HOFA Audio Engineering DIPLOMA
Learn Audio Engineering with the HOFA Online Courses
The HOFA Audio Engineering DIPLOMA provides you with professional knowledge for your career in the audio engineering industry – from recording studios to post production, from live sound to sound design.
Course duration: 24 months
Time requirement: flexible, as part-time or full-time
With the HOFA Audio Engineering DIPLOMA you get the best sound engineering education.
Study Contents
Your HOFA DIPLOMA starts with HOFA BASIC. During these two months you will intensively study the basics of sound engineering and music production – from the recording and mixing basics to your first mastering.
Afterwards, over a period of 12 months, HOFA PRO offers you professional know-how from all important fields of audio engineering.
This will give you a reliable and comprehensive education in recording, producing, mixing, and mastering. Even more practical exercises than in the BASIC course will make you fit for studio tasks in various music styles.
In the last part of your studies, you will deepen your skills in fascinating and exciting topics with the following short courses. To successfully pass the DIPLOMA, you must complete 5 of the 11 short courses available:
- Mastering
- Vocals
- Electronic Music Production
- Academic Work
- Drum Programming
- Live Sound Engineering
- Harmony & Music Theory
- Vintage
- Audio Engineering for Film
- Music Business
- Coming Soon: Sound Design
- HOFA BASIC
-
Your HOFA DIPLOMA starts with HOFA BASIC. During these two months you will intensively study the basics of sound engineering and music production – from the recording and mixing basics to your first mastering.
- HOFA PRO
-
Afterwards, over a period of 12 months, HOFA PRO offers you professional know-how from all important fields of audio engineering.
This will give you a reliable and comprehensive education in recording, producing, mixing, and mastering. Even more practical exercises than in the BASIC course will make you fit for studio tasks in various music styles.
- HOFA Short Courses
-
In the last part of your studies, you will deepen your skills in fascinating and exciting topics with the following short courses. To successfully pass the DIPLOMA, you must complete 5 of the 11 short courses available:
- Mastering
- Vocals
- Electronic Music Production
- Academic Work
- Drum Programming
- Live Sound Engineering
- Harmony & Music Theory
- Vintage
- Audio Engineering for Film
- Music Business
- Coming Soon: Sound Design
You can adjust the duration individually.
Learn Audio Engineering Everywhere
The HOFA Online-Campus gives you access to all your learning content via your computer, tablet and smartphone at any time.
You will be provided with new learning units every month.
Multimedia-based learning: The course contains video tutorials, texts, sound examples, complete studio productions & practical exercises.
Get started right away
- Can be completed with all current DAWs such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One, FL Studio etc.
- Comes with Cubase LE and Ableton Live Intro.
- Professional knowledge from all areas of audio engineering & music production.
- Improve your productions in no time with the help of exciting video tutorials.
We are there for you
- Throughout the course, a team of professional audio engineers will be at your side to provide advice and assistance – by email, chat & phone.
- Each learning unit contains productions or practical exercises that you can work on and submit.
- Detailed analyses of your mixes & exercises with individual feedbacks by the HOFA tutors
State-certified
- Officially approved and certified education
- The costs of education might be tax-deductable (depending on your location).
- Graduates receive the following certificates:
DIPLOMA in Audio Engineering, Audio Assistant, Audio Engineer, Mastering, Electronic Music Production, Vocals, Drum Programming, Vintage, Film Sound, Music Business, Harmony & Music Theory and Live Sound.
You can also complete the HOFA online courses with plugins from other manufacturers.
Reach your goal with practical exercises
Each learning unit contains many practical exercises and the individual tracks of studio productions that you can mix at home. Your practice mixes will then be analysed by experienced audio engineers in the HOFA studios.
Detailed analyses of your work
We provide detailed and individual analyses of your mixes and give you valuable feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your work with specific examples and screenshots.
Exercises straight from the studio
In the course we use productions covering various genres recorded at the HOFA-Studios and other top facilities, as well as home recordings. You are provided with a wide range of tracks, recordings and styles to choose from - including titles from well-known and successful artists.
HOFA Open Projects
The HOFA Open Projects give you an insight into professional music production from recording and mixing to mastering and are an important part of your correspondence course.
Your online course is flexible
You can register at any time and start immediately or at a later date.
Normally, you will receive one learning unit per month but there's also the option to get several units per month and thus earn your certificate faster.
The course expires automatically at the end of the course duration - if you wish, you can then extend it. It is also possible to pause the course.
Choose one-time payment and save money
With the one-time payment, you receive all available learning units at once and can adjust your course duration depending on your individual needs.
Free Studio Workshop Livestreams
As a HOFA-College student you can also attend fascinating online workshops on audio engineering held in the HOFA studios.
Recordings of the live streams can be found in the Online Campus afterwards.
State-certified online courses
All HOFA correspondence courses are evaluated and certified by the German State Central Office for Distance Learning "ZFU". This certifies meaningful didactics, an educationally meaningful course structure and fair contractual conditions.
Due to the state certification, all training costs might be tax-deductible (depending on your location).
Try it for 14 days
After your registration you can try the course for two weeks. During this time you will have the opportunity to cancel the online course immediately and get your money back.
Academic training & ECTS credits
Are there admission requirements for this course?
No, you can take this online course without a specific school degree or NC.
I want to work as a professional engineer. Is this course the right one?
This online course is simply the most comprehensive audio engineering training with the most exciting topics. The basics are covered quickly, leaving plenty of time for really all aspects of audio engineering and music production. The variety and depth of this course will allow you to achieve all your goals in your hobby and profession.
Can I cancel the online course?
You can cancel the online course at any time within the first 14 days. 6 months after the beginning you have the possibility to cancel with a period of 6 weeks. After the first six months you can cancel at any time with a period of 3 months.
Discounts on software & hardware
You can use your Student ID to buy hardware and software from various manufacturers such as Ableton, Adam Audio, Adobe, Avid, Apple, Steinberg, Waves, HOFA-Plugins, HOFA-Akustik, etc. Almost all DAWs and plugins can be purchased with up to 50% educational discount.
Requirements
For your correspondence course you'll need a computer with audio software, a pair of speakers/headphones and of course a fondness for music. A smartphone or tablet is not necessary, but makes learning more flexible. Just contact us if you have any questions.
Recommended software
Ableton Live | Apple Logic | Avid Pro Tools | Cockos Reaper | Image Line FL Studio | Magix Samplitude | PreSonus Studio One | Propellerhead Reason | Steinberg Cubase | or similar.
Computer (PC or MAC) with at least 4-core CPU and 8 GB RAM
An audio interface is an option, but not necessary.