Master's Programme in Acting

During the programme, the students are encouraged to deepen their artistic visions through individual and collective learning processes. At the same time, strategies and methods for a diversity of aesthetic expressions are explored.

The programme consists mainly of three parts:

• method courses that prepare you for artistic research,
• thematic courses with different perspectives on performing arts practice,
• the completion of an independent artistic project that constitutes your degree project.

In addition, there is an elective course where you have the opportunity to broaden your practice by participating in a course offered by another subject area at SKH.

During the methodology courses, you will develop your understanding of artistic research and orient yourself in the understanding of knowledge, processes and key concepts. The course is mainly conducted online and together with other master's programmes at SKH.

In the thematic courses, you will delve into different perspectives on performing arts and its processes. The courses relate to SKH's research areas and focus on:

• body and voice
• concept and composition
• technology and materiality
• space/place and encounter with the audience

Through these courses, you will develop a contextual and theoretical understanding of performing arts in general, while also exploring your own artistic impulses and methods.

The programme concludes with an independent artistic project that constitutes your degree project. 

The majority of the teaching takes place on campus, but certain modules will be conducted online via Zoom. In addition, the course includes independent study and group work, which may be carried out at a location of your choice. To guarantee high-quality education and interdisciplinary engagement, the programme often collaborates with other subject areas within SKH.

General entry requirement for studies at the second cycle (a Bachelor's degree or the equivalent).

Specific entry requirements:

• Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts or equivalent,
• English 5 or equivalent,
• A grade of Pass in the qualification test showing artistic ability in acting.

If you don’t fulfil the formal entry requirements for the programme you may apply for recognition of prior learning, in other words that the knowledge and competence you have acquired through other activities are assessed as the equivalent of the formal merits that are required. Submit your application for recognition of prior learning with your application for the programme. Submit at universityadmissions.se under My pages/Documents/Documents/Provide educational documents. 

You may also apply for an exemption/a waiver, that allows you to proceed to the selection process even though you don’t meet the general admission requirements. Submit your application for an exemption/a waiver together with your application.

Read more about how you can show that you meet the entry requirements (that you are eligible).

Read more about recognition of prior learning.

Start your application early

Don’t delay in submitting your application! You may run into trouble if you wait until the last day and your internet connection happens to be down, or you find that your files are in the wrong format. You will not be able to apply once the last date for applications has passed. Keep in mind that your application has to be turned in by 23:59 (Swedish time).

You apply to the programme in two steps

1. Apply to the programme via universityadmissions.se.
Last day for application: 15 January 2026.
Please note! Choose “Autumn 2026” when you search for the course at universityadmissions.se.

Please note that you need to submit supporting documents showing that you meet the entry requirements via universityadmissions.se under My pages/Documents/Documents/Provide educational documents.
Last day to submit supporting documentation: 2 February 2026. Please note that this does not apply to any work samples that may be used as qualification test, see below.

2. Submit your work sample via Varbi (according to instructions below)
Last day to submit worksamples via Varbi: 15 January 2026.

Instructions for work samples

You need to upload the work samples below via Varbi to prove the special entry requirement "A grade of Pass in the qualification test showing artistic ability in acting" and to participate in the selection process. 

If there are more eligible applicants than the number of places on the programme, a selection is made. Please note that work samples used for selection purposes are only valid for the current application period.

If you use AI tools or AI techniques to produce or process video, image, audio or text in any of your artistic works or submitted work samples, we expect you to disclose and describe your use and production process. 

All written documents should be font size 12, line spacing 1,5 and uploaded as PDF files. Please write in English.

Work samples

1. Project description

A description where you outline and explain the investigation or question that you wish to undertake over the course of the two years and to be finalised in your “Degree project”.

Address the following questions:

• What do you intend to explore/investigate and why? There could be multiple questions. What methods are you interested to engage with? We are aware that your question may change and develop during the course' at the end of this sentence.
• Situate your investigation within your acting praxis to give a sense of how it connects to your own ongoing artistic work. How do you imagine the project could contribute to your current artistic work and more broadly to the field of acting?
• Include a list of three to five references of other people's artistic works and projects in support of the above. Which examples, inspiration and references provide a helpful context for your investigation, how and why? This section of the project description should be no longer than half a page in total.

Please write maximum 2 A4-pages (approximately 4,000 characters, including spaces).

