Master programme in Opera, Vocal Performance

Structure of the programme

The Master's programme is taught in English. This means that the language of instruction and course literature is in English. Swedish may be used where reasonable.

Semester 1: You will have singing lessons, opera coaching and stage lessons. You will develop your methods for music dramatic performance. In a series of seminars on artistic research, you will meet researching artists, students and teachers from SKH. 
You will start working on your independent project. In supervision meetings and seminars, you will develop ideas for your project.

Semester 2: You will realise and present your independent project. This means that you create an artistic, personal performance and a written work in which you reflect on your work process. You will also participate in a stage concert. 

Teachers

Teachers in music interpretation, music dramatic performance and opera singing are teaching on the programme. 
The programme coordinator is Stina Ancker, Professor of Music Dramatic Performance.

General entry requirement

• Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor’s degree or professional qualification of at least 180 credit points or equivalent.

Specific entry requirements

• English 5 or equivalent.
• Bachelor of Fine Arts or equivalent higher education qualification in classical singing or opera of at least 180 credits or equivalent.
• Passed qualification test

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).

You apply to the programme in two steps

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

Please note that you need to submit supporting documents showing that you meet the entry requirements via universityadmissions.se under My pages/Documents/Upload 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 worksample via Varbi (according to instructions below).
Last day to submit worksamples to be part of the selection: 15 January 2026.

Instructions for worksamples

You need to submit the following work samples via Varbi in order to be part of the admission process. For some programmes the work samples can also be part of the entry requirements. Only files uploaded in the current admission round can be considered for selection.

The use of AI tools/AI techniques is not allowed when creating your work samples or texts, you must create/write everything on your own.

Voice type

You should state your voice type.

Repertoire list

At the singing audition, you will perform repertoire of your own choice. You must prepare eight different pieces to perform from memory as follows: seven opera arias and one song or romance. One piece must be in your native language, the others in the original language.

Personal letter

Attach a text describing how you want to develop your artistry and creativity as a singer. What are you curious about? What do you want to explore in greater depth? What questions do you want to investigate? Explain your thoughts and be as specific as possible.

The text should be 1–2 A4, in Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing. Use pdf.

Your CV

Upload a CV, where you list your education, professional experience and other relevant experiences in singing that you want to refer to. Use pdf.

Certificates

Upload certificates supporting your CV. Please use pdf.

Film

You should upload a compressed movie clip (mov, mp4, avi) at a maximum of 10 minutes (max 150 MB) where you perform two arias from your repertoire list. You may need to resize the video before uploading it. 

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

The recording should be made so that your voice appears clearly; not in an over-acoustic room, such as a church with a lot of reverberation and with the microphone at a distance, or in a scenic performance where you move far away from the microphone.

Audio file

You should upload a non-compressed audio file (Wav, Aiff), at a maximum of 10 minutes (max 150 MB) where you render the same two arias from your repertoire list as in the film.

The recording should be made so that your voice appears clearly; not in an over-acoustic room, such as a church with a lot of reverberation and with the microphone at a distance, or in a scenic performance where you move far away from the microphone.

Here you will find detailed information about the selection process.

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.

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, qualification test and selections takes place in two stages.The first qualification test is assessed by an admissions group consisting of teachers at SKH Opera. A student representative is also involved in the process, but does not participate in decisions regarding eligibility, selection and admission. 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.

The first test, Qualification test 1, is based on submitted material, with a final application date of 15 January 2026. You will then be notified if you proceed to Qualification Test 2/Selection Test. Invitations to this test will be sent out no later than week 6, 2026. 

Qualification Test 2/Selection Test will be held over one day at SKH's premises, Teknikringen 35 in Stockholm, in week 9.

Here you will find detailed information about the selection process.

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 302, 500 for the first semester and SEK 605, 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.