VSMU has been founded in 1949 for the university level art education. It has three faculties:
- Music and Dance
- Theatre and Puppets
- Film and Television
Though they have been thought some subjects like script writing or directing, the stand-alone Film and Television Faculty (with all necessary branches and departments to create a film) was established in 1990 as the only University level school for audiovisual media in Slovakia. The Academy offers a complete film and audiovisual education in seven ateliers and two departments: Production and Management as well as a special Department of Humanities and Cinema Studies, which serves for the whole school and covers the university level of education with subjects like Aesthetics, Philosophy, Fine Arts History, The History of Cinematography, Sociology, Psychology, etc.). There is a stand-alone Language Studies Department for all three faculties. Students have the option of going on to a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. (ArtD.) after the initial Bachelor of Arts degree.
There is a rector as a head of the whole VSMU, deciding about covering investments and negotiating with the Ministry and Government. But every faculty has its own enterprise and business freedom and rights for decision. The same is valid concerning the curriculum, etc. There is a dean as a head of Film and TV Faculty with three vice deans: for student affairs, for foreign affairs and for the student’s film production. There is an economical secretary and the Head of the Production Studio.
As visible by the structure, there is an aim to bring up young filmmakers, powerful in crafts as well as cultivated in the common cultural level and European tradition of education. The school is rather artistic. It is based on the tradition of so called Czechoslovakian New Wave, but it is opened to new trends and techniques in the world cinematography, too. It is still the state school, paid by the government, but it needs the grants a sponsors´ support nearly for everything. There is a question of paid studies in the air.
RESEARCH AND ARTISTIC ACTIVITY
As an arts academy VŠMU is involved primarily in arts projects. Individual faculties organize several undertakings with international participation:
The Music and Dance Faculty is the organizer of the International Student Festival of Student Music ORFEUS, the International Summer Academy of Music, Concert Cycles of the Symphonic Orchestra of Music and Dance Faculty, yearly performance of the Opera Studio and the International conference Presentations - Confrontations.
Under the auspices of the International Theatre Institute – UNESCO the Theatre Faculty arranges every second year the International Festival of Theatre Schools (Istropolitana Project).
The Film and Television Faculty each year organizes the International Student Film Festival (Áčko) VŠMU is also involved in the organization of the International Contemporary Music Festival (New Music Evenings) and the International Festival for Contemporary Dance (Bratislava in Movement).
The Music and Dance Faculty publishes the monthly journal Tempo, Theatre Faculty publishes regularly journal Reflektor and the Faculty of Film and Television has the occasional publication Frame.
The Theatre Faculty operates the student drama studio “Mala scena VŠMU” (Small Scene of VŠMU), the Music and Dance Faculty Artistic Production Office and the APAB Orchestra.
STUDY CONDITIONS
The Academy’s premises comprise, besides classic tutorial rooms, primarily art studios, rehearsal rooms and studios.
At the Music and Dance Faculty, which presently has tutorial rooms available for the teaching of practical and theoretical subjects, ballet room and a concert hall, recently reconstructed, in the reconstructed building at 1 Zochova Street.
The building of the Film and Television Faculty on Svoradova Street houses two projection halls, serving also as auditoriums, tutorial and consultancy rooms for theoretical subjects, animated film studios and well-equipped editing rooms and a sound studio.
Tutorial rooms for theoretical subjects of the Theatre Faculty are located on Ventúrska Street. The Department of Puppet Theatre, The Department of Theory and Critics of Dramatic Arts and the Department of Stage and Costume Design of the Theatre Faculty are located at 1 Zochova Street, where tutorial rooms, and a puppet theatre studio and studios are used for the teaching process and presentation of the output from students’ studies. Student performances are currently being trained and presented in the drama studio “Malá scéna VŠMU” (Small Scene of VŠMU) on 7, Dostojevského rad Street. A new building of the Theatre Faculty is currently under construction on Svoradova Street , next to the Film and Television Faculty.
Premises of VŠMU are available to students also outside the main teaching process for preparation of their artistic works. By agreement other premises of public cultural facilities and institutions are also used for concerts, films and theatre performances.
All the departments and faculty workplaces are equipped with computers connected to the Internet and computers are available to students of the respective department or studio. Several departments are building up their own library sources, archives of student's works or video archives.
University has
canteen
library
student hostel
| Number of students | Number of courses |
| 1 080 | 3 |
Student programs
The VSMU is involved in the international programme LLP/ERASMUS, currently having active bilateral agreements with 46 European schools.
The Music and Dance Faculty is involved in the LEONARDO DA VINCI programme.
Individual departments have several projects supported from the VEGA and KEGA funds, Pro Slovakia, the Visegrad Fund, and each year gaining foreign grants for artistic and research activity from other institutions, such as UNESCO or the European Commission, Ministry of Culture.
The artistic output of VŠMU students is each year successfully presented at Slovak and foreign festivals and competitions – international singing competitions, interpretation competitions, drama and film festivals and exhibitions.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
VŠMU is a member of the international organizations:
- ELIA – European League of Institutes of the Arts
- AEC – European Association of Conservatoires
- ENCATC – European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres
- CILECT – The International Association of Film and Television Schools (CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE LIAISON DES ECOLES DE CINEMA ET DE TELEVISION) and GEECT – Europen part of CILECT
VŠMU is also involved in short-term and long-term international projects, such as Joint Orchestra, PHILHARMONIE JUNGE DONAU, YAMAHA MUSIC CENTRAL EUROPE, THE INTERNATIONAL HOLLAND MUSIC SESSIONS, project 6 Days of Opera.
Film Faculty’s international activities are fulfilled with several CILECT-GEECT supported international and overseas projects like SCHOOLS´ BEST KEPT SECRETS conferences (Bratislava 2004 and 2006, Lisbon 2009), RIVERS PROJECT (2007-2008) or international cooproductions (RITS Brussels) as well as MEDIA supported projects, like VISION OF SOUND IN FILM (international workshop of film schools in Lithuania, 2003), EUROPEAN FILM SCHOOLS NETWORK Paris, 2008, 2009, 2010 – FTF VSMU together with La femis, Paris and London Film School), MIDPOINT – FTF VSMU together with FAMU Praha, PWSF Lodz Poland and UNATC Bucharest, Romania). An important part of Film and Television Faculty´s international life is the school´s International Student Films Festival Áčko, which has fulfilled its 13th issue already.
Each year there are exchanges of top teachers from foreign partner schools and arts institutions with the VŠMU, the teachers lecturing on a short-term basis as part of the LLP/ERASMUS Teacher Mobility Programme and bilateral agreements.