Name the PDF file using your first and last name in the following format: first_name_last_name_project

2. Documentation of your artistic work

Please upload a film with documented material of your acting practice. The documentation (the filmed material) can be in the languages in which the artistic work was carried out. 

Examples of this could be clips from previously filmed material in theatre/film/TV/performance art pieces/audition tapes/audio files etc. You may also choose to include new material specifically for this application.

Maximum 3 min film (.mp4, max.150 MB). Read more here about reduce video size and What is Bitrate.

Name the file using your first and last name in the following format: first_name_last_name_film

3. Information about and reflection on your documented material

Write a list of all the submitted work in your film, including production year, production company/organization/school and your role in or contribution to the work.

Choose one of your submitted documented works and reflect on the creation process, its methodologies and – if relevant – its theoretical underpinnings: what insights did the work and process offer up for you as a maker?

Please write maximum 1,5 A4-page (approximately 3,000 characters, including spaces).

Name the PDF file using your first and last name in the following format: first_name_last_name_reflection

Follow this link for more information about the qualification and selection tests and the assessment criteria.

Proceed as follow to upload work samples via Varbi:

• Register by providing name and e-mail address.
• Fill in you contact information.
• Please note! Fill in the application number you received when submitting your application to the course via universityadmissions.se.
• Submit the requested documents/files.
• Please name the document/file with your name and content, as described above.

Confirmation that you have submitted your work samples via Varbi

When you've submitted your work samples you will receive a confirmation to the e-mail address that you’ve stated. If you don’t receive a confirmation e-mail, you should first check your spam filter. If the confirmation e-mail is not there, contact Varbi's technical support.

E-mail: support@varbi.com 
Phone: +46 520 580 050 (weekdays 08:30–12:00 and 13:00–16:30).

Important dates for your application 

• Last day for applications: 15 January 2026.
  Please note! Choose “Autumn 2026” when you search for the programme at universityadmissions.se.
• Last day to submit supporting documentation for entry requirements: 2 February 2026*. Please note that this does not apply to any work samples that may be used as qualification test.
• Last day to pay the application fee or prove that you are not required to pay the fees: 2 February 2026 (read more under Application and tuition fees below). Submit passport/identification card on universityadmissions.se under My Pages/Documents/Provide identity documents.
• Admission results: Published on My pages on universityadmissions.se 26 March 2026.
• Last day to reply to possible course offer: 8 April 2026.

* 5 July 2026 is deadline for you who need to submit proficiency test in English or Swedish.
Deadline for Diploma of Bachelor’s Degree and transcript of records for you who are currently studying the last term of your Bachelor’s Programme, is by the time for course start.​

The assessment of entry requirements and selection take place in several stages.

The assessment of formal merits/grades is carried out by the Swedish Council for Higher Education and the Educational Deparment. The assessment of artistic merits is carried out by an admission group from SKH (Stockhom University of the Arts) consisting of teachers from the field. A student representative may also participate in the admissions process, but will not make any decisions. Recognition of prior learning is assessed by an appointed teacher. 

After each stage of the process there will be a decision on who will proceed to the next step. Everyone is informed of whether they will proceed or not.

Follow this link for more information about the qualification and selection tests and the assessment criteria.

If you are a citizen of Sweden, another EU or EEA country or or Switzerland you are not required to pay application or tuition fees. Some other groups are also exempt from the requirement to pay application and study fees.

If you are not a citizen of Sweden, another EU or EEA country or or Switzerland you are required to pay application and tuition fees. The level of the study fees depends on which course/programme they are for, and the level is set in order to cover the actual costs of the course/programme in question. SKH has some possibilities of offering scholarships that cover the study fees for programmes.

If you are required to pay an application fee, the Swedish Council for Higher Education needs to receive your payment by the last date for paying the application fee. The application fee is SEK 900. If you are required to pay the application fee and the Swedish Council for Higher Education has not received your payment by the last date for paying the tuition fee, they will not process your application. Read more here.

The tuition fee for students liable to pay the tuition fee is SEK 274 500 for the first semester and SEK 1 098 000 for the entire programme. Applies to programmes starting in autumn 2026.

Scholarships to Cover the Tuition Fee

If you are obliged to pay a tuition fee you can apply for a scholarship which covers the tuition fee. The scholarship does not cover any private costs during your studies. Please note that you still need to pay an application fee (900 SEK). The application fee is non-refundable.

Read more about tuition fees and scholarships.