance.

Apply psychological insight in real-world arts settings.

Build networks of support among artists, educators, and wellbeing practitioners.

Design and test methods that address mental health, identity, trauma, and belonging.

Berlin gives you the chance to live your practice on a daily basis, and build an environment that supports your growth and those of others. It’s a city of possibility, where art becomes your vehicle for emotional intelligence, social justice, and collective care.

Our MA in Applied Creative Psychology is designed for those who want to make meaningful change through creativity. And there’s no better place to do that here in Berlin at Catalyst - surrounded by fellow students from our film, music, acting, visual effects, screenwriting and photography courses. 

Join a flourishing ecosystem of artists, educators, and impact-driven creatives. Immerse yourself in transformative spaces and begin shaping the future of  our creative industries and beyond. 

Want to know what it’s like to live, work and study in one of the world’s most artistically charged cities?

Discover why Berlin is the ideal city for studying creative mental health, personal growth, and social change through the arts.

Studying Applied Creative Psychology in Berlin

New superpower unlocked — creative flourishing and why it matters

What if creativity wasn’t just something you do, but something you are: a state of being where your drive, confidence, and engagement align with clarity and purpose?

This idea is at the heart of “A Systems Approach to Creative Flourishing: Conceptual Foundations and Implications for Development”, a recent peer-reviewed paper by Cordele Glass, programme lead of the Applied Creative Psychology MA programme . Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the paper proposes a new model for understanding how people thrive creatively, specifically what it looks like, how it feels, and what supports that growth.

For us, this framework is more than theory, it's a pragmatic way of learning, teaching and living. All the courses in the School of Creative Human Development are designed for those who want to experience creative flourishing in their own lives and support it in others, across a wide range of settings, from education to mental health, arts to social impact.

In Cordele's model, creative flourishing is not a vague sense of being in flow or a temporary spark of inspiration. It’s a holistic, lived experience made up of three interconnected pillars:

Creative agency
Your ability to direct your own creative path. This includes setting meaningful goals, making intentional choices, and reflecting on your values. It’s about recognising yourself as the author of your own creative life.

Creative self-efficacy 
Your belief in your capacity to be creative. This is the confidence to experiment, take risks, and express yourself... even when the outcome is uncertain. Without this belief, the creative process stalls before it begins.

Flow proneness
Your tendency to become deeply immersed and engaged in creative activity. Flow is that powerful feeling of being ‘in the zone’, when your skill meets the challenge, and time, doubt, and distraction fade away.

When these three experiences align within a responsive and supportive environment, they create the conditions for creative flourishing. And from there, everything shifts. Your sense of purpose sharpens, your resilience strengthens and your potential deepens. This creative flourishing isn't limited to yourself, but rather provides you the tools to help others do the same.

Cordele's model, introduced in a peer-reviewed paper, moves beyond traditional models that focus solely on outcomes, skill, or recognition. Instead, it centres the subjective experience of creativity. It provides a framework for how it feels to live creatively, grow through the process and make meaning along the way. The paper also emphasises the importance of context, recognising that cultural, social, and material conditions shape creative development. It outlines practical steps educators, facilitators, and change-makers can take to bring about creative flourishing among diverse communities, like ours. 

This is the foundation of our new Master's programme. As a student, you’ll explore how to nurture creative flourishing in yourself, and gain the tools to support it in others through coaching, facilitation, education, wellbeing, and beyond. It’s a practice for anyone seeking to make creativity meaningful, sustainable, and transformational.

More than ever, we need practitioners who can use creativity not just for expression, but for emotional insight, healing, connection and change. Whether you're working with young people, leading workshops, or designing wellbeing interventions, fostering creative flourishing means helping people believe in themselves, get into flow and take ownership of their ideas and potential.

Our Applied Creative Psychology MA empowers you to do just that. It provides a grounded, interdisciplinary training in how creativity and psychology intersect—and how to make that intersection meaningful, inclusive, and impactful.

Through a combination of research, hands-on workshops, reflective practice, and real-world projects, you’ll:

Deepen your understanding of how creativity functions psychologically and socially.

Develop tools to guide others through creative blocks, burnout, or disconnection.

Learn to facilitate flow, confidence, and agency through design, coaching, and experiential learning.

Build a portfolio rooted in your values, vision, and creative leadership.

