About this programme
Master in Physical and Environmental Geography is a Master's Degree programme at University of Bergen in Bergen, taught in English. It runs for 2 years and carries 120 ECTS credits. The register gives Bergen as the campus town. It lists the degree as Master. University of Bergen is a state university in Vestland.
How it compares
Master in Physical and Environmental Geography is one of 4 English-taught Geology programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 3 institutions. 2 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from NOK 204,000 to NOK 295,000. 4 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.
What you will study
This master's at the University of Bergen looks at how external processes shape the landscape, how natural processes and human impact interact, and what that means for settlement, land use and the environment. The focus is on Norway, with climate change, geohazards and the nature crisis as the big questions behind the work.
What you study
The programme is 120 ECTS over two years and takes in 13 students each autumn. You learn to design a research project, collect field data and analyse data to reconstruct and discuss possible causes of climate, environmental, vegetation and landscape changes. Skills come through fieldwork, lab work and theory courses. Depending on your topic, you might map soil types and vegetation, or take cores in lakes and peatlands. Lab methods include sediment analysis. Data analysis can involve GIS, LIDAR, drones, remote sensing, sonar and hydrological time series.
Master's projects are offered in glaciers, natural hazards, sea level changes, hydrology and groundwater, frost processes, caves and landscape development, natural forests and peatlands, vegetation and landscape changes, biodiversity, disturbances in human-impacted environments, and urban ecology.
How the programme is organised
In the first year you take 60 ECTS of courses and develop a project description for your thesis. The compulsory course is GEO319 Theory of Science and Research Design for Physical and Environmental Geographers (10 ECTS). In the first semester you choose two from GEO313 Field and Laboratory Methods in Physical Geography, GEO318 Hydrology, Groundwater and Water-Related Geohazards, and GEO330 Theories of Sustainable Land Use (10 ECTS each). In the second semester you choose three from GEO316 Practical Skills in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, GEO317 Special Topics in Geography and GEO341 Master Level Field Course in Physical Geography. Courses at UNIS, the Department of Earth Science, the Department of Biological Sciences or other institutions may be approved in advance.
Teaching includes lectures, seminars, lab work and field courses where you meet staff and fellow students. In the first weeks you are introduced to current research projects, and once you have chosen a project you get a supervisor who guides you through the programme. Fieldwork is essential: you spend 2 to 4 weeks in the field in the summer between the second and third semester. The third and fourth semesters are for lab work and writing GEO350, the 60 ECTS master's thesis, with submission on 1 June in the fourth semester. There are three milestones: a project description presentation in December, a presentation of theory, research design and fieldwork plans in May, and a poster presentation of data, findings and methods in November. In the second semester you may study at UNIS in Svalbard or abroad through Erasmus+, with pre-approval.
Who it suits
You need a bachelor's degree of 3 to 4 years with at least 80 to 90 ECTS in geography, including 60 ECTS in physical and environmental geography or related fields such as quaternary geology, cartography, GIS, remote sensing, climatology, hydrology, or vegetation and landscape changes. Background in either glaciation processes (30 ECTS) or remote sensing applied in physical or environmental geography (30 ECTS) is recommended. Applicants interested in past and present climatic, geomorphological and environmental reconstructions, from glacierized regions of the last ice age and the Holocene, are prioritised. If your physical geography is basic, you may take GEO204 Quantitative methods, GEO212 Terrestrial Climate and Environmental Changes and GEO291 Field Course in Physical and Environmental Geography to qualify.
Admission, language and next steps
You need an average grade of at least Norwegian C (2.5) or the equivalent, English proficiency, and a letter of motivation explaining your background and your thematic and methodological interests for the master's project. Teaching is in English. Deadlines: 1 December for applicants with citizenship outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, 1 March for EU/EEA and Switzerland, and 15 April for applicants residing in Norway and Nordic citizens. Apply through Søknadsweb. Students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland normally pay tuition fees, though some applicants may be exempt. Check the programme page for the full rules. There is an information meeting in Teams on 5 November, 14.00 to 15.00. For questions, contact studieveileder.geog@uib.no or call 55 58 30 73.
Job opportunities after graduating
- Planner or case officer in municipalities, county administrations and directorates
- Government agencies such as the Norwegian Mapping Authority, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE)
- Consultancy in the private sector
- Teaching
- Research at colleges, universities or research institutes
- Doctoral studies (PhD)
Before you apply
Master’s applications go straight to University of Bergen, not through the national admission service (NUCAS). Study in Norway states that you need a bachelor’s degree comparable to a Norwegian bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS), including courses equal to at least one and a half years of full-time study relevant to the programme. The institution lists its deadline as: Applicants from EU/EEA/EFTA: 1 March Applicants from outside of the EU/EEA/EFTA: 1 December. The register shows 1 December 2026 as a deadline date for this programme. Deadlines are set by each institution for each programme, so confirm yours. Entry requirements and language tests are also set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, study permits and housing.
Facts on this page come from the Study in Norway register, the official English-programme list run by HK-dir, the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Fees are in NOK as the institution lists them. "Not listed" means the register has no figure, not that the programme is free. Always confirm requirements, fees and deadlines with the institution.
Quick answers
Is Master in Physical and Environmental Geography taught in English?
Yes. The Study in Norway register, run by HK-dir, lists it as an English-taught programme at University of Bergen. Only English-taught degree programmes are included here.
How long does it take?
The register records 2 years of study and 120 ECTS credits. Sixty ECTS credits are one academic year of full-time study.
Where is it taught?
The register lists Bergen as the campus town for this programme at University of Bergen.
How do I apply?
Master’s applications go straight to the institution, not through the national admission service (NUCAS). Study in Norway states that you need a bachelor’s degree comparable to a Norwegian bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS), including courses equal to at least one and a half years of full-time study relevant to the programme, and some programmes require a minimum grade average. University of Bergen publishes its requirements on the programme page.
When is the application deadline?
Each institution sets and publishes its own deadline for each programme, and the dates can differ between applicants from outside the EU/EEA, EU/EEA applicants and Nordic applicants. As University of Bergen lists it: Applicants from EU/EEA/EFTA: 1 March Applicants from outside of the EU/EEA/EFTA: 1 December. The register shows 1 December 2026 as a deadline date for this programme. Confirm the date for your own situation on the programme page at University of Bergen.
What does it cost?
University of Bergen gives this wording for the tuition: For non eu/eea citizens. Degree students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland normally pay tuition at Norwegian institutions, and the fees vary by institution and programme. For students from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland the record shows no tuition fee. Fees are in NOK as the institution lists them. Every student also pays a semester fee of about NOK 1,000 to the student welfare organisation linked to the institution.
Do I need a permit to study there?
Students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need a study permit from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). UDI asks for proof of admission, housing and funds of NOK 15,488 a month or NOK 170,368 a year (2026/27), on top of any tuition fee. A study permit allows work of up to 20 hours a week during term and full time in the holidays. Students from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland register with the police within three months of arrival instead.
Is this programme officially listed?
It comes from the Study in Norway register at studyinnorway.no, the English-programme list run by HK-dir, the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. The programme page at University of Bergen is linked from this page so you can compare.