Composition – Art Music
Develop your artistic creativity and deepen your understanding of contemporary composition. You will have the opportunity to cultivate an independent artistic voice through musical creation and exploration, while building an informed relationship with today’s broad and multifaceted musical landscape.
As a student, you will explore your own musical language through supervision, seminars, and artistic projects. The programme provides both advanced artistic training and eligibility for doctoral studies.
About the programme
- Deepen your artistic practice and develop an independent voice in dialogue with contemporary compositional approaches.
- Explore new ideas and methods in a creative environment with individual supervision, artistic projects, and collaborations between specialisations.
- Prepare for an international artistic career or further studies in artistic research.
An environment for artistic exploration
You will have considerable freedom to shape your own studies, and the programme is centred on your individual compositional work. Through individual supervision and workshops, you will develop your artistic practice with contemporary artistic and theoretical perspectives in focus. You will have access to a creative and reflective environment in which to experiment with new ideas, methods, and forms of musical creation.
The programme includes:
- Individual supervision and group seminars focusing on artistic processes and methods.
- Artistic projects and concerts where your music is performed by professional ensembles, choirs, and orchestras, often in collaboration with external partners.
- Research-preparatory courses that provide tools for reflection and the development of artistic methodologies.
- Elective courses that allow you to broaden or deepen your expertise in composition or related fields.
Independent artistic project
The programme concludes with an independent project in which you realise a major composition. This includes both an artistic musical component and a written reflection that illuminates your process, methods, and artistic development.
The Master’s Programme in Composition has two additional specialisations:
We encourage collaboration across specialisations, and the expertise you bring to KMH is highly valued. The Composition Forum is one example where you can meet other composition students and guest teachers from around the world. This seminar series brings all composition students together to attend lectures, present their music, and discuss artistic issues.
KMH also runs a Master’s Programme in Composition – Film Music in collaboration with Stockholm University of the Arts, as well as an international programme, CoPeCo:
The composition programmes at KMH complement one another and together create an open environment with great stylistic breadth and aesthetic diversity, where students from different specialisations meet and inspire one another.
Admissions
To be eligible for this programme, you need to
- meet the general entry requirements for second-cycle courses and study programmes, meaning you must have completed an undergraduate study programme of at least 180 ECTS
- meet the specific entry requirements which are
- a Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music (180 credits)
- English 6
- passed entrance examination.
If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of places, a selection will take place. Selection is based on results on entrance examination.
Read more about entry requirements
Read the test description for the programme for information about the entrance examination content.
Application dates and deadlines
Please see our Step-by-step guide on how to apply.
1 December 2025
Application opens at universityadmissions.se External link, opens in new window..
15 January 2026
Application deadline and last day to rank your programmes and courses.
All applicants who have submitted an application will be given the opportunity to do the first stage of the entrance examinations.
16–19 January 2026
An email is sent to the email address you entered on universityadmissions.se with instructions on how to submit your test to KMH including the link for uploading Test 1. See the test description for information on what to submit.
26 January 2026
- Last day to upload Test 1 to KMH.
- Supporting documentation deadline. Last day to submit documentation to universityadmissions.se External link, opens in new window. and document that you meet the entry requirements.
- Deadline to document fee-exempt status or pay the application fee to universityadmissions.se.
Read more about fees, scholarships, residence permits (universityadmissions.se) External link, opens in new window.
9–18 February 2026
Results for Test 1 are sent via email. Passing applicants will receive an invitation and information about the next test.
7–15 March 2026
Entrance examinations during week 11 (and adjacent weekends).
15 April 2026
First notification of selection result. You must reply to keep your place or remain on the waiting list.
28 April 2026
Last day to reply to your offer and keep your place (applies to both admitted and applicants on waiting list). You do this on My pages on universityadmissions.se External link, opens in new window..
7 May 2026
Second notification of selection result.
24 August 2026
Introduction week and registration.
31 August 2026
Semester starts.
Facilities
At KMH, you can work professionally with music in close proximity to Stockholm’s many music and arts venues and festivals. The campus features five concert halls, 161 practice rooms, a sound dome for immersive audio, and a fully equipped studio complex with modern studios and production rooms. You can record, compose, and produce music using advanced technology that provides the best possible conditions for your creative work.
After Graduation
After completing the programme, you will hold a Master of Fine Arts in Music. You will be well prepared to work as a composer in both national and international contexts, as well as to take on other artistic, pedagogical, or research-related roles within the music sector. The programme also prepares you for further studies at the level of artistic research.
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