Design and Architecture
This program Design and Architecture is aimed at you who want to work with architecture, design, interior design, scenography or art – or who aim for further studies in the field. Here you will receive a broad foundation in spatial design and the design process, with a focus on developing your artistic ability and your way of thinking in form, function and context.
The teaching alternates practical tasks with theory. You learn to develop ideas through sketches, models and presentations, and train your ability to see, analyze and solve design problems. The work is done three-dimensionally in materials such as cardboard, plaster, concrete and wood. In drawing, painting and sculpture you train your vision, color and design.
During the year you will encounter central concepts in architecture and design, such as sustainable development, spatial context and the relationship of form to humans and society. Photography, digital image processing and presentation technology are included as important tools in the work.
The studies are project-based and take place in the school’s workshops and studios. You will meet guest teachers who are active in architecture and design, several with connections to universities and vocational training. Through study visits to workplaces, galleries and museums you will gain insight into the field and inspiration for your own creation. The education provides a solid foundation for further studies in Sweden and internationally.
Subjects and materials
Architecture and design I – 5.7 weeks
Architecture and design II – 5.7 weeks
Drawing and painting – 11 weeks
Form – woodwork – 3.8 weeks
Three-dimensional configuration (textile design) – 3.8 weeks
Sculpture I – model studies – 3.8 weeks
Sculpture II – composition studies – 3.8 weeks
Introduction to stage design – 1.6 weeks
Sketching and presentation techniques – 2.0 weeks
Group dynamics – 0.8 weeks
Lectures in art and design – 0.8 weeks
Digital photo and image processing – 1.0 weeks
FAQ
- Why is it good to choose Design and Architecture?
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If you have an interest in working with form, the design process or the spatial, this is the education that covers all of this. The education is broad and stands on an artistic basis. Here you develop craft skills, a knowledge of materials and a sense of form together with the artistic ability and courage to follow your own idea and to express yourself independently. If you have dreams of becoming an architect, you will be given the prerequisites to enter an architectural education on bachelor level through Arkitektprovet (the Architecture test).
- What eligibility do I need to have in order to apply for your programs?
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We have no formal eligibility requirements for grades. Our supervisory authority Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education leaves this matter of eligibility requirements very open. We have formulated ourselves fairly openly based on the interpretation of the authority’s directive: In order to apply for course entrance at Nyckelviksskolan, the applicant must have upper secondary school qualifications (high school education), equivalent education or have gained a certain amount of work experience.
- Are your courses eligible for student aid?
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Study funds are granted for the one-year programs at what CSN calls post-upper secondary level. Our educations are categorized as Arts and Culture courses by CSN. The quota for study funds for studies at so-called post-upper secondary level is a total of two years (80 weeks) if you have a three-year upper secondary education or the equivalent previously.
The total number of weeks you have to apply for student funding applies to both grants and student loans. This means that even if you do not take out a loan for all the weeks, but only take the grant, the weeks are counted as used.
For studies at university level, the maximum period for study support is 240 weeks. This quota applies to those who apply to the two-year Specialist Craft Tutor program. The Specialist Craft Tutor program is also categorized as Arts and Culture course though.
For the academic year 2026-27, if you who are a student and born in 2007 or later, you can choose for yourself whether you want to take study aid (right now it is a small grant – SEK 1,250/month) or whether you want to apply for study funds with grants and loans. If you take study aid, you can also apply for extra supplements and / or boarding supplements via CSN.
- Do you have accommodation at the school, boarding school?
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The school does not have boarding, but we receive many offers on available rooms and apartments, especially on Lidingö, and are happy to pass them on to interested students. We send out housing ads and give tips on how our students can most easily find somewhere to live.
Nyckelviksskolan’s student union is connected to Stockholm’s students’ central organization (SSCO) and you can get help arranging accommodation through SSCO. All students are connected to Nyckelviksskolan’s student union. This gives them the right to live in student apartments that Stockholm Student Housing (SSSB) has. Read more: www.sssb.se/en
Akademisk kvart is a housing portal that directly addresses students. Academic quarter strives to provide live-in and second-hand solutions that have a reasonable rent level in relation to students’ general finances. Read more: https://www.akademiskkvart.se/en/
Everyone who studies in art and culture education has the right to live in Kista Studentbostäder, which is mediated by Stockholms Bostadsförmedling (The Stockholm Housing Agency). However, some other student housing managers do not approve our type of education to live there.
- Do you have to pay tuition fees or semester fees for your programs?
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Many Arts and Culture courses are only partially financed by state grants. The student must pay tuition fees (or semester fees).
The semester fee for the academic year 2026-27 is SEK 19,950, i.e. SEK 39,900 for the entire academic year. The sum includes, among other things, the material that you work with in the training. The fee is paid semesterly.
If you are applying for student financing, you may also apply for an additional cost loan for the tuition fee if necessary.
- How are your programs categorized?
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We are between high school and university. Nyckelviksskolan provides one-year university preparation programs (40 weeks) in art, crafts, architecture and design as well as a two-year vocational Art and Craft Pedagogy program (80 weeks). Our programs are formally called Arts and Culture courses (Konst- och kulturutbildningar) and we are under the supervision of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education.
Please note that the vocational Art and Craft Pedagogy program is not a higher vocational education (YH), but an Arts and Culture course (Konst- och kulturutbildning).
- What do you learn on your programs?
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With us, you develop craftsmanship, sense of form and knowledge of materials together with artistic ability and creativity, the courage to follow your own idea and to express yourself independently, and you also learn to reflect on your work process. With us, the training takes place through practical work with different materials and techniques. Knowledge is strengthened through reflection, theory and conversation.
- When do your programs start? When do the take place?
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We have the start of the academic year once a year, in mid-August. Next time we start on August 17, 2026.
The programs are full-time and the compulsory teaching takes place Monday to Friday at 9.00-15.45. In addition, there is time for self-study.
The academic year 2026-27 is August 17, 2026 to May 28, 2027. An academic year is 40 study weeks with 180 teaching days and 20 self-study days.
- Can you start working after these studies?
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Our one-year programs are university preparatory Art and culture programs (Konst- och kulturutbildningar). You are not finished after such an education with us. The educational paths are quite long in this area – art, craft, architecture and design. You get the necessary skills to be able to continue at a design school, art school or architecture school and three or five more years of study.
If you have architectural dreams, we have programs where you get the skills to enter an architectural bachelor program via Arkitektprovet (the Architect test).
We don’t just want to emphasize that our students go on to design, art and architecture university programs. In recent years, we have noticed that many higher education programs that our students are interested in lie in a borderland between creativity, design and technology. Examples of such are educations for game, web and digital application development as well as design engineering educations.
On the other hand, we have an Art and Craft Pedagogy program that leads to jobs, even if it is also an Art and Culture course (Konst- och kulturutbildning) and not a higher vocational education (YH). The Art and Craft Pedagogy program also does not give a teacher’s license if you want to work as an art or crafts teacher in school.