Do you want to study in Norway? Changes you need to know

In March this year, the Norwegian government passed a law that requires future students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland to pay school fees. This came as a surprise to everyone, knowing that Norway was popular for free education for all.

We have asked the International Office and the Student Assembly at Volda University to get more information about how the fees will affect the university. The Student Parliament told us the decision came as a surprise to all sectors, and some programs at some universities may close.

"No, the university or college was not consulted on this topic. The announcement came as a surprise to the sector, its staff and students. There was no advance warning, as the coalition parties that make up the government have stated in their political manifestos that free education would continue. said the student parliament.

According to those at the University College in Volda, "MMP (master's in media literacy) and NIS (Norwegian language course) are the studies which, as far as we can see, are somewhat affected by this when it comes to the student diaspora outside Europe.". Also "certain courses at the University of Bergen and the University of Agder have been strongly challenged to continue some of their programmes”.

The international office at Volda University College said that they do not have fixed data on the number of new students from the EU/EEA. They said this is the time when they send the admission letters and for the fixed number have to wait till next semester.

- Since we have not yet sent out acceptance letters to international students and since we do not know whether those who are accepted will actually come to VUC in August to start their studies, it is a bit early to answer this question. However, we expect that there will be significantly fewer new international students from outside the EEA/EU zone and especially from countries where the population will find it difficult to pay such sums to study abroad." The International Office replied.

They are afraid of the Swedish example, which experienced 70% fewer students from outside the EU/EEA when they set fees for that category.

"The effect of tuition fees in Sweden when this was introduced in 2011 was that international students from outside the EU/EEA were reduced by 70% and the number of international students has only in recent years returned to the levels that were before 2011. Even more important is that Sweden has experienced that international students have returned to large universities, but not to smaller institutions on the periphery. We will work very hard at VUC to prevent this from happening here, but it is a scenario we are afraid of" so they.

We have asked Wouter Gasse who studies in Norway and Grisejda Kuci who planned to study in Norway. Wouter said the decision was a wrong move if Norway wants to get international students.

"If Norway wants to continue attracting international people from outside the EU to its universities, then this was a wrong decision. The free education is, together with Norway's beautiful nature, one of the biggest selling points for Norwegian universities. Norway is very expensive to live in, and their university degrees are not as well known as, for example, their English or Swiss counterparts." he said.

Grisejda planned to study in Norway, but she changed her plans because of fees. In her reply she said that it is a huge amount to pay and she cannot afford it. “I was thinking of doing NIS (Norwegian language), but I don't think I will because of the fees. For the one-year course I have to pay around 7,500 euros. To me, that's a huge amount of money. In addition, I must also have a guarantee that I can live in Norway for one year, which means that I must have an amount of around 13,000 euros in my bank account. The fees and guarantee total around 20,000 euros. This is an enormous sum for me and also for others outside the EU/EEA. she said.

Why did Norway make this decision?

We have asked the Ministry of Education, but they did not respond. Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe has told Aftenposten that there are many reasons why Norway has set fees for students outside the EU/EEA.

He mentioned that with the war, Norway must put more money into defense and face inflation. The minister has added that with this decision, Norway will save over one billion kroner, and they believe that people outside the EU/EEA do not come from poor countries.

"We draw in almost 300 million of that. This means that the universities and colleges are allowed to keep 75 per cent of themselves. There is no reason to believe that those who come here are the world's poorest” said Ola Borten Moe. He added that students from abroad in Norway are a resourceful group because it is also expensive to live in Norway and it is also a requirement to have NOK 120,000 in the bank account to enter as a student.

The fees differ from one institution to another. For example, we will provide information on fees at Volda University College and the Norwegian University of the Arts.

- Volda University College

Field of study	Fees per academic year
Norwegian language course (NIS)	NOK 75,000 a year
Master in media analysis (MMP)	NOK 115,000 a year

-Norway's University of the Arts

Field of study	Fees per academic year
Norwegian language and society	NOK 48,200 per year
Arctic Nature Guide (Svalbard)	NOK 55,200 per year
Master's in contemporary issues in risk and crisis management	NOK 185,400 per year
Masters in psychology	NOK 185,400 per year
Master in tourism studies	NOK 185,400 per year
Master's in English acquisition and multilingualism	NOK 185,400 per year
Master in English Literature	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Philosophy in Visual Anthropology	NOK 185,400 per year
Masters in public health	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Transformation	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Laws in the Law of the Sea	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Philosophy in Theoretical Linguistics	NOK 185,400 per year
Master of Science in Aerospace Control Engineering	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in applied informatics	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Industrial Engineering	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Engineering Design	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering	NOK 255,000 a year
Master in Biology	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Marine Biotechnology	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in technology and security in the northern regions	NOK 255,000 a year
Master in geosciences	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Physics	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Computer Science	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Biomedicine	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Science in Molecular Sciences	NOK 255,000 a year
Master of Mathematical Sciences	NOK 255,000 a year
Master in landscape architecture	NOK 373,500 per year
Master of Arts	NOK 373,500 per year

For clearance, there are some exceptions, some categories that will not pay the fees. And the categories that do not pay are:

- You are an exchange student

- You started university before 2023. In 2023 you are a student in your second or third year, you do not have to pay.

- You are a student from the EU/EEA and Switzerland

The fee amount is determined by each institution and must at least cover the institution's costs for education. Students who have applied have been informed of the fees via e-mail or they can see the amount on the university's website.

Comments

https://nord.news/2023/05/30/do-you-want-to-study-in-norway-changes-you-need-to-know/?feed_id=30932