Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art

Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art is the art, design and film department of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and one of Switzerland’s leading providers of degrees in those fields. Founded in 1877 as the Lucerne School of Arts and Crafts, it has trained designers, filmmakers and artists for more than 140 years and today counts over 900 students.

Since 2016 all programmes have been gathered at 745 Viscosistadt in Emmenbrücke, the heart of what was once Central Switzerland’s most important industrial site, a move completed in 2019. Workshops, laboratories and studios fill three adjacent buildings and, after an introduction, stay open around the clock.

Thirteen bachelor’s directions include Animation, Camera Arts, Data Design + Art, Design Management International, Graphic Design, Illustration, Objektdesign, Spatial Design, Textildesign and Video, alongside a preparatory foundation course. Seven Master of Arts programmes follow: four in design, two in film and one in Fine Arts.

Four research groups cover Product and Textile Design, Visual Narrative, Art Research and Transformation Design, working with enterprises, public administration and civil society and funded largely by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Innosuisse and foundations; doctorates run with partner universities abroad. Smart-Up advises students and alumni turning ideas into ventures.