Master's programme in Choreography

The Master's Programme in Choreography at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts is a two-year full-time degree worth 120 ECTS. It is taught in English and builds on a broad understanding of choreography. The programme is for students who want to deepen their artistic understanding through creative practice and critical reflection.

What you study

The programme is divided into five courses: Choreographic Tools and Methods, Project and Performance Work, Nordic Choreographic Project, Performance Theory and Philosophical Aesthetics, and the Master Project. The Nordic Choreographic Project (NCP) is shared and run with the master's programmes in choreography in Stockholm (SKH), Helsinki (TEAK) and Copenhagen (DASPA). Each semester the Nordic choreography students meet around shared themes in different Nordic locations.

Choreographic questions are explored artistically and in a historical and social context, nationally and internationally. The core teaching group works with movement development, choreographic composition and staging, docudancing (choreography drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and documentary material), trauma and memory studies, performance studies, prefigurative practices including notations and scores, dance dramaturgy and performance theory, choreo-musical perspectives, and social dramaturgy. The programme also prepares you for artistic research and for applying to the PhD in Artistic Research and other doctoral programmes.

How the programme is organised

Teaching moves between formats: workshops and study tours, lectures and seminars, projects and performances. You work in groups, in individual tutorials and through self-study, in continuous dialogue with teaching staff, other students, research fellows and guest teachers. Parts of the programme run with the master's programme in dance and with other disciplines at the Academy and elsewhere.

The Academy of Dance has its own facilities and professional standard stage experience. Students also have access to a large library in the performing arts and visual arts. You can take an exchange at another institution during semester 2 or 3, that is the second half of year one or the first half of year two. Assessment is ongoing and based on the educators' assessments, peer review, your own reflection and the coursework requirements in each course. The Master Project is assessed by three examiners, two internal and one external.

Who it suits

This is for someone who wants to work independently as a creative artist and choreographer, within different traditions of dance as a performing art and alongside practitioners from other artistic fields. The programme is based on experimental and dialogue-based learning with an emphasis on reflective thinking. Collaboration is central, and you are expected to take responsibility for the group's progression as well as your own. If you want a locally anchored programme with a strong international and Nordic network, this fits.

Admission, language and next steps

You need a three-year bachelor's degree in choreography or dance (180 ECTS) or other relevant education, with a minimum of 80 ECTS from disciplines relevant to the master's degree. You must also document your choreographic practice. Applicants with less dance or choreography in their degree may still apply if they can document other relevant education or practice at a level that qualifies them.

English proficiency must be documented, for example TOEFL with a minimum score of 500 or IELTS with a minimum score of 5.0, or equivalent. Applicants with an educational background from another Nordic country or an English-language country do not need further documentation. Admission runs in three phases: a formal assessment of the application and competence, an artistic assessment based on the works cited and a written reflection on your motivation, and an audition with choreographic and written assignments including an interview. Only applicants qualified in phases 1 and 2 are invited to the audition. The application deadline is 01 December 2026. Check the programme page for how to apply.

Master’s applications go straight to Oslo National Academy of the Arts, not through the national admission service (NUCAS). Study in Norway states that you need a bachelor’s degree comparable to a Norwegian bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS), including courses equal to at least one and a half years of full-time study relevant to the programme. Deadlines are set by each institution for each programme, so confirm yours. Entry requirements and language tests are also set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, study permits and housing.