Study in Norway
Study at Norway’s top universities.
Norway is one of the three Scandinavian countries in the Northern part of Europe. With a population of 4,9 million Norway is not among the most crowded places on the planet. But we very much enjoy the space and our diverse nature, and visitors are often astonished by Norwegians’ active way of life. So don’t get surprised if your Norwegian friends insist on going hiking, even if the weather maybe is more suitable for staying in the sofa.
Explore the unknown and challenge your own limits – the people of Norway has never been afraid of going their own ways. A thousand years ago the Vikings sailed their ships south to the Mediterranian, east to the Black Sea and all the way west to Greenland, and many historians claim they even made it to New Foundland in North America.
Today, Norway is a modern country where our explorative mindset is geared towards technology, innovation and developing a knowledge based society. We also continue to further develop our oil & gas industry, fisheries and traditional industrial areas.
The Norwegian system of higher education comprises all the institutions and/or programmes that are accredited. With the exception of some private university colleges, all higher education institutions are state-run. In general, tuition is not required for study at Norwegian higher education institutions, although fees may be imposed for certain professional education programmes, further and special education programmes and studies at private institutions.
In addition to their teaching activities, all the higher learning institutions, and particularly the universities, are responsible for conducting basic research as well as researcher training, primarily by means of graduate-level studies and doctoral degree programmes.
Since 2003 Norway has been following the objectives of the Bologna process in the European higher education. Most of the elements have been implemented through the Quality Reform. Central to the reform has been implementation of a 3 + 2 + 3 degree system with a Bachelor’s, Masters and Ph.D. structure following the European standards
Undergraduate studies (first cycle)
If you have successfully completed upper secondary studies in one of the signatory countries of the Lisbon Convention, are in possession of a valid school leaving certificate and qualify for higher education studies in your home country, you may also qualify for higher education studies in Norway. However, you are requested to prove your level of English and/or Norwegian. In some cases, you are also requested to take additional qualifying courses.
Master’s studies (second cycle)
If you are applying for a master’s program at an institution in Norway, you are required to be in possession of a relevant bachelor’s or equivalent degree diploma.
Doctoral studies (third cycle)
In the event you are applying for doctoral studies at an institution in Norway, you are required to be in possession of a relevant diploma or master’s degree program.
Language requirements to study at university in Norway
Norwegian
You will need a certain level of command of Norwegian since most textbooks and lectures are given in Norwegian. You can prove your level of Norwegian with one of the following:
- The Norwegian Language Test – Advanced Level (Test i norsk, høyere nivå), with a minimum of 450 points
- Level 3 in the Introductory Program for Foreign Students at Universities (Trinn 3 i norsk for utenlandske studenter ved universitetene)
- Norwegian in upper secondary school, with a minimum grade of 2 in the Norwegian scale.
- One year program in Norwegian Language and Civilization for foreign students
In general, you should always check the language requirement with your host institution because it may vary depending on the study program you will be taking.
English
You may also be requested to take course a in English if you don’t have the necessary level of command to successfully complete the selected study program. You should therefore check with your host university if your current level of English is sufficient.
In general, higher education institutions in Europe request students to have a level of command of the language of instruction equivalent to a B1/B2 according to the scale of the European language passport.
Minimum grade point requirement
Students may be ranked based on their grade point average from their previous studies. Therefore, always check with the university or college of your choice about the minimum passing grade point you need to meet.
You may use the European grades comparison chart to learn how you would score in Europe.
In general the application deadline for foreign students is between December 1 to March 15 for courses starting the following autumn (August).
Please note that some institutions have separate “pre-qualification” deadlines that are earlier than this.
For applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA:
You should submit your application to a Norwegian Foreign Mission. In some cases the applicant may expect to be called in for an interview.
There is a processing fee of NOK 2 500 (approx. USD 430) for each application made from abroad payable to the Norwegian Foreign Mission. Due to exchange rates and local administrative conditions this fee may vary. Please check with the Norwegian Foreign Mission for exact fee prior to submission of application.
Please visit the Norway Portal to locate the Norwegian embassy or consulate general nearest you.
Three for price of one
To add to the confusion, we have three official written languages in Norway: Bokmål,Nynorsk and Sami. The two biggest are Bokmål and Nynorsk. Bokmål is based on written Danish, which was the official language of Norway for hundreds of years.Nynorsk was created by linguist Ivar Aasen in the 1850s, and is a compilation and combination of some (mostly West-Norwegian) regional dialects. The two languages are not very far apart, but do reflect the large regional differences. Generally, if you understand one of the two languages, you can understand the other fairly easily.
Officially Bokmål and Nynorsk have been accorded equal status, although Bokmål is more widely used in Oslo and the larger towns. Nynorsk is used by about 10-15 per cent of the population, mostly on the west coast. You will also find a substantial part of government documents, church services and public broadcasting written in Nynorsk.
Sami, on the other hand, is a minority language used by the indigenous Sami people. It is mother tongue to about 20,000 individuals in Norway. Sami is a member of the Finno-Ugric branch of languages, and North Sami has been established as an official language equal with Norwegian. It is mostly used in Troms and Finnmark – two regions in Northern Norway.
English as a second language
But if you’re not planning on learning Norwegian, don’t worry: Norwegian children start learning English at school at the age of six and as a result, practically everyone in Norway has some skill in English (and theoretically speaking also either German or French). Young people in particular are mostly completely fluent in English. On the other hand, English-speaking films and television series are subtitled instead of dubbed. So if you can read this, you should have no problem speaking to other people, or even just watching television in Norway.