education system

Student mobility and international cooperation are key objectives for the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. Currently, over 12 000 foreign students are studying in Norway and we look forward to welcoming many more.

Norway is one of the leading countries conforming to the guidelines from the Bologna Process in European higher education. The degree system based on the Bachelor's, Masters and Ph.D. structure has been successfully implemented, together with the ECTS credits system. By adapting to the European standard in higher education it is easy for students at Norwegian institutions to obtain recognition of their qualifications in other countries.

The internationalisation of higher education has been a key factor for the development of programmes where the language of instruction is English in Norway. For the scool year 2007/2008 more than 200 Masters programmes taught in English are available to students, covering a variety of subject areas. Some of the institutions are also offering English-taught programmes at the Bachelor’s level.

There are about 70 public and private institutions of higher learning located throughout Norway, from Kristiansand in the south to Svalbard in the North.