University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz

The University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz (common short form University of Arts Linz) is one of four universities in Linz, Upper Austria.

At present, approximately 800 students are enrolled.

The University of Art and Design Linz (Kunstuniversität Linz) has its institutional and programmatic roots in the “Kunstschule” (Art School) of the City of Linz, which was founded in 1947, assigned academy status in 1973 and finally made a fully-fledged university in 1998. The institution was conceived as an explicit statement to signify dissociation from the previous art policy of the National Socialist era. This is in particular exemplified by its emphasis on the fundamental values of freedom of art and research, its commitment to modernism and contemporary art and the positioning of the University at the interface of free-artistic and applied-economically oriented design. In the past as in the present, these values form the basis of the fundamental essence and identity of Kunstuniversität Linz. Since 1 January 2004, the University is constituted as a “corporation under public law” according to the new Universities Organisation Act of 2002 and hence enjoys far-reaching autonomy. In the context of the regional and international frame conditions within which Kunstuniversität Linz operates, three main orientations were evolved over the past few years. Going beyond specialist competencies per se, they are of particular importance for artistic development, research and teaching and moreover reflect the unique profile of the University.