Norway: Tuition fees & cost of living

Author: Claudia Civinini — Last update: 7 November 2022

If seeing the Northern Lights is on your bucket list, chances are you are already familiar with how awe-inspiring Norway’s natural landscape is. But beyond being a tourist destination, Norway is also very popular with international students.

Part of Norway’s appeal is that the country’s universities have been tuition-free for all students - Europeans and others. But it’s possible that that will change from autumn 2023.

Read on for all details on tuition fees in Norway:

Can you study in Norway for free?

Yes, all students can study tuition-free at universities in Norway. This currently applies to students from the EU/EEA/Switzerland as well as all other non-European students. And it’s valid for all public universities, including highly ranked and popular institutions such as:

However, the Norwegian government is considering introducing tuition fees for non-EEA students pursuing their full degree in Norway - already from the autumn semester 2023. While students from the EU/EEA/Switzerland would continue to study tuition-free, all other degree-seeking students would then have to pay. Exchange students would be exempt from this.

Who has to pay tuition fees to study in Norway?

At the moment, Norway’s public universities are tuition-free for all students, and only those who enrol at private universities have to pay. The only fee that all students in public universities pay is a ‘semester fee’ of about 60 euros.

However, according to new plans, from the autumn of 2023, full-degree students who are not citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland would have to pay tuition fees to study at university in Norway.

These plans have been announced in 2022, and details are yet to be confirmed. It is expected that universities will charge around 130,000 NOK per year (ca. 12,500 euros). It is possible that universities would offer additional scholarships as fees are introduced.

Tuition fees at private universities & business schools

Students enrolling at private universities and business schools in Norway - such as BI Norwegian Business School - generally have to pay tuition fees.

Citizens of countries within the EU/EEA or Switzerland generally pay between 7,000 and 10,000 euros per year for Bachelors, and around 12,000 for Master’s degrees.

Fees are higher for non-EEA students: They should expect around 7,000 to 12,000 euros per year for Bachelors and around 15,000 for Masters.

These fee levels may increase in the future for non-EEA students if fees are introduced at public universities.

High cost of living

Norway’s universities might be tuition-free, but the cost of living is quite high – and a lot higher than pretty much anywhere else in Europe. If you’re mainly interested in Norway because you’d have to pay fees elsewhere, be aware that all in all, studying in Norway might still be more expensive than your other options.

The currency in Norway is the Norwegian Krone (NOK). To be granted a student visa, you will have to demonstrate that you have enough funds to live on – at least 128,887 per academic year (about €12,500). However, your actual cost of living are likely to be higher. It’s worth checking with your institution, which should be able to give you an estimate of how much you will need. For example, the University of Bergen estimates that international students need an average of ca. 13,000 NOK a month.

One extreme cost factor in Norway is accommodation. If you were to look for your own one-bedroom apartment in for example Oslo, you would easily expect to pay more than 1,000 euros per month. But if you manage to secure university-sponsored accommodation through the student organisation, and if you save money where you can, the local universities estimate you can get by on monthly budgets like these, depending on city:

Oslo: ca. 11,500 NOK / 1,120 EUR per month for rent, food, and everything else
Bergen: ca. 13,000 NOK / 1,270 EUR
Stavanger: ca. 12,000 NOK / 1,170 EUR
Trondheim: ca. 12,300 NOK / 1,200 EUR

Working part-time as a student

International students can work part-time in Norway. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland don’t have any restrictions. All other international students have to follow a few rules: A study permit automatically gives you permission to work part-time, but only for up to 20 hours a week and full-time during holidays.

Alternative countries to consider

If you love Scandinavia but Norway is out of reach financially, you should also consider:

All of them have similar fees for non-European students but at a lower cost of living.

If you are mainly looking for countries that have low or no tuition fees and affordable cost of living, consider looking at universities in:

Germany (where public universities are generally tuition-free for all students)
Austria (where public universities charge around 1,500 euros per year)

Want to start your journey?
Find degree programmes in Norway

272 Programmes in Norway

Claudia has many years of experience as a reporter and writer on international education and student mobility. Originally from Italy, she holds a BA in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Genova; a Graduate Diploma in Education, Secondary Education and Teaching from the Australian Catholic University; and a joint MSc in Educational Neuroscience from UCL and Birkbeck, University of London. Claudia has previously worked as Chief Reporter for the English Language Gazette, as Senior Reporter for the PIE News (Professionals in International Education), and as Reporter for Tes.