It’s well-known that university degrees in Norway are tuition-free for both Norwegian and foreign students, and anyone can apply to get a university education for free if they attend the university. You have to pay a small semester fee (costs around 600 NOK / $60 USD), but there are generally no tuition fees at universities in Norway.
This has been a great method for students to experience Norway and get education at the same time, but it now seems like the Norwegian government want to implement tuition fees for foreign students.
The source for this claim is NRK, the national broadcast and news organization in Norway. They claim to have good sources to know that this change will be introduced in the next yearly national budget.
Who will have to pay the tuition fees?
According to NRK’s sources, the new tuition fees will only apply to foreign students who applies to Norwegian universities by themselves.
This means that there will still be no tuition fees for Norwegians or international exchange students (who are officially registered at another university).
How much will the tuition fees at Norwegian universities cost?
No one knows exactly how much the new tuition fees will be, but the Norwegian government apparently has plans to announce this in the upcoming national budget for 2023 that they will announce on October 6.
So right now we can’t really know if we’re talking about a few thousand Norwegian kroner per semester, or if they plan on making the students cover 100 % of the cost. This could potentially lead to it being very, very expensive, and on-par with universities in the United States.
Students and the universities themselves are against the change
The national student organization union Norsk Studentorganisasjon (NSO) are strongly against the new proposed change, and believe that university degrees should still be free or change, independently of your nationality.
Several universities have also let their voice be heard, and have spoken up against the proposal.
Many people fear that this will reduce the level of cultural impact at the universities, and only make the universities available to people from rich countries or from rich families.
The universities obviously want the best students, so they fear that they will get less qualified students with this change.
Nicklas is the owner and editor of The Norway Guide, and is responsible for most of the content on the website.
He lives in Skien, Norway with his wife and two children. Nicklas is specialized in Norwegian ecology (including Norway’s geology, wildlife and flora) from his degree in Ecology And Nature Management at University of South-Eastern Norway, but has a particular interest in tourism and content creation.
His biggest hobbies are fishkeeping, going on hikes with his dog, and rooting for the local football team.
