The programme is designed to provide the best possible balance between craftsmanship, creative and innovative artistic work on songwriting and music production, theoretical and contextual understanding, industry knowledge and reflection on own practice. Songwriting and music production – even in Norway – are part of an international and eclectic art form and the course therefore has a strong international outlook.

1st year of study

The first two semesters provide a basic introduction focusing on basic skills in songwriting and music production. Three practical, performance-based courses are spread across multiple semesters: songwriting, music production and instrument.

2nd year of study

The third and fourth semesters focus more strongly on roles and how these are performed in the songwriting and music production courses. In the fourth semester, students can choose one of several elective courses from other study programmes at Kristiania University College.

3rd year of study

The final academic year focuses on the industry and profession and includes subject area specialisation through a course chosen by the student and also through a larger, self-chosen artistic work as part of the bachelor’s thesis. This work allows for cross-disciplinary collaborations with internal or external partners. The fifth semester on the programme has been structured for student exchanges with a duration of up to one semester at one of the international educational institutions the University College works with through exchange programmes.

Some of the courses are taken together with students from other study programmes. Many of the courses also allow for cross-disciplinary collaborations and practice-based learning situations in which students are able to express themselves together with peers or professionals, at Kristiania University College or externally. Students are part of a college community in which they will meet students and tutors from related disciplines in both professional and informal settings. Sharing in the knowledge of others ensures breadth in terms of discipline, experience and networking. It also stimulates transferable knowledge and skills, such as creative thinking, teamwork, problem solving, technical skills and communication skills.

The bachelor’s thesis in the sixth semester involves artistic research, exploring the student’s own processes and expressions, as well as reflection and knowledge acquisition through theory linked to the musical product for the bachelor’s thesis.

The Bachelor project is the culmination of the three-year Bachelor programme. Working on their Bachelor project, students should immerse themselves in their own practice and demonstrate relevance to a future career following the completion of their studies. This is an individual project on a topic chosen by students based on the core content of the programme, songwriting and music production. The Bachelor project is a musical product supported by a written part. The musical product is presented in the form of a recording of the material (approx. 20-25 minutes). The musical product will contain work based on the student’s work on songwriting and music production, but it may also contain elements from other courses studied during the three-year programme. The project may be produced in partnership with fellow students, but students will be assessed individually.

Study program BLOP

Bachelor in Songwriting and Music Production