Join a growing community of facilitators, educators, therapists and change-makers using creativity to make a difference.

You’ll also explore what it means to design environments where others can flourish. Whether that’s in a classroom, community space, cultural institution, or wellbeing context.

Our new programme brings Cordele's academic and professional insights into a living, breathing programme. By applying the ideas behind creative flourishing and developing them further through your own research and projects, you’re not only joining a conversation, but actively shaping its future.

You believe creativity can be healing, transformative, and socially impactful.

You’re passionate about psychology, but want to apply it through hands-on, people-centered practice.

You want to lead workshops, design interventions, or develop experiences that unlock creative growth for others.

You’re searching for an academic and personal journey that centers wellbeing, agency, and purpose.

Whether your background is in education, coaching, arts therapy, social entrepreneurship, or the arts, this programme helps you turn your values into practice, and your practice into lasting impact.

Our Applied Creative Psychology programme's next intake will be September 2026. 

Whether you’re looking to expand your practice, transition careers, or deepen your understanding of creative growth, this programme gives you the tools, community, and environment to flourish—and to help others do the same.

Our Applied Creative Psychology MA invites you into a world of experimentation, reflection and impact.

Discover why Berlin is the ideal city for studying creative mental health, personal growth and social change through the arts.

Applied Creative Psychology: a pathway to creative flourishing

Catalyst – Institute for Creative Arts & Technology, based in Berlin’s historic Funkhaus, is launching two new degree programmes: the BA in Documentary Photography and the MA in Applied Creative Psychology. These additions reflect the institution’s ongoing commitment to supporting socially engaged, reflective and purpose-driven creative practice.

Both degrees respond to a growing need for arts education that goes beyond technical training and superficial aesthetics. Instead, they focus on developing the capacity for meaningful expression, critical thinking and socially conscious creative work – attributes that increasingly define the next generation of creative practitioners.

“With the addition of Documentary Photography and Applied Creative Psychology, we’re expanding our ecosystem of meaningful storytelling and socially engaged creative practice,” said Dr. Sarah McAdam, Catalyst’s Head of Education.

“Our newest programmes reflect the belief that art is deeper than aesthetics and touches the more meaningful parts of society and human experience. They reinforce our commitment to real-world learning and mirror the collaborative, interdisciplinary and impact-driven nature of creative industries. This is a natural step in building a course portfolio that meets the needs of our time while shaping a more conscious, connected and creative future.”

The Documentary Photography BA programme is one of just a few undergraduate programmes in Europe specialising in documentary work in an English-taught, practice-led setting. It offers students the opportunity to develop as visual storytellers while working with real-world issues and cultivating an ethical and reflective approach to photography.

The Applied Creative Psychology MA programme is the first programme of its kind in Europe. It is built for educators, artists, coaches and facilitators who want to dig deeper into how creativity can support wellbeing, personal development and social transformation. The course uses a unique combination of psychological insights, creative practice and experiential learning, helping its students to design and deliver meaningful work addressing the essence of creativity

“Our School of Creative Human Development is part of something much bigger. Within the ecosystem, it is part of a growing field of study that combines neuroscience with creative practice. Within Catalyst, it sits alongside our Schools of Music & Sound, Film & Visual Media and Acting, but focuses on a different layer of creative growth,” said Cordele Glass, Programme Lead and Head of School of Creative Human Development.

“Our mission is to support the internal dimensions of artistry, such as purpose, resilience, wellbeing and social impact. By launching the Applied Creative Psychology MA, we’re offering new ways for creatives to engage with art, healing and transformation through their practice. These programmes are embodying our belief in creative flourishing, the idea that artistic development is inseparable from personal and collective growth.”

Cordele’s recent paper in Frontiers in Psychology titled “A systems approach to creative flourishing: conceptual foundations and implications for development” highlights both the urgency and relevance of this emerging field. The paper offers a research-based framework for how creativity is an essential ingredient for individual and group resilience, agency and purpose. Alongside practical findings, the paper reinforces the importance of integrating creative psychology into education, the arts and wider society.

Together, the new programmes reflect Catalyst’s evolving educational model—one that sees the arts as a vehicle for deeper engagement with the world. By placing reflection, collaboration and human connection at the centre of creative education, these degrees create space for students to develop as contributors to a more thoughtful, empathetic and resilient society.

