Norwegian Goverment Scholarships for Students from Developing Countries

The Norwegian government provides students from developing countries in the South and countries in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and in Central Asia with financial support to study for a degree in Norway under the Quota Scheme.

The Quota Scheme currently provides funding for a total of 1,100 students, 800 of them from developing countries in the South and 300 from countries in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and in Central Asia.

The Scheme is quite popular both with the Norwegian institutions involved and among eligible students, most of whom are highly qualified in their field of study. Every year the number of applicants far exceeds the number of students admitted under the scheme.

The main objective of the Quota Scheme is to contribute to capacity building through education that will benefit the home country of the students when they return. The Quota Scheme is also intended to strengthen relations between Norway and the selected countries and thus contribute to internationalisation at Norwegian institutions of higher education.

Most universities and university colleges in Norway participate in the Quota scheme. The institutions involved are allocated a certain number of students under the programme each year. The scheme normally includes courses at Master’s and Ph.D. level in addition to certain professional/Bachelor’s degrees. Most of the Norwegian institutions offer courses and educational programmes in English.

The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund is responsible for managing the financial support provided for the Quota students. Each student receives the same amount of money as a Norwegian student would do in an equivalent educational programme. About 30 per cent of the amount is given as a grant and 70 per cent as a loan. However, the loan portion may be waived when the student returns to his/her home country after completing the course of study. Students who stay in Norway after finishing their studies or take up residence in another country than their home country must repay their loan. Normally, the financial support given will not exceed a time span of four years for one definite study plan or a combination of two programmes. Part-time studies are not supported.

Finding a study programme/institution of interest
See the participation institutions’ websites to find more detailed information about the study programmes, available courses, admission requirements and application procedures concerning the Quota Scheme. You may also search the online Master’s programme catalogue which provides an overview of all study programmes at Master’s level that are offered in English at Norwegian universities and university colleges.

All inquiries should be directed to the International Office at the institution in question. Applications should be sent directly to the institutions and SIU is not responsible for received applications.

The deadline for applications for the Quota scheme is usually 1 December every year. Some courses and educational programmes may have other deadlines.

Recruitment enrollment
The Quota Scheme will only enrol students from institutions (organisations, universities, authorities) which have collaboration agreements with Norwegian universities or university colleges. Norwegian institutions usually do not admit free movers (individual applicants) to this scheme. Only in very special cases will free movers be considered. Please contact the institutions directly for individual information.

Students who come to Norway as self-financing students will, as a rule, not be considered as being qualified for the Quota Scheme.

To find out which institutions collaborate with Norwegian institutions, please refer to the websites of the Norwegian institutions. You could also ask your home institution about whether they have any sort of collaboration with Norwegian universities / university colleges from the list of participating institutions.

Basic general requirements
As a student, you must apply directly from your home country. You must have stayed at least one year in your home country directly prior to the planned course of study at the Norwegian university /university college.

Students usually apply for degree programmes that serve as a continuation of their studies in their home country or for courses which can be a joint part of a degree programme in their home country (joint degree or sandwich programmes). Most of the programmes offered are at Master’s or PhD level, but the Quota Scheme also offers certain Bachelor’s study programmes.

All candidates should typically have the following basic qualifications:

• Secondary school certificates
• Minimum two years of higher education from their home country

Some exceptions apply for certain professional educational courses at Bachelor’s level.

The GSU-list (has been compiled by the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education – NOKUT) with the general entrance requirements for applicants with higher education qualifications from abroad. NOKUT is the Norwegian governmental organisation for recognition of foreign higher education. If you cannot find your academic papers on the list you may contact NOKUT directly to get an evaluation of your certificates.

Basic language requirements
Most of the study programmes offered under the Quota Scheme are taught in English. Applicants who are not native English speakers therefore must document their proficiency in English. Requirements may differ between institutions and various study programmes. Please see the university /university college’s website for more details about language requirements.

A few courses in the Quota Scheme are offered in Norwegian and require good skills in the Norwegian language. Students admitted to study programmes that are mainly taught in Norwegian may receive additional financial support for studying Norwegian language for one year prior to their study.

Admission to the Quota Scheme is highly competitive and meeting the minimum requirements is no guarantee for enrollment.

For further information about scholarships visit official website siu.no