– The interest in the new programme in law is fantastic. The launch of the new programme in law is a significant step for BI, but it is also the result of long-term and painstaking work. We have already gained many years of experience in offering a five-year education in Business Law and Economics, says Karen Spens, President of BI Norwegian Business School.
BI previously decided to develop a bachelor’s and master’s degree in law after the Norwegian Parliament amended the degree regulations in 2021. In autumn 2022, BI received approval from NOKUT (Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) to establish a master’s degree in law to offer a full-fledged legal education.
The first students will start the new bachelor’s programme in autumn 2023.
– This means that candidates admitted to the programme will be of very high quality. It is good news for us as an educational institution, for the study environment here at BI, and especially for the business community, which has expressed a significant need for candidates with this expertise. This year’s application numbers are a solid confirmation of that, says Morten Kinander, Professor and Head of the Department of Law and Governance at BI Norwegian Business School.
Strong Application Numbers
In total, 10 191 students have applied to start a bachelor’s programme at BI’s campuses from autumn 2023, which is a 24 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
In addition to law, there is a strong interest in the bachelor’s programme in International Management, with a 150 percent increase at Campus Stavanger, 54 percent at Campus Bergen, and 22 percent at Campus Trondheim.
For BI’s master’s programmes, a total of 2,261 applications have been received, in line with last year’s figures.
– Overall, these are very good numbers that show a strong demand for the programmes in BI’s study portfolio. At the same time, we see positive effects of the programme revisions we are making to respond to changing needs in the job market. This ensures that students can be confident that the competence they gain with a degree from BI offers good job opportunities, says Karen Spens, President of BI Norwegian Business School.
BI has a rolling admission process, and students can apply until the start of the semester. However, the majority of applicants adhere to the established deadline through the Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service (Samordna Opptak) on 15 April this year.
Number of Applicants as of 15 April 2023:
Total number of applicants, Bachelor’s: 10191 (8214 last year)
Bachelor’s, Oslo: 6432 (4644 last year)
Bachelor’s, Bergen: 2106 (1901 last year)
Bachelor’s, Trondheim: 1271 (1252 last year)
Bachelor’s, Stavanger: 382 (417 last year)
Total number of applicants, Master’s: 2250 (2192 last year)
Master’s, Oslo: 2122 (2038 last year)
Master’s, Bergen: 128 (154 last year)
Facts
- BI Norwegian Business School has approximately 21.000 students.
- Each year, BI’s Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes receive around 10.000 applicants.
- The application numbers are compared between 20 April 2022 and 15 April 2023.
- The number of available places in each study programme is limited. Academic assessment/evaluation and grade average determine who gets a place.