They also continue Catalyst’s efforts to design interdisciplinary learning environments that reflect today’s creative industries, giving students a realistic and meaningful playground for exploration.

Berlin has long been a hub for socially engaged art, alternative education, and experimental wellbeing practices. These new programmes align naturally with the city’s creative spirit—inviting students to contribute to a vibrant ecosystem where art, psychology, and community intersect.

Applications will open for both new programmes mid-October 2025. Scholarships and extended payment plans are available. 

Catalyst launches two new degrees that centre meaning, psychology and storytelling in creative education. Learn more about these two innovative courses and how to join us in Berlin.

Applied Creative Psychology & Documentary Photography

Catalyst launches two new degrees that centre meaning, psychology and storytelling in creative education

Berlin: your canvas for visual storytelling

Berlin is one of the most visually and socially dynamic cities on the planet. With its layered history, political complexity, and radical creativity, it offers a backdrop where photojournalism, art, activism, and community engagement converge, making it a natural home for socially engaged documentary practice.

In a city shaped by migration, protest, and reinvention, your camera becomes a unique tool to amplify unheard voices, question dominant narratives, and participate in visual dialogues that matter.

From the Brandenburg Gate to the East Side Gallery, Berlin invites slow observation—the kind of immersive, long-form documentary practice that goes beyond daily headlines. Its contrasts are its power: war memorials beside squats, Turkish markets next to techno clubs, drag shows near synagogues. These juxtapositions challenge you to move past the surface and create work with nuance, depth, and ethical integrity.

Berlin’s visual storytelling scene extends far beyond our campus at Catalyst. Whether you're drawn to underground collectives, world-class galleries, or street-based activism, there’s always something new to uncover. 

For a deeper look at some of the city’s documentary voices, check out Wonderful Machine’s guide to Berlin’s best social documentary photographers. This curated list highlights long-form visual storytellers whose work balances real-life documentation with social commentary—offering rich inspiration for those seeking to engage with the world through photography.

From corner spätis to global conversations

Berlin's neighbourhoods will be your classrooms, its protests will become your case studies, and its communities become your collaborators. 

You’ll develop your practice by working directly with social, cultural, and activist groups—from youth-led collectives to migrant networks and queer art spaces.

Your work will reflect the world you see and envision.

Berlin offers endless opportunities to tap into a vast ecosystem of grassroots initiatives and institutional platforms. For example:

Palace Collective & 90mil: A grassroots community healing space under the Jannowitzbrücke railway tracks, bringing international creatives together through DIY art residencies and solidarity events.

Art in the Underground (nGbK): Public art in Berlin’s transit system, exploring themes like gender-queer identities and migration.

C/O Berlin Talent Award: A prestigious annual prize honouring new strategies in documentary photography, with past winners exploring everything from staged realities to AI-generated imagery. The current exhibition, Documentary in Flux, showcases 14 past awardees, underscoring Berlin’s influence on the evolution of the form.

A city alive with galleries, archives, and critical dialogue

Berlin’s photography institutions range from globally renowned to underground. These institutions provide access to international dialogue, but also a standard to challenge and push against. They remind you that documentary practice is never neutral—and that Berlin is a place where ethics, politics, and aesthetics are always in motion.

C/O Berlin (Zoologischer Garten) champions both established and emerging photographers—recently exhibiting Queerness in Photography, curated by Tilda Swinton.

Berlinische Galerie houses over 70,000 photographic works, with upcoming retrospectives like Marta Astfalck-Vietz, chronicling Berlin’s cultural shifts from the 1920s onward.

Camera Work, Helmut Newton Foundation, and Galerie Barbara Wien offer further spaces for engagement, exhibition, and inspiration.

Learn how to bring stories from your own context

In our Documentary Photography BA programme, you'll be encouraged not just to document stories taking place in Berlin, but to bring stories from your own context—whether that’s Johannesburg, Jakarta, Manchester, or Medellín—into meaningful conversation with what you encounter here.

Through social photography, live briefs, exhibitions, and collaborative cross-media projects, you’ll build a portfolio that resonates across borders and industries.

Documentary photography isn't about taking pictures, it's about contributing to a visual culture with purpose—becoming the kind of image-maker who questions, reflects, documents, and envisions.

Explore why Berlin is the ideal city to study documentary photography. From grassroots collectives to world-class galleries, discover how this vibrant hub supports impactful visual storytelling and socially engaged artistic practice.

