How Much Does It Cost to Study in Norway? Tuition Fees and Living Costs

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Norway used to be known as the country where everyone studied for free. That is still true for some students, but not all. What you pay depends on your citizenship and on whether the institution is public or private. Living costs are high whatever you study. Amounts are in Norwegian kroner (NOK), with euro figures at the rate of October 2026.

Who studies for free

The Universities and University Colleges Act says that higher education at state universities and university colleges is free. This applies to:

citizens of Norway, the EU, the EEA (including Iceland and Liechtenstein) and Switzerland;
some non-EU citizens who have the same rights as Norwegians under international agreements or the student finance rules, such as many refugees and people with close ties to Norway;
exchange students and students on schemes such as NORPART, NORHED, Fulbright, Students at Risk and Erasmus Mundus.

Tuition for non-EU students

Since the 2023/24 academic year, the same Act requires public institutions to charge students who are citizens of countries outside the EEA and Switzerland. Each institution sets its own fees, and they vary by programme. Several group their programmes into price categories, with medicine and dentistry at the top.

In our catalogue, a typical fee for non-EU students at a public institution is €9,521 a year, and it reaches €53,906 for medicine and dentistry at the University of Oslo. Fees are set per year and adjusted every year: for the English-taught bachelor's in Technology Systems, for example, the University of Oslo charges NOK 218,000 (about €20,650) for 2027/28. Each programme page on our site shows the fee and the academic year it applies to.

Private colleges

Private institutions, such as BI Norwegian Business School and Kristiania, charge tuition to all students, including Norwegians and EU citizens. In our catalogue a typical private fee is about €8,223 a year, though many small private colleges charge much less. BI's full-time Bachelor of Business Administration, for example, costs NOK 106,400 a year (about €10,080), invoiced by semester. Some private colleges charge non-EU students a higher rate.

The semester fee

Every student pays a semester fee (semesteravgift) to the student welfare organisation (samskipnad) linked to the institution, twice a year. It pays for student housing, health services, sports and childcare. You must pay it to register for the semester and take exams.

Study in Norway puts it at about NOK 1,000 a semester (about €95).
At the University of Oslo, the fee to SiO is NOK 690, plus a NOK 220 Kopinor (copyright) fee to the university.
At NTNU in Trondheim it is NOK 700.

Living costs

The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) sets the amount a student needs to live on. For 2026/27 it is NOK 15,488 a month, or NOK 170,368 a year (about €1,470 and €16,140). This is the sum non-EU students must show for the study permit, and a realistic starting point for anyone's budget. Transport, insurance and the permit fee come on top.

Rent is the largest item. Student housing from the welfare organisations is the cheapest option: a room with a shared kitchen at SiO in Oslo costs from about NOK 4,510 a month (about €430) in 2026/27, and in Bergen Sammen's single rooms range from about NOK 3,600 to 6,000. Rooms on the private market cost more. Details are in student housing in Norway.

Scholarships

Study in Norway, the official portal of HK-dir, says the Norwegian government offers no individual scholarships open to all international students. A few schemes and foundations fund particular groups, and some institutions offer their own. See scholarships and financial aid in Europe.

Working while you study

EU, EEA and Swiss students can work without limits. With a study permit, non-EU students may work up to 20 hours a week during studies and full time in the holidays. Wages are high, but the hours are limited, so do not plan to cover tuition with a part-time job. See working while studying in Europe.

How to keep costs down

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, a public institution costs only the semester fee.
Compare non-EU fees between institutions: the same field can cost much less at a smaller university college.
Apply for student housing as early as you can, and consider cities outside Oslo.
If you speak Norwegian well, you have far more programmes to choose from.

Where to look next

Official sources

Study in Norway: Cost and requirements: HK-dir
Study in Norway: Tuition fees for students: who pays and who is exempt
Act relating to universities and university colleges: sections 2-5 and 2-6 (Lovdata, in Norwegian)
University of Oslo: Semester fee

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.