Alongside art didactics and art history, art practice is one of three areas that make up the "Art with Teacher Training Option" course. At the University of Duisburg-Essen, the teaching degree can be studied for all types of schools.

In contrast to the other humanities degree courses, the teaching degree courses in art have a decidedly artistic-practical orientation. Successful completion of a practical aptitude test at our institute is therefore a prerequisite for the course, which, together with art studies and didactic/art education courses, is based on practical artistic teaching and its communication. The teacher training course in art aims to educate future art teachers who are to be comprehensively prepared for their work at school in both theoretical and practical terms. The program includes introductions to the diverse possibilities of hybrid artistic forms of work, experimental methods as well as conceptual and performative ways of thinking. As distinguished visual artists, the instructors in art practice impart project-related knowledge and skills in themed exercises and other teaching formats. Art education is generated from artistic activity, but unlike at art colleges, there is no division into personalized classes.

In addition to introductory exercises in various drawing, painting and sculpture techniques, workshop courses are offered for digital, printmaking, film, photography and sculpture techniques. This is accompanied by training in sensory perception and aesthetic experience, the ability to develop ideas and to reflect on and contextualize one's own working methods. An essential focus of the extended course is on the individual development of independent projects, which are artistically supervised in individual consultations and group presentations. These are discussed against the background of art history and contemporary art. Comprehensive academic and didactic skills are acquired with regard to conceptual reflection and theoretical debate. Over the course of their studies, students are supported in developing an independent artistic position. In addition, there are regular collaborations with local cultural institutions such as the Museum Folkwang, the Ruhr Art Museums and local art associations. Multi-day visits to the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and the Duisburger Filmwoche have been offered annually since 2012; regular excursions with an accompanying practical component have led, for example, to the Urban Arts Ruhr, Skulptur Projekte Münster, Künstlerhaus Bethanien and the Werkbundarchiv-Museum der Dinge (Museum of Things) in Berlin or to the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam for architectural research. Thematic lecture series in which artists, architects and filmmakers are invited provide additional innovative insights into contemporary art practice. Due to the composition of the institute and the range of subjects at the UDE, the course is characterized by a lively interdisciplinary exchange with the art studies and other humanities courses at the UDE.