Study in Norway Scholarships 2027: Funding & Finance Guide

The honest truth about studying in Norway

For years, Norway was the golden ticket for international students: world-class universities, zero tuition, and a Scandinavian quality of life that was hard to beat. That changed in August 2023, when tuition fees were introduced for students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland. The impact was immediate: the number of students from outside Europe fell sharply, and some programmes that once drew many applicants from Asia, Africa and Latin America struggled to fill their places.

The tuition isn’t cheap either. Non-EU/EEA students at public universities typically pay from about NOK 60,000 (the University of Stavanger’s reduced rate) to NOK 295,000 per year (UiO’s science master’s in 2026–27), and medicine can reach NOK 528,650. In June 2025 the government proposed letting each institution set its own fee level instead of charging full cost. Parliament passed that change in June 2026, and universities are applying it from the 2026–27 year. Universities must still charge non-EU/EEA students a real fee — it cannot be dropped to zero or a symbolic sum. NTNU kept its full-cost prices for 2026–27, while UiO has published lower fees for 2027–28 (NOK 186,000 or 218,000 for most master’s, down from 204,000 or 295,000). Don’t plan your finances around cuts that haven’t been published for your programme.

The Norwegian government offers no individual scholarships open to all international students.

That is what the official Study in Norway site says, and it is the most important sentence in this guide. There’s no “Norway Government Scholarship” you can apply for the way you’d apply for a DAAD award in Germany or Chevening in the UK. The funding that does exist is scattered across Erasmus Mundus joint programmes, bilateral and country-specific awards, a small number of institutional awards, and PhD positions (which are paid employment, not scholarships). If a website tells you there’s a centralised, fully funded Norwegian scholarship for international master’s students, it is either confused or chasing clicks.

And even with lower tuition, Norway remains one of the most expensive countries in the world to live in. For 2026–27, UDI requires you to document NOK 15,488 per month, or NOK 170,368 for the year, for your residence permit, and that covers living costs only, not tuition. In Oslo or Bergen, realistic budgets run closer to NOK 17,000–19,000 a month. None of this is meant to discourage you. Norway is a phenomenal place to study. But you should walk in with accurate numbers rather than wishful thinking.

Applying for autumn 2027: the key dates

If you want to start a master’s in August 2027, the application window is now. Each university runs its own admission, but the big public universities share a similar calendar for applicants from outside the EU/EEA:

1. 1
   15 Oct – 1 Nov 2026

   Application portals open

   The University of Oslo opens on 15 October and the University of Bergen on 1 November. NTNU (Søknadsweb, “International Master’s Programmes”) had not yet posted its 2027 opening date when we checked. See UiO and NTNU.

2. 2
   1 Dec 2026

   Common non-EU/EEA deadline

   UiO, NTNU and UiB all close on 1 December. Other institutions set their own dates, usually between November and early December. EU/EEA applicants generally have later deadlines (around 1 February to 1 March).

3. 3
   By 5 Apr 2027

   Admission results

   UiO notifies non-EU/EEA applicants by 5 April. Most universities answer between March and May.

4. 4
   Spring–summer 2027

   Pay tuition, prove funds, apply for the study permit

   Tuition must normally be paid in full before the year starts, and you document living costs to UDI. The 2026–27 figure is NOK 170,368; UDI normally publishes the 2027–28 amount in spring.

5. August 2027

   Semester starts

   Arrive, register with the police and attend orientation week.

Dates for intake 2027 are taken from the universities’ current admission pages. Always confirm on your programme’s own page.

Every section you’ll need to plan your studies and finances in Norway.

Before you read further

There are a few things you should know upfront before diving deeper into this guide. They’ll save you hours of chasing dead ends.

• Don’t trust “fully funded Norway scholarship” websites. Most are clickbait farming ad revenue. They’ll list “Norway Government Scholarship” as though it’s a real, centralised programme you can apply for. It isn’t. If a page asks you to “apply now” through their site for a Norwegian scholarship, close the tab.
• Check your specific university’s fee individually. Since the 2026 law change, each Norwegian university sets its own fee level for non-EU/EEA students (it still has to charge one). The University of Stavanger cut its fees from 2026–27 and UiO cuts its fees for 2027–28; NTNU kept its prices for 2026–27. Don’t assume one university’s decision tells you anything about another’s.
• PhD positions in Norway are paid employment, not scholarships. If you get a PhD position at a Norwegian university, you’re hired as an employee with a full salary (University of Oslo adverts in 2026 list NOK 550,800–595,800 a year), pension and benefits. There’s no tuition because you’re staff. It’s an excellent deal, but it’s a job application process, not a scholarship application.
• The Quota Scheme ended in 2016. You’ll still see it mentioned on outdated websites. It funded students from developing countries to study in Norway. It’s been gone for a decade.
• NORSTIP was cancelled from the 2026 budget onward. The Norwegian Partnership Programme for Global Academic Cooperation (NORPART), which included NORSTIP mobility grants, has been defunded. If you see it listed as a current option somewhere, that information is out of date.

Neighbouring options

If Norway’s costs don’t work for you, compare the Swedish Institute (SI) Scholarship, Denmark scholarships and the Erasmus Mundus joint master’s programmes, some of which include Norwegian universities.