Contemporary Circus Practices - Master

The programme consists of two years full-time studies at second-cycle level. It prepares you for research and leads to a Degree of Master of Fine Arts (120 credits). You apply to the programme with a project. Your individual artistic practice and project form the basis for your studies with compulsory courses, two supervised research projects and one work placement in the professional field.

Year 1

During the first year, you will have courses with teaching mainly held at Uniarts. You will study your specific circus discipline and work individually with teachers and supervisors. You will also have courses within which you can develop new approaches to an audience, create new meeting places for circus and take part in a dialogue with other art forms. You will study theory in a dynamic relationship with practical circus as a craft in order to develop an understanding of its place in contemporary culture. 

Year 2

During the second year you will have two supervised projects/residencies, mainly outside Uniarts, and during the last term you will work on your independent project

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

There are also Specific entry requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree of fine arts
• English 6 or the equivalent
• A grade of Pass in the qualification test showing artistic ability in circus

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

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 (that you are eligible).

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).

Note - the following information refers to the previous application period. We will publish updated information before the application opens for programs offered in the fall of 2024.

Uploading instructions - Preparing your 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.
• Be sure to scan ALL document pages, even those that just contain instructions or keys or other information that is not necessarily your grade information. It must be the complete document.
• If you upload copies of original documents, (degree certificates, transcript of records, language test results etc.) they must be certified/attested! This means that another person must sign their name, print their name and provide their telephone number on each document copy you submit. This person, by signing, is certifying that the copy you submit is an exact copy of the original. A friend, relative or government official can provide this certification for you.
• The documents must be in PDF-format.
• Please name the file with content and your name for example: CV_ first name_ family name

Documents to upload

A copy of your valid passport or valid national identity card (if applicable for you)

Applicants from non-EU, EEA-country, or Switzerland, need to pay application fee for higher education in Sweden, and if admitted a tuition fee. If you are a citizen in an EU, EEA-country, or Switzerland, you do not have to pay application or tuition fees. In order to find out which group you belong to, you need to show your citizenship. Therefore, you must upload a copy of your passport/valid national identity card.

For the passport/national identity card to be considered valid, your copy must be uploaded a maximum of 3 months after the expiration date has passed. Since last day of application is January 15th 2020, the last valid day for your passport/national identity card must be October 15th 2019.

If you have a Swedish civic registration number, or Swedish citizenship, you do not need to upload a copy of your passport. Remember to state your Swedish civic registration number when you fill in your personal data.

Documentation for the General Entry Requirements

Degree Certificate and Grades

Upload your degree certificate for a degree of bachelor or the equivalent degree including a transcript of records to show that you meet the formal entry requirements for studies at second cycle level

Grades and certificates should primarily be in Swedish, but Danish, English, Faroese, Finish, French, German and Norwegian are accepted too. Regarding documents issued in another language, you must upload the original document along with a translation made by an authorized translator.
 

Certificate from University about Current Studies (if applicable for you)

If you attend last term at a bachelor programme you have to send in a transcript of courses and grades that shows the completed studies. The certificate for a degree of bachelor or the equivalent degree should be received by Uniarts at the latest at the start of the autumn term 2020 (before registration).
 

Application for Recognition of Prior Learning/Exemption (if applicable for you)

If you do not fulfil the formal entry requirements for the programme, you may apply for recognition of prior learning or exemption. In other words, that the knowledge and competence you have acquired through other activities can be assessed as the equivalent of the formal merits that are required. You will be asked in your application to explain why you think that you will cope with the studies even though you do not fulfil the general entry requirements. You also need to upload signed documents/certificates that confirm your merits/experiences that you refer to in your letter. The documents you upload need to be in English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French or German and marked with your name and day of birth. We do not accept e-mails as certificates.

Here you can find more information regarding prior learning/exemption.

Documentation for the Specific Entry Requirements

Degree Certificate and Grades Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts

Upload your degree certificate for a degree of bachelor of fine arts or the equivalent degree including a transcript of records. Grades and certificates should primarily be in Swedish, but Danish, English, Faroese, Finish, French, German and Norwegian are accepted too. Regarding documents issued in another language, you must upload the original document along with a translation made by an authorized translator.
 

Documentation that shows that you meet the English language requirement (English 6, or the equivalent)

You need to upload documentation that shows that you meet the English language requirement (English 6, or the equivalent) defined in the general entry requirement. English 6 is a course at the Swedish upper secondary school (high school). You have to show that you have the equivalent knowledge. You should upload your grades from upper secondary school/high school, or the equivalent from adult education at upper secondary level.

You can also demonstrate your English abilities through an internationally recognized English test (TOEFEL, IELTS, Michigan English Language Assessment Battery or University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations). We need to have your test results no later than June 18 2020.

You can also take a local language test at Uniarts, to be given in conjunction with the selection tests. The test is organized at our school premises in Stockholm. Please note that the local language test is only valid when applying to an education programme within Uniarts.

Students, who have studied at university level with English as the language of instruction, may meet the English language requirements through certain exemptions.

Here you will find more information regarding the English language requirements, accepted tests and minimum results required.
 

Letter of Motivation

• Answer the following questions:
• Why are you applying to the programme?
• What are your expectations of your studies at the programme?

Write maximum one page in English only. Please mark the document with your name
 

Your Project Description

Upload your project description. The project description must include the following elements:

• the project idea
• how it contributes to or develops your current circus practice
• the problem/-s and/or ideas raised by the project
•  the method and process
• the artistic approach in relation to your primary artistic training/background and professional experience
• idea/-s about how you would document your process

The project description should be maximum 1 000 words and in English only. Please mark the document with your name
 

A written reflection to a given text

Download the text “Writing Practices” that you find in the right column of this course page. What do you understand from the text and how could it be useful for your practice? If not, explain why? The text should be in English and maximum one A4.
 

A film of Previous Work (maximum length 5 min)

Upload a film, converted (mov, mp4, avi ), of your previous work with a maximum length of 5 minutes (maximum 150 Mb).

Here are instructions on how to convert the film.

CV

Upload your CV. The CV needs to be in English only.

The assessment of eligibility and the selection take place in several stages. The assessment of formal merits/grades is carried out by the Education administration office. The assessment of artistic merits is carried out by an admission group consisting of teachers and professionals from the field. There is also a student representative in the admission group, but s/he has no vote. 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.

In this pdf-document, you will find detailed information about the selection tests

If you are a Swedish citizen or a citizen of another EU or EEA country 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.

A few years ago Sweden introduced application and tuition fees for higher education. 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 whole study fee or that subsidise it.

If you are required to pay an application fee, the Swedish Council for Higher Education needs to receive your payment by the last date forpaying the tuition 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.

The tuition fee for the first term is 248 000 SEK and for the whole programme 992 000‬ SEK.

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.