Tuition fees in Norway

Most students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland pay tuition fees at Norwegian institutions. If you hold a passport from the EU/EEA or Switzerland, public institutions normally charge you nothing. The amount you pay depends on the institution and the programme, so there is no single national price.

The basic rule

Study in Norway states it simply: degree-seeking students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland must normally pay tuition fees, and the fees vary between institutions and study programmes. Higher education at public institutions is free of charge for students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland.

Two things follow from that. First, the fee is set per institution and per programme, not by the government. Second, it is adjusted every year, so a figure you see today may not be the figure you pay next year.

The fee applies to students who started from the autumn semester of 2023. The University of Oslo says students admitted to a programme before 2023 are not affected, and NTNU says the same for programmes where admission was granted before 2023.

That exemption is described for public institutions. Private institutions set their own fees, and they may charge everyone. BI Norwegian Business School, for example, lists a lower master's fee for domestic and EU/EEA/Swiss students and a higher one for students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland. Always read the institution's own page.

Who does not pay

Study in Norway lists these groups as exempt from tuition fees at public higher education institutions:

• Students from the EU/EEA, and Indigenous students at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences
• Foreign citizens entitled to equal treatment with Norwegian citizens under international agreements
• Foreign citizens who may receive loans and grants on the same terms as Norwegian citizens under the Student Financial Aid Act
• Doctoral candidates
• Students covered by an institutional exchange programme, though the institution may still charge a fee if the exchange agreement says so
• Students coming through NORPART or NORHED
• Students in the Students at Risk (StAR) scheme
• Students studying in Norway through the Fulbright programme
• Students on an Erasmus Mundus joint degree, and in some cases other joint degrees run with a foreign partner

Many institutions also exempt people with a close connection to Norway. NHH, NTNU and HVL list permanent residence, protection status, family ties to a Norwegian citizen or to an EU/EEA citizen living in Norway, two years of continuous full-time work, and three years of full-time study in Norway among their grounds. NTNU adds being entitled to support from Lånekassen.

You normally have to apply, with documents, after you are admitted. NTNU and HVL both give you three weeks from the date of your admission letter. Some exemptions are granted for one year at a time: the University of Oslo and NTNU both say some students must renew each academic year.

Dual citizens should read the small print. NTNU says no fee is due if one of your citizenships is from the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Norway, but the citizenship registered with the university has to show it.

What institutions actually charge

The Study in Norway register gives no annual fee for most programmes. What follows is what individual institutions say on their own pages, with the academic year each page names. These are examples, not a national range, and they change every year.

Institution	Academic year	What the page lists (NOK a year)
University of Oslo	2026/2027 and 2027/2028	One price per programme. For 2026/2027 many two-year master's programmes in the humanities and social sciences are 204,000 and many in the natural sciences and technology are 295,000. The 2027/2028 column is mostly 186,000 or 218,000. Single 10-credit courses in 2026/2027: 24,670 to 30,330 at bachelor's level, 34,000 to 49,170 at master's level.
NTNU	2026/27	Three categories for 60 ECTS: 176,300 (humanities, social sciences, economy, business and management), 205,600 (natural sciences, technology, sports and health sciences, educational sciences, performing arts, media studies, and some social sciences) and 528,650 (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine). Five programmes have their own fees, from 26,445 to 61,705.
NHH Norwegian School of Economics	Cohort 2026/2027	142,000 for the bachelor's programme and 204,000 for the master's. The fee is fixed for the nominal length of the programme. The cohort that started in 2025/2026 pays 136,000 and 196,000.
BI Norwegian Business School	2026/27	Standard full-time master's programmes, external applicants: 166,700 for students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, 128,200 for domestic and EU/EEA/Swiss students. Master in Business Analytics and Master in Data Science for Business: 176,300 and 135,600.
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL)	2025/2026	Six categories from 130,000 to 500,000, plus separate fees for a few programmes, for example 260,000 for Climate Change Management and Fire Safety.
University of South-Eastern Norway (USN)	2027/28	A selection only: 52,000 for a one-year programme in Norwegian folk music and art, 62,000 for five master's programmes, 93,500 for seven master's programmes. Programmes not listed must be asked about.
Volda University College	2026/27 and 2027/28	Three categories in 2026/27 (84,000, 128,000 and 156,000). From 2027/28 the college will charge 70,000 a year for all fee-paying students.

Figures as printed on each institution's page when it was read on 29 October 2026. Pages may have been updated since, and every institution says its fees are adjusted annually.

A missing figure never means a programme is free. It means the register does not list one, so ask the institution or read your admission letter, which at institutions such as NTNU states the exact amount. To see what is on offer before you worry about price, browse programmes for international students.

Paying the fee, and getting it back

Institutions invoice by email after admission. The University of Oslo sends an invoice with payment instructions, and the deadline is two weeks after the invoice is issued. It can take up to three weeks for the university to register the payment, depending on the bank connection. Once payment is registered you get a confirmation, which you can use as documentation when applying for a student residence permit.

The fee must be paid in full before each academic year. Second year students may pay per semester. It is not possible to pay in instalments.

If you pay and then withdraw from your place, you can apply for a refund within 1 September for the autumn semester and 1 February for the spring semester. At the University of Oslo you email int-advisor@admin.uio.no about how to apply.

