Master’s Programme in Contemporary Circus Arts

You apply to the programme with an idea for a project. Your individual artistic practice and project form the basis for your studies through two experimental laboratory courses, two method courses, one elective course and five focused courses. 

Year 1

The first year is an immersive, in-person, on-site, front-loaded educational experience.

You will have two student-led practical Laboratory courses (Lab#1/Lab#2) to which you will bring seeds towards your personal project from the courses running in tandem. 

The two Methods in Artistic Research courses (MAR#1/MAR#2) are designed to help you to orientate yourself in artistic research as a field of research and gain insight into its history, theory, potential in the development of knowledge, its different concepts, methods, ethical approaches, and ongoing development. You will be challenged to develop your own practice in dialogue with other disciplines as well as tools for planning, executing, documenting, and sharing an exploratory process. 

With the four focused courses Materials, Objects and Spaces of Circus, Circus as a Critical Practice, Making Space for Circus and Thinking in and through Circus, you will have the opportunity to: 

• develop new ways of working with the materials, objects, and spaces of circus,
• explore circus as a social and spatial practice involving opening new spaces (material and conceptual) for circus, 
• contextualise your practice within circus and interdisciplinary artistic research, and investigate the dynamic relationship between theory and practice,
• develop a deeper understanding of circus’ place in contemporary culture. 

Year 1 aims to nurture the formation of a generative critical community and a space to experiment, question, discuss, problematise, acquire knowledge, give and receive feedback, form thinking partnerships and actively co-create a stimulating, challenging and supportive learning and research environment.

Year 2

Term 3 is fully off-site. You will engage with a Portfolio of Practices with self-organised supervised residencies and internships, one online focus course and one online elective course. 

You choose one of the SKH-wide online elective courses to broaden your artistic practice and develop your knowledge in cross-programme meetings with students pursuing other artistic practices at SKH.  

The online focus course Circus Arts and Practices of Social Justice aims to develop your skills in critical contextual thinking and analyses, and in praxis to inform working for change in and through circus.

Term 4 will be back at SKH and dedicated to your Independent Project. By this point in the programme, you will have progressed to full autonomy working with tutorial, peer and mentorship support to finalise your Independent Project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this programme for?

Our MA programme is for you with a minimum of 5 years of postgraduate (or equivalent) professional experience working in the field of Contemporary Circus. This means that since graduating from your BA (or equivalent), you’ve had a solid experience of hands-on practice and time to develop your professional practice. If this is you, and 

• taking time out of the time-constrained production cycles of the circus industry, 
• dedicating two years to explore and dig into research, and 
• deepening your practice in a lively exchange with a cohort of other artists 

sounds like your happy place, we would love to hear from you. 

What is the time commitment?

The MA in Contemporary Circus Arts is a full-time intensive programme of study, with high expectations for self-directed study and in-class contribution. Please carefully and honestly assess your resources and ability to commit to a programme of this intensity.

We use an application process to gauge eligibility and readiness for the programme.

To find out more, you are warmly invited to bring your questions to our SKH circus online open house 
10 dec 2025, 15.00 - 16.00
To join us on Zoom, click here:
https://uniarts-se.zoom.us/j/68561757427

If you have further questions regarding the content of the programme, please contact: Christina Koch, Professor of Circus and Head of the Master Programme.

If you have questions regarding the entry requirements, application process, tuition fees and/or scholarships, please contact our Educational Administration Department, studieinfo@uniarts.se
 

General entry requirement for programme studies at the second cycle level (a degree of Bachelor or the equivalent).

There are also specific entry requirements:

• Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts or other relevant Degree of Bachelor of Arts or the equivalent
• English 6*
• 5 years Professional work experience in circus
• A grade of Pass in qualification test showing experience in and ability in circus

^{*English 6 is a course from the Swedish upper secondary school. You have to show that you have the equivalent knowledge.}

Detailed information about the qualification test and the selection process is found here.

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).

Apply to the education via universityadmissions.se, submit work samples via Varbi

You apply to the programme in two steps

1. Apply to the programme via universityadmissions.se
Please note! Choose “Autumn 2026” for your search.

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.

2. Submit your work sample via Varbi (according to instructions below)
last day to submit work samples via Varbi:  15 Januari 2026.

Other important dates for your application

• Last day to submit supporting documentation of previous studies (qualification)*: 2 February 2026
• Last day to pay the application fee or prove that you are not required to pay the fees (read more under Application and tuition fees below): 2 February 2026
• Admission results published on “My pages” on universityadmissions.se: 26 March 2026
• Last day to respond to programme offer: 8 April 2026

^{*  5 July is the 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 registration.}

Instructions on how to submit your work samples* via Varbi

^{* Please read below which type of documentation and/or files that is required for the programme you have applied to.}

When you have entered Varbi

• Register by stating your name and e-mail address.
• Fill in your personal data.
• Fill in the application form and upload the required documents. 