Berlin as your creative canvas: a city to study Documentary Photography

Studying Documentary Photography in Berlin: a city that demands to be documented

Artistic research is a powerful tool. It gives form to questions we can’t answer with data alone. It maps emotion, memory and culture in ways that traditional research cannot. At Catalyst – Institute for Creative Arts and Technology, it is the beating heart of our Master of Arts programmes in music and film.

Our annual Postgraduate (MA) Symposium is the culmination of this work — a public platform where Catalyst students and invited practitioners explore creative research across performance, sound, image, movement and theory. This year’s theme, Multipli-Cities, asked how place, identity and artistic practice intertwine across disciplines and borders.

Below are just a few glimpses into the work presented.

Catalyst MA Symposium 2025

A platform for artistic research in action

Unlike traditional exhibitions or end-of-year shows, Catalyst's MA Symposium is a live research environment. It’s a space for sharing work-in-progress, testing ideas, and exploring new forms of knowledge production through performance, sound, film and installation.

At Catalyst, artistic research is central to our pedagogy. Our MA students are not only honing their creative craft, they are investigating complex questions through hands-on inquiry — from diasporic identity and decolonial practice to AI-human co-creation and participatory sound design.

The MA Symposium is where all this comes together — where personal, political and poetic work meets public dialogue.


Participants in the 2025 MA Symposium included emerging and established voices from Catalyst - Institute for Creative Arts & Technology and:

How can we understand a city through sound? What does memory feel like in the body? These artists and researchers explored place and identity through sonic, poetic and performative methods — using listening, journaling, theory and storytelling to investigate how we experience and reconstruct space.

Sounding the Moment – Claire Dickson (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music) - A hybrid performance-lecture and vocal diary exploring embodied journaling, daily sound practice and relational composition over 200 days.

Sonic Sanctuaries – Martin Heslop (PhD in Creative Writing and Music, Newcastle University)- A spoken presentation drawing from walking, listening and writing workshops with newly arrived sanctuary-seekers in Newcastle, UK.

The House of Asterion – Oguz Baran (Scientific Artistic Research, Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF) - An affective cartography of memory and space, weaving essay film, poetics and myth into a layered spatial narrative of personal and cultural memory.

Expanding Artistic Practice in Filmmaking – Shoshana Simons & Kaixiang Zhang (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Film & Music) - A collaborative, cross-disciplinary presentation reflecting on hybrid methodologies in experimental film, incorporating ambient music and ancestral research.

Sonic Maze – Fede Ciotti (MA Computational Arts, Goldsmiths University of London) - An exploration of mark-making as performance, using Max/MSP and sensor-based interaction to translate drawing gestures into a live sonic experience.

Relativity – Morgan Hickinbotham (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music) - A performance using field recordings from Icelandic glaciers to explore time scales of climate change and the shifting sonic landscape of our environment.

These works use filmmaking as a research methodology, where narrative, collaboration, and experimental form converge to explore identity, memory, trauma and collective experience.

Looking For The Self – Marta Tiana (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Film) - A poetic docfilm exploring identity and perception through non-linear storytelling and immersive sound design.

Esther, Rivke, Chayale – Shoshana Simons (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Film) - A meditation on intergenerational Jewish identity, told through archival footage, poetic monologue and original music.

LOVE – Paula Okuneva (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Film) - A short personal reflection on the role of urban space in personal transformation, framed by themes of vulnerability, honesty and self-discovery.

Beyond the Output – Chen Wang (PhD in Music, University of the Arts London) - A sonic collaboration between human voice and AI, exploring generative systems, authorship and the dynamics of creative feedback loops.

Pay & Erase – Thais Mancini, Paula Okuneva, Shoshana Simons, Lia Lyutakova (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Film) - A speculative satire examining how technology might erase historical crimes — and what we lose when we delete memory.

Points of View – Benjamin Green (PhD by Practice, Manchester School of Art) - A collaborative documentary with secondary school students in the UK, reflecting on place, coming-of-age and poetic authorship through radical pedagogy.

Echoes – Elisa Pereira Martins & Lara Khattar (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music & Film) - An experimental nonfiction film using archival audio and fictional visuals to explore war trauma, memory and sonic affect.

