Free Scholarships
In your search for a free scholarship, the next series of posts/steps in going to focus on specific options that I feel are the best ones to start with. There are still many more list on our site but let me walk you through these great options first.
Before we look at our first great option let me mention one thing that is very important things. This should go without saying but many people forget it
Apply only if you are eligible.
- Read all the scholarship requirements and directions carefully, and make sure that you are eligible before you send in your application. Your application will not be considered if you are not qualified to apply. Don’t count on the mercy of the school to give you special favor – they won’t. They merely discard the ones that do not meet their qualifications.
- Lt me say it again, if you do not qualify, do not apply. Submitting such an application is a waste of your time. It also indicates you have not done your homework and do not respect the application guidelines and requirements.
So with that said let’s move onto our first great option
Tuition Free Education in Norway
The Norwegian higher education sector consists of seven universities, nine specialised university institutions, 22 state university colleges, two national academies of the arts and 16 private colleges.
Completing a university degree is often considered to be an expensive endeavour and tuition fees are usually making up the bulk part of the cost. Norwegian universities and state university colleges as a rule do not charge tuition fees for international students. However, you should take into consideration that living expenses in Norway are higher than in many other countries.
“Nothing is for free” is a saying that is true in many cases. But in Norway it is possible to get quality education without having to pay tuition fees. If certain prerequisites are met you could also be eligible for financial support that can pay for your living expenses. Through various fellowship programmes, scholarship schemes or student loans, international students can receive funding for a full degree or a limited number of semesters.
So that is the good news – the bad news is that when you go to there website is it very confusing to figure out. It’s very hard to find what courses the scholarships are actually offered for.
Here is my summary about how to proceed
- Go to this site to read generally about Studying in Norway – it has good basic information for you to understand.
- The free scholarships are funded through what is called the Quota Scheme. It is a funding scheme offered by the Norwegian Government to students from developing countries, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia for studies at institutions of higher education in Norway. You can learn more about it here.
- Now, here is what is important to understand. The institutions of higher education that are part of the Quota Scheme handle all applications from prospective students.Information about the application procedure for the Quota Scheme should be available at the participating universities’ and university colleges’ websites.
- So what this means is that the first two sites give you wonderful information don’t really help you find what out about what scholarships and offered and how do I proceed.
- Here’s the key step. Go to the Study Norway page that lists the Norwegian higher education institutions. From there choose one school and visit that schools home page.
- From there you have to search through each schools site to see what courses they offer, what the qualifications are and how to apply.
- There is not a standardized application process – you need to work through each schools site – select the courses you are interested in and apply separately.
This can be very confusing.
Below you will find 3 example of how I proceeded along this path
I’ve written these so you can understand the long and hard process you need to go through to find the scholarship that you are looking for.
FREE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH in NORWAY – EXAMPLE # 1
- Let me give you one specific example of how I would conduct a search
- So from the list of Norwegian higher education institutions I choose the University of Oslo. It’s a random choice but seems like a good one – Oslo is the capital so probably a big university with lots of good options.
- So I follow this link to University of Oslo page. So now I’m confused again :). You are seeing that this is not an easy process. So what I do is type in the search bar – QUOTA. Since that is the keyword for the type of scholarship I’m looking for.
- After doing my search for the word Quota my first option is a page about the Quota Scheme and click on that option and arrive on this page. Now I’m making progress.
- Reading down the page I see this. Quota applicants may apply for selected Master’s degree programmes and PhD programmes.
- I’ll choose the Masters Options now I get a list of Master’s degree programmes available for quota applicant. This is very helpful information. Now I can see what courses this school is actually offering. Hopefully you are interested in one of these course.
- I’ll choose the one option under Health Sciences – International Community Health (2-year Master of Philosophy ).
- After clicking on that link I get more information about this specific degree. I can make sure it is something I am interested in. Then there is a link on Admissions. This gives me the information I am really looking for. I can see the Admission requirements and also get a link to the application.
- STOP HERE – are you qualified. Read through the list carefully. Do you meet all of the things they list. You have to be sure. If not you just waste your time and money.
- Although when I check this application I realize it is not for International Students. (This may not be true of you depending on what month you visit). So I make my way back and find this page – How to apply for a Master’s degree programme for international applicant. Here I am told when the application information will be posted on their website. I make a note and I’ll check back then and get the application form.
- So, that’s the process – it’s long – tedious and exhausting. You have to manage multiple websites, unclear next steps to finally find and get all the correct information.
FREE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH in NORWAY – EXAMPLE # 2
- So, that my first search, let me do another one so you can get the feel for how this goes.
- Next I’ll choose from the list of State University Colleges and I’ll choose Lillehammer University College – I think there was an Olympics there.
- I follow the link to their site and again type the word quota in the search bar. I actually tried looking around first and several links and found nothing so I’ll try this method because it worked last time.
- After doing the search I end up on the page that says this “There has to be a formalized cooperation between a Norwegian university/college and an educational establishment in the student’s home country before he/she can be accepted as a quota student. Lillehammer UC has established cooperation with the University of Prishtina in Kosovo and Birzeit University in Palestine. The future quota students will be admitted through these agreements.“
- DEAD END here – Unless I’m a student at one of these university in Kosovo and Palestine then this is not the school for me in Norway. I actually found that information fairly quickly so I’m have ruled out an option.
FREE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH in NORWAY – EXAMPLE # 3
- I was originally only going to do two example but since the last one went so quickly I’ll write a third.
- I’m heading back to the list of Universities at the top of page from the list of Norwegian higher education institutions. I guessing I’ll have better luck here again.
- This time I’ll choose University of Bergen (UiB). No reason – just that Bergen was easy to type.
- I search for Quota and find the Quota Scheme home page. At the bottom I find a link to Information about admission.From there I get all the information I need. Which again includes – addission reqiurement, courses offered and how I apply
- I learn that the I have to Submit an online application form. It is available on our website from 11 October to 1 December.
- So if you are visiting in this time period and if there was a course you were interested and qualified for then you would proceed to the application.
SUMMARY of Tuition Free Scholarships in Norway.
- I trust now you are getting a feel for what needs to be done. Remember I told you this would not be easy. It isn’t
- However this is a great opportunity – free tuition in a great country with a great educational system. If you are qualified it is worth the work.
- On the Study in Norway site they did say that these scholarship were mostly for Masters and Phd students but there some bachelor level opportunities. I could not find any bachelor level scholarships. If you find one please comment below so I can add it to my examples.
- If you were interested in a undergraduate scholarship then this might not be the option for you. Keep reading to the next step where we highlight a great opportunity for Bachelor level students.
This site is part of a series of posts on how to find a free scholarship. If you haven’t read from the beginning I would suggest going back and starting there. Here are the previous posts.
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