Academic System
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Degree System at UiB
Bachelor's Degree
The Bachelor’s degree is awarded after three years of study and is equivalent to 180 ECTS credits. Students normally take undergraduate courses equivalent to 90 ECTS credits with a major in a certain subject, which is the main part of the selected programme. Please note that the University of Bergen only offers Bachelor’s programmes taught in Norwegian. For more information, see our web site Admission to Bachelor's Degree Programmes.
Master's Degree
The Master’s degree is obtained after two years of study, equivalent to 120 ECTS credits. The Master’s degree includes postgraduate courses with a high level of specialisation based on the Bachelor’s degree. Students will be required to write a thesis equivalent to 60 ECTS credits, or in some cases 30 ECTS credits. For internationalisation purposes, a number of Master’s courses and Master’s programmes taught in English have been introduced at the University of Bergen. Please visitthe web page Admission to Master's Degree Programmes for more information about application procedures and deadlines.
Professional Degrees
The University of Bergen offers various professional programmes. These programmes are of four to six years’ duration and cover disciplines such as law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacology, psychology and teacher training. The professional programmes are taught in Norwegian.For more information, see our web site Admission to Bachelor's Degree Programmes.
Doctoral Degree (PhD)
The Doctoral degree (PhD) is awarded after three or four years of study following completion of a Master’s degree or a professional programme. In addition to completing a doctoral thesis under contractbound supervision, the candidate must complete obligatory training in scientific theory and method. At least one semester is reserved for the researcher training programme.
Students who have obtained a Master’s degree may apply for permission to submit a thesis for the PhD degree. No obligatory training is required for this. Please note that a good command of the English language is recommended if you wish to attend classes in either Master’s programmes or PhD programmes. For more information see PhD - Doctoral Education.
Grading Scale
In general all faculties use the following grading scale:
| Symbol | Description | General, Qualitative Description of Evaluation Criteria |
| A | Excellent | An excellent performance, clearly outstanding. The candidate demonstrates excellent judgement and a high degree of independent thinking. |
| B | Very good | A very good performance. The candidate demonstrates sound judgement and a very good degree of independent thinking. |
| C | Good | A good performance in most areas. The candidate demonstrates a reasonable degree of judgement and independent thinking in the most important areas. |
| D | Satisfactory | A satisfactory performance, but with significant shortcomings. The candidate demonstrates a limited degree of judgement and independent thinking. |
| E | Sufficient | A performance that meets the minimum criteria, but no more. The candidate demonstrates a very limited degree of judgement and independent thinking. |
| F | Fail | A performance that does not meet the minimum academic criteria. The candidate demonstrates an absence of both judgement and independent thinking. |
The Norwegian grading scale, which is employed by all Norwegian institutions of higher education, follows the ECTS letter grade scale, but is applied in accordance with nationally established grading criteria.
There is a qualitative description for each of the different grades and the scale is used absolutely (criterion-referenced assessment) rather than relatively (norm-referenced assessment).
The use of the grading scale is monitored by a national group appointed by the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions and the distribution of grades is evaluated in accordance with the ECTS grading scale.
Workload and Lectures
The academic year is divided into two semesters, and one semester’s full workload is 30 ECTS credits. The University of Bergen offers a variety of courses, involving different working methods and means of assessment. Some courses have compulsory assignments and attendance while others have a freer structure. Attending lectures is nonetheless an excellent way of being introduced to the course material.
In addition, some courses also offer lab work, field trips, seminars and discussions which put knowledge and understanding into practice. Detailed course information, schedules and curriculum will be published before semester startup at uib.no/education. Students admitted to a full degree programme will receive regular guidance as well as an Individual Education Plan detailing the student and the institution’s mutual commitments, to which both parties must agree. There are also study advisors available at each faculty/department.
Examinations
The University of Bergen uses different forms of examination such as school examinations, assigned exam papers, take-home examinations and oral examinations. The type of examination may vary according to the subject.
Many courses require students to complete mandatory assignments (e.g. lab work or methodological assignments) or a term paper before being permitted to take examinations.
Many language courses offer continuous assessment throughout the semester.
Before attending any examinations all students must read relevant examination information at the web site Examination and Diploma.
The Six Faculties
The University of Bergen (UiB) is divided into six faculties:
• The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
• The Faculty of Social Sciences
The University of Bergen has about 60 specialised departments, centres and institutes. There are several interdisciplinary centres. Many of them are responsible for study programmes. Among these are the Centre for Development Studies, the Centre for Studies of Environment and Resources and the Centre for International Health.
Teaching Language
The teaching language at the University of Bergen is Norwegian, and a good knowledge of Norwegian is essential for regular degree students. However, UiB offers more than 30 Master’s programmes and several courses for exchange students taught in English. All the programmes and courses are described on the web site Education under 'Courses and Programmes'.
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