Through installation, participation and embodied process, these artists investigate the politics of space, belonging and performative resistance — transforming rituals, landscapes and social behaviours into creative research.

Cairene Car-Culture – Abla Abdelnaby (Master in Media Design, The German University in Cairo) - A sonic ethnography of Cairo’s traffic and automobility, investigating how urban structures reflect and shape social behaviours and soundscapes.

Fence Choreographies – Anita Araujo & @de_colonialanguage (University of the Basque Country / Gothenburg University) - A collaborative project exploring how fences frame public-private relations and everyday movement through site-specific choreographies and public letters.

Ritual as Multi-Dimensional Architecture – Kaixiang Zhang (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music) - A participatory music performance using ritual as a spatial framework for holding presence, form and collective improvisation.

Reasons to Scream! – Juli Saragosa (Catalyst, Film Production Programme Certificate Lead) - A queer-feminist “audio-film” created by a collective of superhero*ines addressing gendered violence and power structures in the film industry.

Dream Forum – Dárida Rodrigues (PhD in Performing Arts and Moving Image, University of Lisbon) - A participatory installation and dream lab that invites visitors into collective imagination and urban reflection using rest, ritual and storytelling.

An Improviser's Guide to Film Music – Kostis Fanaras (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music) - A hybrid presentation linking open-form scores and improvisational film composition, rooted in jazz, photoplay and experimental sound.

Transit Cadence – Federico Torres & Alp Seyrekbasan (New Media Design MA, University of Europe for Applied Sciences) - A performance reimagining the rhythm of urban life through audiovisual abstraction, language and speculative sound systems.

Epistemic Empowerment through Participatory Music-Making – Ivan Chaparro (PhD in Music, UdK Berlin) - A decolonial approach to collaborative music-making with newly arrived migrant youth in Germany, exploring sound as a tool of agency and inclusion.

Smoking Mirror: Aethereal Resonances – Juan Duarte (PhD in Arts and Design, Aalto University) - An immersive performance-lecture using weather data, obsidian mirrors and mythology to reawaken ecological listening and ancestral technologies.

void•form – Zaak Kerstetter (Catalyst, MA Creative Production: Music) - A live generative performance system blending algorithmic sound, human touch and unpredictability — exploring presence, risk and sonic expression.

The Catalyst Symposium features contributions from internationally recognised artists whose practices reflect the depth and relevance of artistic research today.

Ariel William Orah — a Berlin-based Indonesian artist, community catalyst and co-founder of the Sōydivision collective — presents a keynote exploring transdisciplinary approaches to memory, identity and resistance within diasporic contexts. His work merges sound, performance and socially engaged practice to investigate how place is shaped by trauma, ritual and collective storytelling.

James Perley — an American composer, technologist and interactive media artist — joins Orah and others for the closing panel Multipli-cities in Artistic Research Practice. Together, they reflect on how artists navigate multiplicity through hybrid methodologies, collaboration and contextual awareness.

Their contributions frame the Symposium’s core question: how can artistic research serve as a tool for engaging with complex cultural, social and political realities?

Discover Catalyst's approach to artistic research

At Catalyst, artistic research is more than a teaching method — it’s a driver of cultural inquiry and transformation. As contemporary artists face global challenges such as displacement, identity, digital innovation and climate disruption, practice-based research becomes a powerful way to investigate, reflect and respond.

Through our Master of Arts in Creative Production (Music) and Master of Arts in Creative Production (Film), students develop the critical and creative tools to turn bold ideas into meaningful, socially engaged work. Whether working in sound, image, performance or installation, artistic research bridges theory and practice, connecting creativity with real-world impact.

The work doesn’t end with the MA Symposium. It’s part of a larger, ongoing ecosystem of learning through doing — supported by Catalyst’s Dolby Atmos Studio, in-house cinema, ensemble rooms, and 29 custom-built music production studios.

Explore how our MA programmes empower artists to investigate, collaborate and lead:

MA in Creative Production (Music)
MA in Creative Production (Film)

Explore how international artists, academics and MA students at Catalyst Berlin use artistic research to engage with identity, space and social practice.

Catalyst MA Symposium 2025 | Artistic Research in Berlin

International artists and academics join Catalyst MA students to explore artistic research at the 2025 MA Symposium

Which music production programme is for me? 

A lot of students come to us with the same question:

"How do I choose between Electronic Music Production & Performance (EMP) and Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering (CAP)?"

