Position as artistic PhD research fellow in Opera

Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO) is comprised of six departments within artistic practice that collectively create a rich multi-disciplinary environment: Arts and Crafts, Dance, Design, Fine Art, Opera, and Theatre. KHiO educates and supports performers and practitioners at the highest international levels in and across these fields of artistic practice.

Artistic research is a core of many artistic practices, and one that KHiO develops and supports from the bachelor through to the doctoral level PhD program in artistic research, which is a unifying community at KHiO. The doctorate education offers artistic practice its own place in the higher education and research area, thus recognizing the unique and independent contributions to knowledge production produced in the artistic fields.

The PhD program in artistic research at KHiO aims to conduct artistic research of international relevance that produces new works of art, performance, and design, new disciplinary knowledge, and offers new perspectives and insights on art, culture, and society through research praxis. Artistic research at KHiO is expected to be innovative and forward moving in the artistic fields as well as in the practice of the researcher, and is based foremost on artistic practice.

Artistic practice is at the core of the artistic PhD result and is to be accompanied by an explicit reflection, which, when the project is presented, grants others access into the working methods and insights that emerge from the artistic research. Spaces of new knowledge and contextual connections are embedded into and emerge from the artistic research to further enrich practices of art production, design, and performance.

KHiO is part of the joint Norwegian Artistic Research School that provides doctoral training in artistic research methods. PhD fellows are expected and required to participate fully in the community of artistic research practitioners at KHiO and at the national level. At KHiO, research fellows are hosted by one of the individual departments, and at any time we have approximately 20 – 25 active PhD candidates based at all six departments.

The fellowship position

For 2026, there is a vacancy for a PhD scholarship within the field of Opera at the Academy of Opera.

The Academy of Opera has a national responsibility for opera education in Norway. With world-class faculty and stage facilities, the Academy combines individual, group, and project-based teaching. Singing, musical coaching, acting technique, and language, together with stage productions and concerts, form the cornerstones of the program.

Work with professional directors, conductors, orchestras, and a full stage production team gives students a versatile, practice-oriented education.

The Academy of Opera maintains close ties with the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and other music institutions in Norway, and is a member of several international opera networks. The Academy seeks candidates who wish to explore and develop the field of opera as an important and meaningful art form in our time. Singers, pianists, conductors, composers, librettists, directors, choreographers, set designers, dramaturges, etc., are encouraged to apply.

The new research fellow will take up the position from 01.10.2026.

Employment in position as an artistic PhD research fellow happens subject to admission to the PhD-programme in artistic research at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Workplace on a daily basis is at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. The administrative language at the Academy is Norwegian and applicants must document proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at least at level A2. If the candidate does not document proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at least at level A2, the institution must offer Norwegian language training with the goal of achieving Norwegian skills at at least this level.

Requirements for applicants

• Applicants have to document a certain extent of recognized artistic work/artistic research.
• Applicants must normally have a master’s degree in performing or creative arts in the relevant art discipline, c.f. the descriptions in the second cycle of the Norwegian Qualifications Framework. Based on a special assessment, Oslo National Academy of the Arts may approve other, comparable qualifications as the basis for admission.

Application

Applications must be sent electronically using the Oslo National Academy of the Art application portal at jobbnorge.no.

The following supplementary documents are required and must be uploaded to the portal:

Attachment 1 - Completed application attachment form, download here: PhD in artistic research

Attachment 2 – Documentation of the education and the qualifications that are required for a position as a research fellow and admission to the PhD programme, ie. master’s degree in performing or creative arts in the relevant art discipline, c.f. the descriptions in the second cycle of the Norwegian Qualifications Framework. (diploma or documentation of similar level of competence)

Attachment 3 - Complete CV (in addition to using the CV form in the application portal, please add a comprehensive CV attachment about artistic practice and artistic research)

Attachment 4 – Documentation of artistic practice. You can provide documentation of up to 10 works, for instance:

• Documentation of artistic work by video, photo or similar
• Documentation of performances, productions, exhibitions, for example by program, catalog, tour list, as well as reviews or critiques in reputable publications
• Publications based on the applicants creative and/or performing practice
• Artistic awards, purchases and assignments

The applicant can refer to webpages showing documentation of artistic practice/artistic research. In those cases, please specify which parts of the documentation is to be evaluated.

All documentation has to be submitted digitally and collected in one PDF file. The PDF file can also contain hyperlinks to online documentation.

Application with attachments can be filed either in a Scandinavian language or in English. All attachments must be electronic and downloadable. Only material submitted to the application portal by the application deadline will be taken into consideration. Applications lacking the required attachments will not be taken into consideration.

We offer

The PhD research fellowship is a three-year full-time position with terms and conditions in accordance with regulations for state employees of universities and university-colleges and Regulations concerning terms and conditions of employment for the posts of postdoktor (post-doctoral research fellow), stipendiat (research fellow), vitenskapelig assistent (research assistant) and spesialistkandidat (resident) Forskrift til universitets- og høyskoleloven.

The position's starting salary is NOK 550 800,- per annum before tax, position code SKO 1017, with automatic salary progression for up to 4 years at an annual increase rate of 3%

2% of the salary is automatically deducted and deposited into the State Pension Fund.