Professor Peter Maassen comments on the debate on introducing tuition fees in Norwegian higher education. The intrdocution of tuition fees in other Nordic companies has a political dimension, according to the professor. He says people ask whether it is fair to fund someone from another country with tax payers' money…
Norwegian universities and state university colleges as a rule do not charge tuition fees for international students. However, students need to pay a semester fee of NOK 300-600 ($50-100) each semester.
This is applicable for all levels, including undergraduate studies, Masters programmes and Ph.D. programmes. Note that some state universities and university colleges may have tuition fees for a few specialized programmes. Typically these programmes are at the Masters level.
Most private institutions have tuition fees for all their programmes and courses. But the fees are usually significantly lower than those of comparable studies in most other countries. Also, foreign students don’t pay higher tuition fees than Norwegian students.