Art Therapy

To apply for this program you must have: 

• bachelor's degree or equivalent in social and/or health care, teacher education, psychology, pedagogy, or theology, or
• bachelor's degree in visual arts/ and/or design with 60 credits studies in social and/or health care, psychology, or pedagogy such as art therapy, art education or PPU

You must also have:

• an average grade of at least 2.5 grade point average/C (according to the ECTS grading scale) on your bachelor's degree
• proof of your English proficiency
• motivation letter according to given criteria

Applicants will be ranked on the basis of grade average from their bachelor's degree.

You apply via Søknadsweb.

Application deadlines:

• 1 March: early admission for applicants from the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, and for non-EU/EEA citizens with a Norwegian national ID number residing in Norway
• 5-15 March: period for submitting motivation letter early admission
• 15 April: ordinary admission for applicants from the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, and for non-EU/EEA citizens with a Norwegian national ID number residing in Norway
• 1-25 April: period for submitting motivation letter ordinary admission

Portal for submitting letter of motivation

The part-time programme has admission every three years, starting in 2024. The next will be in 2027. 

More about admission to master's programmes.

There is no tuition fee. You only pay a semester fee each semester (student.oslomet.no). 

You must also expect expenses for, among other things, equipment, materials and software for your own creative work and tasks related to the studies. 

Art Therapy integrates knowledge of the use of art materials and creative process with psychological theories, therapeutic methods, and research. It focuses on how art therapy is used in different contexts within mental health, somatic care, social work, or in educational or cultural contexts.  

You will learn how to develop interventions and methods to work with prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, or recovery, based on different clients’ needs and evidence from previous research. 

The specialisation also introduces how different assessment and evaluation methods can be used to study user experience, art therapy process or outcome.

Throughout your studies, you will reflect on personal experiences in relation to art therapeutic relationship and methods, professional practice, and ethics. 

The study includes practical training under professional supervision. 

Students are expected to become creative and reflective actors who can influence the current practice of prevention and rehabilitation of health-related challenges.

The programme has an international, interdisciplinary and professional perspective on art therapy practice and research. 

Programme description (student.oslomet.no)

You will get a variation of 

• lectures 
• seminars 
• workshops 
• supervision 
• teamwork 

The part-time programme combines classroom teaching at campus and remote teaching. 

Learning is also based on individual and group-based work and supervision via the internet using asynchronous and synchronous communication. 

Instructions will be in English. All course requirements and exams can be written either in a Scandinavian language or in English.

The Art Therapy specialisation provides various opportunities for a career in the public or private sector. After completing the programme you have the skills to practice art therapy in different societal contexts such as social-, health-, pedagogical or cultural contexts. 

The master’s degree also provides the opportunity to work with service and professional development, research and teaching. 

The specialisation in Art Therapy will help respond to the growing regional and national mental health needs of people from all age groups and with different cultural backgrounds. It will help respond to future societal needs and development in a field in which there are no comparable programs nationally.

The programme qualifies you to apply for research training and doctoral programmes.