Norway Scholarship Quota Scheme 2026 for Bachelor, Master and PhD Students from Developing Countries

The Norwegian government provides scholarships for Bachelor, Master and PhD students from developing countries and countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia through the Quota Scheme 2025/2026.

The objective of the scheme is to promote the internationalization of higher education. Currently, the scheme provides full scholarships for a total of 1 100 students, of which 800 are from developing countries and 300 from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Each year universities and university colleges in Norway are allocated a certain number of quota students. The scheme normally includes courses taught in English at Master’s and PhD level, in addition to certain professional degrees.

Eligible Countries

Developing Countries

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Djibouti, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tchad, Thailand, The Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Western Samoa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Yemen.

Applications deadline

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

Recruitment enrollment

The Quota Scheme will only enroll 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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.

For more information on Norway Scholarship Quota Scheme click here

Norway Scholarship Quota Scheme for Bachelor, Master and PhD Students from Developing Countries