We know it can be tricky to tell these two programmes apart at first glance. Both live at the heart of our School of Music & Sound. Both are packed with hands-on learning in our world-class studios. And both will push you to explore your creative practice while giving you the technical skillset to stand out in the industry.

But while they share DNA, the way each course approaches sound and music – and the careers they prepare you for – is actually pretty different. 

To help you out, we’ve put together this short guide with the main differences, so that you can imagine your possibilities and find the path that speaks to you.

Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering – the studio as your instrument

Studio recording, large-format consoles & mic placement

Multi-instrument setups & media production

Professional workflows & collaborative briefs

Professionally mixed and mastered recordings across genres

Sound engineering projects for live and studio contexts

Freelance producer for artists, agencies or brands

✖️ A strong emphasis on performance or live artistry
✖️ Deep sound synthesis, DIY instruments or audio experimentation

If you’re drawn to the technical craft of sound – recording artists, engineering mixes, producing for clients or working in audio post-production – Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering at Catalyst might be your lane. 

If you love shaping sound in the studio – recording, producing, mixing and mastering – this programme puts you in control of the full technical and creative process.

We cover everything from capturing the perfect vocal take to producing a polished studio album. You’ll learn advanced recording techniques for bands, solo artists and ensembles, explore acoustics and psychoacoustics, and gain deep expertise in DAWs, outboard gear and production workflows.

Your projects could range from producing singles and EPs to composing for film, creating sound libraries or engineering live sessions. The aim is to graduate as a confident audio professional, equally comfortable leading a studio recording, designing sound for media or running your own production business.

Electronic Music Production & Performance – your artistry, centre stage

Synthesisers, samplers & instrument building

Cross-disciplinary collaboration & AV work

Original electronic tracks ready for release

Live performance sets and instrument design

Innovative sound design for music, media or installations

A portfolio that reflects your unique sonic identity

Performing artist or electronic music producer

Composer for games, VR or experimental media

✖️ Large-scale studio workflows
✖️ Client-led engineering or traditional post-production techniques

Electronic Music Production & Performance at Catalyst is all about developing your artistic identity.

If you’re drawn to crafting beats, building sonic worlds and bringing them to life on stage, this is your playground. Our focus here is on the full creative arc – from the first spark of an idea through production, mixing, mastering and live performance.

You’ll dive deep into hardware synthesisers, sequencers, drum machines and audio programming. We start with mastering the tools, then encourage you to reimagine and reinvent them for your own music. By the time you graduate, you’ll have the skills to produce and perform as a solo artist, collaborate across genres or push into experimental sound art.

Live performance is central – you’ll learn not just to make music but to translate it for an audience. And where better to hone your stage presence than in Berlin’s iconic electronic music scene?

So… which music production programme is for you?

In short: Electronic Music Production & Performance  is all about creating your own music, evolving a personal sound and taking it to the stage.  Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering focuses on capturing, shaping and delivering sound for artists, media and audiences – often working with other creators’ material as well as your own.

Both are intensely practical. Both will give you a strong portfolio and industry-ready skills. Your choice comes down to where your creative energy flows – are you the artist-performer or the producer-engineer? Or a bit of both?

If you want to work behind the glass – tracking bands, mixing records, delivering audio for media – Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering at Catalyst will set you up with the technical foundation and industry-ready skills to thrive in the studio world.

If you want to be on stage or in the lab – exploring new forms, performing live, crafting sound from scratch and redefining genres – Electronic Music Production & Performance at Catalyst will give you the creative freedom and tools to shape your own artistic future.

Still unsure? The best way to decide is to join one of our Open Days or one of the many info events we host with our tutors and students. 

Not sure whether to choose Electronic Music Production and Performance or Creative Audio Production and Sound Engineering? This guide explores the key differences, career paths and how to decide which Catalyst Bachelor's fits your creative ambitions.

Which music production programme at Catalyst is for me?

Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering vs Electronic Music Production & Performance – which programme is for me? 

Our student-run radio station, Etikett Radio, has been showcasing our communities' creative voices for over a decade. As you'll see in this article, the radio station reaches beyond our School of Music & Sound. Students from the School of Film & Visual Media and the School of Acting are all getting involved with running our grass-roots, community run station.

Meet the team running our student-run radio station