Verified admission facts for universities worldwide. Every number carries a date and a source. How we verify
UniversityAdmission
Northern Europe, capital Oslo

How to Apply to Universities in Norway (2027): Step by Step

Norway stopped being free for non-EU students in 2023. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland still pay nothing; everyone else pays tuition set by each university by subject category, from about NOK 80,000 a year for a bachelor's degree in development studies to NOK 528,650 for medicine. The master's deadline for applicants from outside the EU and EEA is 1 December, nine months before an August start, and NTNU and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences both state that they offer no scholarships covering tuition.

Verified 13 Sep 2026 Sources
Public tuition, per year
NOK 80,000 to NOK 528,650
international students
Living cost, per month
Not listed
typical range
Work during study
Not listed
per week
Post study work
Not listed
after graduation
Intakes
Autumn, Spring
main application cycles

Master's programmes taught in English

  1. Work out which deadline applies to you, because Norwegian universities set different dates by citizenship. From outside the EU and EEA the deadline is 1 December at both NTNU and the University of Bergen, for studies starting the following August.
  2. Check how many programmes you may name. NTNU allows several; the University of Bergen allows exactly one master's programme per applicant, so the choice is final at the point of applying.
  3. Take an English test early. IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 90 or PTE Academic 62 is the common bar, the test must be under two years old at the deadline, and neither university accepts TOEFL MyBest scores.
  4. Apply through the university's own portal. Norway has no single national application for international master's admission.
  5. Document your funds. An applicant from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland shows money for living costs, stated by two universities as NOK 166,859 for the academic year, plus the tuition itself.
  6. Check whether you are exempt from tuition before you pay. Some exemptions are automatic; others, such as permanent residence or marriage to a Norwegian citizen, have to be applied for with documents by the deadline in your admission letter.
  7. Meet the documentation deadline after the application one. Bergen's is 15 December, two weeks after applications close.
  8. Once admitted, transfer the deposit and tuition. The letter of acceptance, which is what a study permit application needs, is issued only after the transfer is confirmed.

Bachelor's programmes

  1. Expect fewer options. Most Norwegian bachelor's teaching is in Norwegian and requires the language; English taught bachelor's degrees are a small set, such as the Norwegian University of Life Sciences' International Environment and Development Studies at NOK 80,000 a year.
  2. Norwegian language bachelor's admission runs through the national Samordna opptak system, which is a separate process from the international master's admission described above.
  3. The same tuition rules apply: free for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, charged for everyone else since the 2023 intake.
Sources, checked 13 September 2026
  1. https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/tuition-fees
  2. https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/application
  3. https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/langcourses/languagerequirements
  4. https://www4.uib.no/en/studies/admission-and-application/tuition-fee-for-international-students
  5. https://www4.uib.no/en/studies/admission-and-application/application-process-for-applicants-with-a-citizenship-from-outside-eueea-and-switzerland
  6. https://www4.uib.no/en/studies/admission-and-application/admission-requirements/english-language-requirements-for-masters
  7. https://www.uio.no/english/studies/admission/tuition/table-of-costs/
  8. https://www.nmbu.no/en/studies/tuition-fees