Before uploading your documents, they must be prepared as follows

• You must scan your original documents. If the document is in colour, scan it in colour.
• All documents must be in PDF-format.
• Please name the document/file with content and your name for example: CV_ first name_ family name 

Send in the following via Varbi

You need to submit the following materials via Varbi in order to be part of the selection to this education. Only files uploaded in the current admission round can be considered for selection.

Before you compile your materials for submission in Varbi, make sure you have read and understood the relevant evaluation criteria we will use to assess your submitted materials here.

1. Letter of Motivation – 4 000 characters max (pdf) 
Write in English only answering the following questions:

• Why are you applying to the programme?
• What are your expectations of your studies at the programme?
• What do you hope to do with this programme that would be hard to do elsewhere?

Please sign the letter with your name and name the document Motivation_ first name_ family name. 

2. CV 
List your education, professional experience and other relevant experiences that you want to refer to in chronological order. The CV must be in English only.
Please name the document CV_ first name_ family name.

3. Upload your Project Description – 1 500 words max (pdf)
Your project description must be in English only.

What do we mean by 'project'?

By project, we mean your idea for an artistic research project you would like to undertake during your MA. So not a project idea for a show (even though the outcome of your research could be a show) but a question you have. We want to hear what you are curious to dig into, something you want to investigate in and through your artistic practice.

The task:

Describe your artistic exploration and research interests in the field of Contemporary Circus including the following elements:

a.    your project idea, 
b.    how it contributes to or develops your current circus practice, 
c.    the problem/-s and/or ideas raised by the project, 
d.    your question(s), the method and process, 
e.    the artistic approach in relation to your primary artistic training/background and professional experience, 
f.    idea/-s about the project documentation and its form. 

Please sign your project description with your name and name the document Project_ first name_ family name.

Please note: Your project should be something that is possible to have as a degree project in the Master´s programme, bearing in mind that you will have limited storage for props and you may have to keep moving studios on a daily basis. 
 
4. Reflection to a Given Text – 600 words max (pdf)
Download the text Writing Practices.pdf. Reflect in writing: What do you understand from the text and how could it be useful for your practice? If not, explain why? Your reflection should be in English only.

Please sign your reflection with your name and name the document reflection_ first name_ family name. 

5. Video Submission – 10 min max (mov, mp4, avi)
What we want to discover through your video submission:

1.    Section 1 (1 min max.) 
Who are you, and how do you describe your artistic practice?
In section 1 of your video submission, please say hi to camera and introduce yourself. Then, describe your artistic practice in a few words.
Nothing fancy or with editing, just you speaking straight to the camera.

2.    Section 2 (3 min max.)
What is your skill level in your chosen circus discipline(s)?
Please choose 3 mins of video footage that you think best demonstrate your level of skill in your chosen circus discipline(s). Please use continuous sections of filmed footage and not a fast-edited showreel with rapid changes of camera angles or ‘creative’ angles where we may be looking at a skilled videographer's work but are left wondering what you can do. We want to see you, not the editing. Plain and simple is good. 

3.    Section 3 (6 min max.)
We are curious about your own artistic work. What have you created so far?
Please choose 6 mins of footage of a piece / pieces of work that you think best demonstrates what kind of work you have devised / co-devised up to this date. We acknowledge that it is impossible to share a whole body of work in 6 mins. Don’t worry about that. The task is: What would you choose to give us a little taste?
Please mark your role in the work (co-deviser, director etc.)

You might have to reduce the video size before uploading it.
Please name the document Video_ first name_ family name.

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

Confirmation that you have submitted your work sample via Varbi

Once you have submitted your work sample, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address you provided. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam filter first. Otherwise, contact technical support for the Varbi work sample system:

Email: support@varbi.com
Telephone: 0520-58 00 50 (weekdays 08:30–12:00 and 13:00–16:30).

If you have questions regarding the content of the programme, please contact: Christina Koch, Professor of Circus and Head of the Master Programme.

If you have questions regarding the entry requirements, application process, tuition fees and/or scholarships, please contact our Educational Administration Department, studieinfo@uniarts.se

Please note that we only accept applications and certificates through the application system, not by means of regular post or e-mail.

The assessment of eligibility and the selection take place in several stages. The assessment of formal merits/grades is carried out by the Swedish Council for Higher Education. The assessment of artistic merits is carried out by an admission group from SKH consisting of teachers and professionals from the field. A student representative can also participate in the admissions group, but will not take part in the assessment.

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.

Detailed information about the qualification test and the selection process is found here.

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 the Master Programme in Contemporary Circus Arts starting in the autumn of 2026 is 274 500 SEK per semester and 1 098 000 SEK for the programme as a whole.

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.