Norway stopped being free for non-EU students in autumn 2023: public universities now charge roughly NOK 130,000–390,000 a year depending on the subject. A reform proposed to take effect in August 2026 would let institutions set their own fees, including zero, so the fee for a given programme has to be confirmed with the university rather than assumed.
The doctorate is a different matter entirely, and is why Norway stays on this list. A Norwegian PhD is employment: a salaried position with pension and holiday rights, tuition-free for every nationality.
At a glance
| Language | English for master's and doctoral programmes; Norwegian for most bachelor's |
|---|---|
| Tuition | Non-EU master's roughly NOK 130,000–390,000 a year, under review from August 2026; PhD positions are tuition-free |
| Living costs for the permit | About NOK 170,368 for the year (2026–2027), usually held in a Norwegian or university deposit account |
| Main intake | August; the master's deadline for non-EU applicants is commonly 1 December |
| Where you apply | Directly to the university; PhD positions through job advertisements |
| After graduation | Job-seeker permit, up to a year |
What they require
- Bachelor's with a strong match to the master's specialisation, usually at least a C average on the Norwegian scale
- IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 90 for most programmes
- Motivation letter and CV
- For PhD vacancies: a master's, a research CV and often a project sketch
- Documents through the university's own verification, sometimes via NOKUT
How admission actually works
Master's admission is programme-based with fixed criteria and an early deadline, typically 1 December for non-EU applicants, because the permit process is slow. Fee waivers, where they exist, are usually granted automatically to the strongest admitted applicants, so the admission application doubles as the scholarship application.
PhD recruitment is a hiring process run by the department: you submit a job application, are shortlisted, interviewed and employed.
How much does a supervisor matter?
Central for PhD, irrelevant for master's.
For a doctoral position, read the vacancy carefully and write to the named contact with concrete questions about the project. Norwegian departments respond well to applicants who have clearly read the project description and can say what they would do first.
When applications open and close
The pattern below is what these systems normally do. Every programme sets its own dates, so treat this as the planning shape and confirm on the official portal linked at the end.
Funding that genuinely exists here
A full employment contract, commonly around NOK 530,000 a year, with pension and holiday rights.
NTNU, UiB, BI and others run limited schemes, usually awarded to top admitted applicants automatically.
Exemptions and mobility funding through joint programmes and partnerships.
Norway has little internal scholarship provision for non-EU master's students, so external funding matters more here than elsewhere.
Documents this country asks for
- Transcripts and degree certificate, verified as the university specifies
- Motivation letter and CV
- English test or an exemption letter
- Proof of the living-cost amount in the required account before the permit is granted
- For PhD applications: publication list, master's thesis and references
Visa and permit
The student residence permit requires the full year's living costs, about NOK 170,368, to be available in a Norwegian bank account or a university deposit account before the permit is granted, separately from tuition. That single requirement decides many applications, so plan the money before the application.
After you graduate
Job-seeker permit, up to a year
A skilled job-seeker residence permit is available to graduates of Norwegian institutions, generally for up to twelve months, with proof of subsistence.
What they favour
- A specialisation that matches Norway's research strengths
- For PhD candidates, an independent research record
- Applicants who plan the funds realistically
- Clear, unembellished applications
Where applications fail
- Assuming Norway is still tuition-free for non-EU master's students
- Missing the 1 December deadline, which is much earlier than the rest of Europe
- Arranging the deposit too late for the permit
- Applying for a PhD as though it were an academic admission rather than a job
Official sources
Rules and dates change, sometimes mid-cycle. These are the pages that carry the authoritative version; if anything here disagrees with them, they are right. Reviewed September 2026.