This is SKH

This is Stockholm University of the Arts

Stockholm University of the Arts, SKH, provides education and conducts research in circus, dance, film and media, opera and theatre. This breadth makes for an environment where highly specialised art forms come together and new forms of expression emerge at the intersections between them. Here, the artists of the future are educated, able to strengthen the role of the arts in society at a time of great change, where issues of democracy, freedom of expression and cultural access are becoming increasingly critical. At SKH, we create conditions for the arts as dynamic, challenging and independent forces in society.

Read about our visions and goals

One of Stockholm's oldest higher education institutions…

At the end of the 18th century, king Gustav III established academies for opera singers and actors. Combined with new impulses and organisations that have emerged over the years, these programmes form the start of what has become SKH today. Interwoven in our history are many historic educational environments that have played an important role in Stockholm’s cultural life.

Read more about our history

…and one of the youngest

SKH, as it exists today, was established in 2014. The stated goal was to create a higher education institution large enough to support an ambitious artistic research environment, where education and research could interact and support each other. The former Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, the University College of Opera and the School of Dance and Circus merged under a single organisation – thus once and for all reuniting the training academies started 250 years ago!

Read more about our organisation

A vibrant research environment

SKH is at the forefront of artistic research in Sweden. With an extensive artistic research programme and a strong focus on publishing research, SKH is a leading research environment with significant international impact. Researchers are constantly engaging in dialogue with one another and with society, through seminars, regular conferences and the research journal VIS – Nordic Journal for Artistic Research.

Read more about research at SKH

Programmes of excellence and breadth

Being admitted to a study programme at SKH should always be special. Many programmes are not available anywhere else in Sweden, and some are unique in the whole world – highly specialised programmes, top-level international programmes, bachelor’s programmes deeply embedded in the heart of the arts world, master’s programmes that challenge professional practices in new ways. There are currently around 500 students at SKH.

See our programmes

Building the future of the arts

SKH is in a historic phase of development. In 2030, SKH will relocate to a new shared building in Slakthusområdet, Stockholm’s emerging cultural district. The building will be a technically advanced cultural space where circus, dance, film, opera and theatre can come together in new artistic expressions, and where audiences can encounter the artists of the future. Here, we create an environment that meets the demands of the present and the potential of the future. The new building will add value on many levels: for artists, researchers, students and staff, but also for the 
cultural and creative industries in Stockholm and for Swedish arts as a whole.

Read more about our new building