The Scandinavian country of Norway invites you to study in an incredible setting with amazing natural resources around the corner. Experience the mountain coastline with its world famous fjords or the midnight sun that never sets during the light summer months. Norway combines the great advantage of high quality educations with unique and exotic nature attractions. Students can enjoy the city life of Oslo, the capital, one day and find themselves in a peaceful and quaint fishermen’s village the next day. With a population of 4.6 million, Norway is a rather small country. Still, if you choose to study in Norway, you can experience some of the world’s greatest nature attractions. The Nobel Prize of peace is awarded in Norway every year, and the country has a long history of acting as a peace negotiator. Norway is today one of the riches and safest communities in the world, but Norway is also the country which gives the highest proportion of its gross national product in aid.

Norwegian Higher Education Institutions are Publicly Funded

Universities

The Universities focus on theoretical subjects such as arts, humanities/liberal arts, natural science, Supply bachelor, Masters and PhD titles. Universities also run a number of professional studies, including law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and psychology. List of Public Universities to name a few:

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim)

University of Agder (Kristiansand, Grimstad and Arendal)

University of Bergen

University of Oslo

University of Nordland

University of Stavanger

University of Tromso

University Colleges

The university colleges have a significant role in decentralizing access to higher education. They provide professional programs of varying lengths, from one to five years. Several university colleges offer master’s programs and also sustain right to award doctorates in one or more fields. The university colleges also participate in research and development work. The University Colleges provide bachelor level education within the areas of nursing, teaching, business management, engineering and information technology.

Specialized Universities

Offers specialized programs such as music, humanities, architecture, sports, economics etc.

Private Institutions

The private institutions offer programs and courses within popular fields of study where the number of public places is limited or offering accelerated courses. Tend to specialize in popular subjects with limited capacity in public schools, such as business management, marketing or fine arts.

The Norwegian education system is regulated by the Bologna declaration, and Norway is one of the leading countries to follow these regulations. The Bologna process was initiated in 1999 when the Ministers of Education from 29 European countries signed the Bologna declaration in Bologna, Italy. The purpose of the process is to create educational standards for academic degrees and quality assurance. This allows for easy transfers between schools in different European countries and improves the overall quality of European higher education. The study system also incorporates aspects of the American university system, simplifying comparison. University credits are measured by the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Studying a Masters in Norway is an excellent way to improve your chances on the job market or to pursue the research career of your dreams. Studying in Norway at the master degree level is very popular, not just because of the opportunities that it opens, but also as many universities offer masters courses in English, making them far more accessible to international students. Masters degrees are most often awarded at postgraduate level from universities around the world. At this level, students gain a broader insight into their chosen area of study along with valuable analytical capabilities. Studying abroad increases the value of your experience further, as it introduces an understanding of the international context.

The most common types of Master’s degrees are the Master of Arts (MA) and the Master of Science (MSc). As with most masters these are awarded after one to two years of study at postgraduate level. In some cases a master degree can be awarded for a longer period of study of four or five years. This is common within the field of engineering for example in many countries influenced by the Germanic system.

Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world, which means that it is also one of the most expensive countries out there. However, when it comes to education, Norway can pride itself in high quality without students having to pay tuition fees at any level, be it undergraduate studies, Masters Programs or Ph.D. If you meet other requirements depending on your study subject and academic agreement between your home university and the one in Norway, you could also be eligible for financial support that can pay for your living expenses.

Despite the lack of tuition fees, students will have to pay a semester fee which typically amounts to around 500 NOK (roughly 66 EUR) per semester. This fee must be paid in order to be eligible to sit for exams, but it will also entitle you to several benefits. The semester card will grant you access to sport facilities, but also give you discounts on public transport, museums, concerts, and other cultural events. Once again, exchange students can rejoice as the semester fee doesn’t apply to them.

Admittance to higher education in Norway generally requires a certificate for having completed a three year upper secondary education. Prospective students apply for Bachelor programs through the Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service. Students are admitted in accordance to their amount of points, where points are depending on secondary school grades. Extra points can be given for certain specialization during upper secondary school, age and fulfilled one year of higher education, military service and folk high school.

Norwegian is a North Germanic language of the West Scandinavian branch, existing in the two norms – Bokmål (Dano-Norwegian) and Nynorsk (New Norwegian). Although the official language of Norway is Norwegian, the people are generally very good English speakers, and most University institutions offer courses in English.

For courses that are taught in Norwegian, you’ll need to be proficient in the Norwegian language. If you want to study in Norway in English, you’ll need to hold excellent English language skills, which you will need to be able to prove when you apply for your course.

Norway uses Norwegian crowns (krone, NOK) as local currency. 1 NOK = 8.50 INR approximately (Rates are collected in 2011).

The Norwegian currency is “Kroner”, which is sometimes mistranslated into “crowns” in English. Post offices and some grocery shops or supermarkets do not accept foreign credit cards, although they happily take debit cards. Visa and MasterCard are the most commonly accepted credit cards, with far fewer accepting Amex or Diners. If in doubt, ask before shopping.

In Norway, visas are only issued for 3 month periods, making them only suitable for international students on summer courses. Instead, all international students who plan to study in Norway will need to gain a student residence permit. You’ll want to apply for this as soon as possible, as it can take a while to get things sorted and to gain your Norwegian student residence permit. Unfortunately, without this you will not be allowed into Norway to study.

You will also be required to gain a student residence permit to study in Norway, but there is an application fee of NOK 1,100 (around USD $180). Included in your application form, you’ll have to provide a copy of your passport, an admission letter or other proof that you have been accepted to study in Norway by an approved educational institute, documentation of housing that shows you have somewhere to live, along with proof that you have enough money to support yourself through your studies. You’ll need around NOK 90,000 for this and as a general rule, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration prefer the money to be deposited in a Norwegian bank account, which is in your name.