Master's Programme in Acting

This information refers to previous admission rounds. The next planned start date for the programme is the autumn semester of 2026. Up-to-date information about the programme and the admission process will be published when applications open on 17 November 2025.

All courses within the program are based on and related to one's own artistic practice, and can to some extent be adapted to the student's own plan for its presentation.

The program 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, an elective course is included, where you have the opportunity to broaden your practice.

In the method courses, you develop your understanding of artistic research as a field and orientate yourself in the field's understanding of knowledge and key concepts. You work with, among other things, what method of understanding artistic research is based on, and what this means for the carrying out of artistic research processes. This course is given together with other master's programmes at SKH to create an exchange of experience across disciplinary boundaries and art forms.

The master's programme also contains four thematic courses where you immerse yourself in different perspectives on performing arts processes to support the development of your independent project. The courses relate to SKH's research profile areas and focus on:

• body and voice
• concept and composition
• technology and materiality
• place and audience

In the thematic courses, you develop your contextual and theoretical understanding of performing arts, as well as your artistic methods and attitudes.

The actor's practice forms the basis for two years of in-depth studies with compulsory elective courses. Within the programme, one's own practice is discussed in relation to others' practice and formulates an artistic method for how it should be presented. The education ends with the completion of an independent artistic project that constitutes your degree project.

The programme is conducted partly through distance learning. It contains intensive compulsory teaching periods on site at SKH, while other parts of the education is conducted through distance learning. There are three meetings of four full days per semester compulsory teaching at SKH.

Other times there is one day of teaching via Zoom per week. In addition, independent work with preparation, assignments, literature studies and more is included. The method courses (1-3) and the elective course can be followed digitally or on campus.

To guarantee the opportunity for high quality education, the program collaborates with other departments within SKH as well as with other higher education institutions nationally and internationally.

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

Specific entry requirements:

• A bachelor in fine arts or the equivalent
• English 5 or the 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.

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.

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).

This information refers to previous admission rounds. The next planned start date for the programme is the autumn semester of 2026. Up-to-date information about the programme and the admission process will be published when applications open on 17 November 2025.

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 ‘Approved qualification test’ and to participate in the selection process. 

A grade of pass in the qualification test, will be assessed by an admission group. The admission group will assess the materials you submit with your application for the qualification test against the qualification test criteria.

Work samples submitted as part of the special entry requirement ‘Approved qualification test’ are valid for XX years for this education.

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.

We are looking for your personal and unique expression. 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 in English, font size 12, line spacing 1,5, and uploaded as PDF file.  

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?
• 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 annotated references (for example 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 (max. 4 000 characters). 

Criteria for the assessment of Project Description

The admission group will evaluate the level of articulation in terms of:

• Artistic intention and goals
• Questions and methods of working
• Contextualization within the field of acting

2. Documentation of your artistic work

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

You can upload the following kinds of material:

• Film: Max 3 min film (.mp4, max.150 MB). Examples of this could be clips from previously filmed material in theatre/film/TV/performance art pieces/audition tapes etc. Note: uploading this film is obligatory.
• Photos: Max 10 photos from multiple performances (.jpg, max 150 MB). Note: photos are voluntary additions.
• Audio files: Max 2 min. Note: audio files are voluntary additions.

Read more here about reduce video size and What is Bitrate.

Criteria for the assessment of Documentation of your artistic work

The admission group will evaluate the level of the applicant’s acting capacities by looking at the film, photos and audio files (if photos and audio files are submitted) and will evaluate:

• innovation and originality within a high level of craftsmanship,
• the clarity of artistic expression and skill in the artwork.

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 and your role in or contribution to the work. The descriptions of the artistic work and your role should be in English.

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, and how would you articulate the work´s investigation and exploration?

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

Criteria for the assessment of Documentation of your artistic work

The reflection text will be assessed according to:

• Ability to articulate reflections based on the practical artwork.

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 content and your name for example: CV_ first name_ family name.

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.​

This information refers to previous admission rounds. The next planned start date for the programme is the autumn semester of 2026. Up-to-date information about the programme and the admission process will be published when applications open on 17 November 2025.

Admission to the program takes place in several steps. In a first step, the applicants' eligibility is assessed. If there are more eligible applicants than the number of places on the program, a selection is made.

Selection is based on submitted material and interviews. The interviews are conducted via Zoom. The assessment is made by an admissions group as well as a student representative. The student representative has the right to express an opinion but not the right to make a decision.

Schedule for admission process

The last day to submit your application is January 15 at 23.59.

Interviews: Week X

Assessment of eligibility

The assessment of eligibility is divided into two parts:
A. The general entry requirements  and the academic special entry requirements, ie. Bachelor's Degree, Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and grades in English 5 or equivalent. Any application for recogntion of prior Learning is assessed by a specially appointed teacher.
B. Assessment of the special requirement Passed eligibility test that shows artistic ability in acting.

Eligibility test

The eligibility test that shows artistic ability in acting is assessed by an admission group. The assessment is based on the submitted material: Documentation of previous work, project description and motivation letter.

The admissions group assesses the level of the applicant's artistic work,  and evaluates:

• level of craftsmanship
• clarity of artistic expression 

Based on the project description and motivation letter, the admissions group assesses the applicant's ability based on:

• the motivation to apply for the program
• expectations of the studies within the program
• the clarity and relevance of the project idea in relation to the program
• possible challenges of the project
• contextualisation of the project in the field of performing arts
• proposal for documentation of the project

The applicant must have passed both parts of the eligibilty test in order to meet the entry requirements.

The grading scale for the assessments is:

• Pass: The applicant demonstrates the required ability
• Fail: The applicant does not demonstrate the requested ability

Selection

This part of the admission process consists of interviews with the admissions group. The applicant is given the opportunity to describe his / her practice and project in more detail. The admissions group will focus on the applicant's conceptual, aesthetic and theoretical interests, as well as expectations and visions for two years of master's studies. Assessment is made based on the interview as well as submitted material.

Assessment criteria

• The applicant's ability of artistic figuration
• The applicant's potential ability to pursue the programme
• The assessment must be made on artistic basis 

Important to know

As an applicant, you will receive continuous information from us whether you will proceed to the next step or not and, if so, how you may need to prepare. All correspondence takes Place via the Varbi application system and the e-mail address you used in your application. You are yourself responsible for monitoring your e-mail, including your spam inbox, so you do not miss important information from us!

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.