Watch out for one thing: the tuition fee is separate from the money you must show to get a student residence permit. The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration required NOK 170,368 for the 2026/2027 academic year, adjusted yearly, on top of the fee. Our guide to the cost of living in Norway helps you plan for that side of the budget.

Scholarships and other ways to cover it

Do not assume the university will pay your fee. The University of Oslo says it does not offer any scholarships that cover tuition fees, and that it is legally barred from using its grant for student scholarships. NTNU says it does not offer scholarships that cover tuition fees either. The government has announced that it will reassess the issue of national scholarships for later academic years.

Some routes do exist. A full-degree scholarship awarded by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) is on NTNU's list of exemptions, and so is being granted support from Lånekassen. Check what each institution accepts before you count on it, and look at our page on scholarships for studying in Norway for the wider picture.

What to do next

1. Check whether you are in a fee-paying group at all. If you hold EU/EEA or Swiss citizenship, public institutions normally charge you nothing.
2. If you may pay, read the exemption list on the website of the institution you are applying to. Grounds differ slightly between institutions.
3. Find the exact fee on the programme page or in your admission letter. If it is not there, email the faculty or the admissions office and ask.
4. Budget for the fee and the residence permit amount together, not one without the other.
5. If you think an exemption applies, apply after admission and send the documents the institution asks for, within its deadline.

Rules and amounts change. The institution decides your case, and the immigration authority decides your permit. When in doubt, ask the institution directly rather than relying on a forum post.

Frequently asked questions

Do EU students pay tuition fees in Norway?

Normally no. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland are exempt from tuition fees at public higher education institutions, where higher education is free of charge for them. Private institutions set their own fees, so check the school you are applying to.

How much are tuition fees in Norway for non-EU students?

There is no single national figure. Each institution sets its own fee per programme and adjusts it every year. The University of Oslo, for example, listed many two-year master's programmes at 204,000 or 295,000 NOK for 2026/2027, while NTNU used three categories from 176,300 to 528,650 NOK for 2026/27.

Can I get a scholarship to cover tuition fees in Norway?

Not usually from the university itself. The University of Oslo says it offers no scholarships covering tuition fees and is legally barred from using its grant for student scholarships, and NTNU says the same. Some exemptions exist, such as a full-degree scholarship from HK-dir, so check with your institution.

When do I have to pay the tuition fee?

After you are admitted, the institution invoices you by email. At the University of Oslo the deadline is two weeks after the invoice is issued, and the fee must be paid in full before each academic year, though second year students may pay per semester. You then get a confirmation to use when applying for a student residence permit.

Sources

• Study in Norway: Tuition fees for students studyinnorway.no/tuition-fees-students Used for: The rule, the list of exempt groups, the 2023 start
• Study in Norway: Cost and requirements studyinnorway.no/cost-and-requirements Used for: Living costs, semester fee of about NOK 1,000, public-institution exemption
• Study in Norway: Scholarships for degree students studyinnorway.no/scholarships-degree-students Used for: No individual government scholarships; Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters
• University of Oslo: Tuition fees uio.no/english/studies/admission/tuition/ Used for: Invoice and payment rules, refund dates, annual renewal of exemptions
• University of Oslo: Table of costs uio.no/english/studies/admission/tuition/table-of-costs/ Used for: 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 programme fees; single-course fees
• University of Oslo: Scholarships uio.no/english/studies/admission/scholarships/ Used for: No scholarships for full bachelor’s and master’s students
• NTNU: Tuition fees ntnu.edu/studies/tuition-fee Used for: 2026/27 price categories, exemptions, dual citizenship, refunds
• NHH: Tuition and financial matters nhh.no/en/study-programmes/application-and-admission/financial-matters/ Used for: Cohort fees, exemptions, semester fee of about NOK 910
• BI Norwegian Business School: Tuition fees for master programmes bi.no/en/programmes-and-individual-courses/admissions/tuition-fees/tuition-fee-master-of-science Used for: 2026/27 master’s fees by citizenship; what the fee does not cover
• BI Norwegian Business School: Master International Scholarship bi.no/en/programmes-and-individual-courses/scholarships/master-of-science-international-scholarship Used for: Tuition scholarship for up to two years; 1 March deadline
• Western Norway University of Applied Sciences: Tuition fees for international students hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/tuition-fees-for-international-students Used for: Price categories and exemptions
• University of South-Eastern Norway: Tuition fees usn.no/english/academics/how-to-apply/admission-information/tuition-fees Used for: Selected programme fees and exemptions
• Volda University College: Tuition fees for non EU/EEA students hivolda.no/en/international/tuition-fees-non-eueea-students Used for: Fee categories, 2027/28 reduction, semester fee of about NOK 800
• UDI: Fees udi.no/en/word-definitions/fees/ Used for: Study-permit application fee, NOK 5,400 over 18 and NOK 2,700 under 18
• UDI: Study permit udi.no/en/want-to-apply/studies/studietillatelse/ Used for: Funds required in addition to tuition; exemption confirmed by the institution
• HK-dir: Students at Risk (StAR) hkdir.no/en/programmer-og-tilskuddsordninger/students-at-risk-star Used for: Candidates must be nominated and cannot apply themselves

Last checked: 29 October 2026. Rules and amounts change; confirm them on the official page before you act on them. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice.