Academic Recognition

If you have education or other formal/non-formal competence that is academically relevant to the courses/programmes you will take in connection with your studies at BI, you can apply for academic recognition.

Formal competence
Formal competence means that your previous education, course or exam was taken at a college or university that has accreditation or public approval for the education.

Non-formal competence and prior learning and work experience
Non-formal competence means that the education you have taken (courses and exams) is not accredited or publicly approved by/in the country of study. Prior learning and work experience also goes under the term non-formal competence. Non-formal competence/prior learning and work experience must be acquired after reaching the age of 18.

• Application for academic recognition requires that you are qualified for admission to the desired education at BI.
• Education from abroad that is necessary to cover the requirement for general study competence for admission to higher education in Norway cannot be assessed for academic approval.
• Academic approval must comply with the given framework for minimum requirements for credits taken at BI in order to obtain a degree, and normally a minimum of 60 credits must be taken.
• The final assignment/program must be taken at BI. Exceptions are the +1 models on the Master in Accounting and Auditing and the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance.
• A BI course/programme can be approved on the basis of several external courses/programmes to cover the subject requirement.
• An external course/programme can cover several BI courses/programmes.
• An external course/programme must be assessed against specific courses/programmes BI offers. Exceptions to this are free study credits on the Bachelor of Management and courses/programmes on the Executive Master of Management that can fit into BI's portfolio.
• Responses to applications for academic recognition must be given in writing. In the case of an application that consists of several courses, decisions can be sent together or in several rounds.
• If your application for academic approval is approved, you must de-register for the relevant course/programme and exam.
• On the diploma, it will appear that you have been granted academic recognition on the basis of formal or non-formal competence.
• Academic approval results in a reduction in tuition fees.
• Changes to the academic plan may have consequences for loans and grants in Lånekassen (see www.lanekassen.no).

BI must ensure that students receive credit for previously completed courses in their degree at BI, at the same time BI is required to ensure that students are not given credit for the same courses several times. In practice, this means that students must get approved courses that they have already taken, and which are sufficiently similar to the courses they have in their study plan.

If you have previously completed education from BI, this will automatically be assessed by the case worker for overlap if you apply for admission to a degree with us. You will receive feedback on what may be approved of your previous education, as well as what new courses you will be required to take in order to complete the desired degree, together with an offer of a study place on the course you have applied for admission to. The result of such an approval is attached to the study contract, which you must sign. It is not possible to get a preliminary assessment of academic overlap without an application for admission to the degree.

No separate application for academic approval is required if you have an education from BI that you want assessed, and you also do not need to upload your previous results from BI together with your application for admission. The case worker will have access to all your previous results from BI.

Please note that an assessment of older, discontinued courses may involve a longer processing time than an assessment of courses in the current course portfolio.

Starting in autumn 2023, the content and course composition of most of BI's one-year units and bachelor's degrees will change. This involves, among other things, that a number of courses in the current study models are discontinued, and new courses are introduced. This transition from the old to the new bachelor's model could affect students with previously passed BI courses who are applying for admission to a one-year unit or bachelor's degree starting in autumn 2023 or later. Any discontinued courses can be used as elective courses for a new degree, with the proviso that the content of the course does not overlap too much with the content of other courses included in the degree. Degree of overlap, and possibly approval of passed courses in the old model will automatically be assessed when applying for admission to a new study program starting in autumn 2023.

In most cases, it is possible to obtain several degrees at the same level at BI Norwegian Business School. A separate set of rules has been drawn up for how such cases are to be dealt with, and there are, among other things, requirements for academic composition, as well as minimum requirements for the number of new study credits in order to be issued a new degree.

BI Norwegian Business School is obliged to follow the Regulations on the approval of Norwegian and foreign higher education and of vocational training (the approval regulations) which regulates the requirements for awarding degrees:

§ 3. Requirements for new education
When crediting education that has previously been included in the calculation basis for a degree or as part of a degree or vocational education, a student must also have completed at least 60 new credits before a new diploma can be issued or a new degree can be awarded.

The institutions themselves can set requirements for up to 90 new study credits for certain courses. The institutions themselves determine which educations this applies to.

§ 3. Affiliation requirements for awarding a degree or vocational education
In order for an institution to be able to award a degree or issue a diploma for completed education, at least 60 of the credits that must form the basis of the degree must have been taken at the institution. It is assumed that the education and/or other competence approved in accordance with these regulations is in accordance with the academic requirements for the degree in question, and that the overall learning outcome for the degree is equivalent to that which applies to those who take the entire education at the institution.

The institution cannot set a stricter affiliation requirement than that which follows from the first paragraph.

Exceptions can be made to the affiliation requirement for master's programs in health and social sciences that are based on framework-directed further education within the same subject area, that is, framework-directed further education in the same subject area can be approved as part of the degree.

§ 4. Requirements for awarding several degrees on partly the same basis
When crediting or exempting education and/or other skills that have previously formed the basis of a degree or as part of a degree or vocational education, a student must also complete at least 60 new credits, i.e. credits that have not been included in the previously (approved) degree, at the institution before a new diploma can be issued or a new degree can be awarded. The institutions themselves can set requirements for up to 90 new study credits for certain courses.

As a general rule, the new degree must have a different professional specialization than the previous degree. The institutions themselves can set requirements for which parts of the degree must be new. The overall learning outcome for the new degree must be equivalent to that which applies to those who take the entire education as their first education at the institution.

Two bachelor's degrees at BI Norwegian Business School:
Minimum requirements for new credits:
The main rule at BI is that students who are to be admitted to the second bachelor's degree must take a minimum of 75 new credits. If completion of the new degree requires less than 75 credits, admission will not be granted.

Bachelor in Real estate, Law and Economics, as well as Bachelor in Business Administration with accounting specialisation (ARF) are exempt from the rule of a minimum of 75 new credits. These students are only required to take a minimum of 60 new credits. This is because these courses are linked to authorisation schemes with their own requirements.

Please note that applicants for the second bachelor's degree in these degrees are often required to take more than 60 credits since the subject requirements must always be covered. Students who have obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration cannot get a new diploma for obtaining a degree in Business Administration with ARF, or vice versa. There are only 52.5 credits that separate these two studies, and they cannot therefore be considered two different degrees, but rather two variants of a business administration degree.

Subject requirements for bachelor's degree number two:
BI Norwegian Business School also sets certain subject requirements. On admission to the second bachelor's degree, all subjects that separate the two different fields of study must be covered. This means that most students who want two degrees are charged more than the minimum requirement of 75 or 60 new credits.

The Bachelor teaching committee, which approves the study plans at BI Norwegian Business School, has decided that a specialization or bachelor's thesis that has previously been part of a degree cannot be approved for inclusion in a new degree. If you have started a bachelor's degree that you have chosen not to complete and subsequently start a new degree, you can have a previously completed specialisation/bachelor thesis in a new degree approved. You must apply specifically for this, and it is a prerequisite that you waive the right to use the same specialisation or bachelor's thesis in another degree at BI Norwegian Business School.

Application process:
In order to be considered for bachelor's degree number two, you must have completed, and obtained a diploma for, bachelor's degree number one. If you have already been admitted as a student for all three years of a bachelor's degree previously, but do not intend to complete it the first degree, you must waive the right to complete the first when applying for admission to a new bachelor's degree.

You apply for admission to a new bachelor's degree in our application portal, in the same way as you apply for admission to all our studies. You must meet all admission requirements for the study program you are applying for. Often, a previously obtained bachelor's degree from BI will qualify you for admission directly to the 2nd year of study in a new degree, in some cases also admission directly to the 3rd year of study. Please note that case processing for two bachelor's degrees can take some time, since it is processed by several bodies.

Two master's degrees at BI Norwegian Business School:
Minimum requirements for new credits:
The main rule at BI is that students who are to be admitted to master's degree number two must take a minimum of 60 new credits. If completion of the new degree requires less than 60 credits, admission will not be granted.

Subject requirements for master's degree number two:
BI Norwegian Business School also sets certain subject requirements. On admission to master's degree number two, all subjects that separate the two different fields of study must be covered, and students must write a new master's thesis*. This means that many students who want two degrees are required to take more than the minimum requirement of 60 new credits.

* NB! Separate exception rules have been formalised for degree two in the Master's in Accounting and Auditing and the Master in Quantitative Finance.

Application process:
In order to be considered for master's degree number two, you must have completed and taken out a certificate for master's degree number one.

You apply for admission to a new master's degree in our application portal, in the same way as you apply for admission to all our studies. You must meet all admission requirements for the study programme you are applying for.

1. To those who will apply for admission to a degree at BI (and do not already have active student status)
If you are going to apply for admission to Bachelor studies, Master of Science, or Executive Master at BI, and you already have education from another educational institution that you believe can cover the same learning outcomes in courses that are part of the BI degree, you apply for academic recognition at the same time which you submit an application for admission to the desired degree in our application web.

In addition to documenting that you meet the admission requirements for the desired degree, you must upload at least three documents related to academic recognition in the application portal: (1) completed application form (under: Academic approval - application), (2) your academic results (under : Academic approval – transcript/diploma), and (3) course descriptions (under: Academic approval – course descriptions/syllabus). Before you apply, you must familiarise yourself with the content and subjects (/courses) of the degree you are applying for admission to, and with the requirements for documentation under point 3.

2. To you who are already a student at BI (have an active student status)
If you have already been admitted to Bachelor programmes, Master of Science or Executive Master at BI, and you have education from another educational institution that you believe can cover the same learning outcome in courses that are part of the BI degree, you apply for academic approval via this form in the student portal. Before you apply, you must familiarise yourself with the content of courses/programmes in the degree you are applying for admission to, and with the requirements for documentation under point 3.

3. Requirements for documentation
If you apply for academic approval of courses passed at colleges or universities other than BI, we need the following documentation to be able to process the application:

• Completed application form for academic approval, either uploaded together with your application for admission in our search web (if you are not already a student), or digitally in the student portal (if you are already admitted as a student).
• Diploma or transcript documenting completed exams, grades and course weighting. When applying for approval of education from Norwegian colleges or universities, you upload a link to the Certificate Portal so that the case manager at BI can log in via the link with a code and verify your results. You can read more about how to do this here. Please set validity until 1 October of the admission year.
• Detailed course descriptions in all relevant courses you wish to be assessed, which document the course's scope, content, level and exam format. These must be certified (stamped/signed) by the school if they are on paper, or contain a URL if you get them from the school's website. The course descriptions must be from the year the exam was taken, and contain the syllabus/literature lists.

If the documentation is not in English or Norwegian/Swedish/Danish, an officially approved translation must be included.

In the case of an exam taken at a foreign university/college, the weighting of the course in relation to full study progression must be documented.

4. Application periods and processing time
Application for academic recognition in connection with an application for admission to study: You can apply for academic recognition as long as it is possible to apply for admission. You can receive an answer to your application for professional approval either together with, if necessary, offer of study place and study contract, which require your signature and acceptance, or separately. However, note the following deadlines:

• Application for academic recognition for Bachelor: The deadline for submitting an application for approval of external education (outside BI), as well as all necessary documentation, is 1 August in the year of admission.
• Application for academic recognition for Master of Science: The deadline for submitting an application for approval of external education (outside BI), as well as all necessary documentation, is 1 August in the year of admission.

Application for academic recognition for Executive Master:

• Executive Master of Management: When applying for the degree giving program.
• Executive Master of Business Administration and Executive Master of Management in Energy: Upon application or in progress.

Application for academic recognition if you are already admitted as a student: You can apply for academic recognition at any time during the academic year, but the following deadlines apply:

• 1 February for courses that take place in the spring semester
• 1 September for courses that take place in the autumn semester

Spring 2023 is the last time you can apply for a subject-by-subject exemption. From autumn 2023, you will instead be able to apply for academic recognition with a fee exemption. We recommend that in the spring of 2023 you only send applications that apply to courses that take place this semester. You should wait for applications for other courses.

It is possible to apply until 01.02.2023.

You can apply for exemption from the exam if you have taken courses or have other formal or informal education that covers courses you will take in connection with your studies at BI.

• You can apply for exemption from exams in courses with up to 29 credits, and you can only apply for exemption for courses that are compulsory in your education plan. You cannot apply for an exemption from elective courses.
• If you are a student at the Bachelor of Management, you can only apply for an exemption from the exam for core courses in the study model.
• If the application is approved, you will be de-registered from the exam in the course, and it will appear on the diploma that you have been granted an exemption on the basis of formal or non-formal competence.
• Exemption from the exam does not reduce the tuition fee, but can change the academic plan and thus have consequences for loans or grants from Lånekassen (see www.lanekassen.no).
• Even if you are granted an exemption from an exam in a course, you can still take the exam as long as the course is still part of the study plan and you are within the completion deadline. You must register yourself, and you can choose whether a grade or an exemption should appear on the diploma.

Required documentation - formal competence
Exemption applications with documented formal competence must have a relevant professional background which, in total, covers at least the BI course's number of credits.

Required documentation non-formal competence / prior learning and work experience
Non-formal competence / prior learning and work experience must be acquired after the age of 18, and you can be granted a subject-by-subject exemption with this background for a total of a maximum of 29 credits.

There is no occasion to apply for exemption on the basis of non-formal competence / prior learning and work experience / studies that form the basis for authorisation and thus have grade requirements (see the regulations).

Awarding of degree/diploma
The student must have completed a minimum of 60 credits at the BI Business School in order for a degree to be awarded. In order to obtain a course certificate after one-year, non-degree studies, a minimum of 30 credits must be completed at BI School of Economics.

Application

• Form for Exam Exemption (log in to the Student Portal)

Application period for exemption from examination
1 January-1 February: The application will be processed by BI before 25 February.

• The processing time assumes that the application has been submitted with all attachments and has been correctly completed during the application period.

For the Master of Science, the deadlines for applying for exemption are:

• 1 February for courses running in the spring semester.

The Master's administration can be reached via info@bi.no for questions.

You can also apply for academic approval of non-formal competence (prior learning and work experience) acquired after the age of 18, with the exception of courses or studies that form the basis for authorization and have grade requirements. When applying (either in connection with an application for admission, or during the course of study), you must be able to document that the learning objectives in the course/programme you are applying for approval have been covered. Learning objectives are taken from the course description.

In connection with the application for admission
An application for professional approval of non-formal competence can be attached to an application for a study place, and answers will either be given together with any offer, or separately.

During the course of study
Applications for professional approval of non-formal competence during the course of study can be submitted by using the form in the student portal.

In order to be able to carry out an academic assessment of the non-formal competence, acquired skills that cover the various elements/learning objectives in the course description must be sufficiently documented. All documentation must be in writing.

Non-formal competence/ prior learning and work experience can be documented with the following:

• Confirmation or certificate from the employer or voluntary organisation describing work tasks and participation in specific work operations or work areas. Employment percentage and duration of employment or affiliation with the organisation must also be stated.
• Course certificate with course description documenting the scope, content, and level of the course.
• Published articles, reports or the like within the applicable subject area or field of knowledge.
• Work samples, products or the like within the applicable subject area or field of knowledge. You must document that the submitted works are your own.

BI Norwegian Business School may require that originals of the documents be submitted. We can also request verification of documents directly from the issuer.

Read more about application periods and processing times

You can apply for approval of a previous degree (equivalence assessment) against a degree from BI if you have completed a degree abroad. You will then be entitled to use the title assigned for such a degree. The education for which you are applying for an equivalence assessment must be accredited or publicly approved.

Formal qualifications
When applying for approval of a previous degree (equivalence assessment) on the basis of formal competence, the following documents must be attached:

• Diploma/transcript of grades.
• Course description of relevant courses with syllabus list, from the year the exam was taken, and which includes content, level, scope, learning objectives and exam form.
• If the course description is not in English or Norwegian/Swedish/Danish, an officially approved translation must be included.
• If course descriptions or course plans are available online, the website address must appear on the printout. Course plans without a clear reference to the source will not be accepted.
• If the exam has been taken at a foreign university/college, the weighting of the course in relation to full study progression must be documented.
• Accreditation/public approval of the education at a college/university in the country of study.

Non-formal competence and prior learning and work experience
You cannot apply for approval of a previous degree (equity assessment) on the basis of non-formal competence/prior learning and work experience if the exam or study forms the basis for authorization and has grade requirements.

This competence can be documented in the following way:

• Confirmation or certificate from the employer or voluntary organisation describing work tasks, work methods that have been used and participation in specific work operations or work areas.
• Employment percentage and duration of employment or affiliation with the organisation must also be stated.
• Course certificate with course description documenting the scope, content and level of the course.
• Published articles, reports or the like within the applicable subject area or field of knowledge.
• Work samples, products or the like within the applicable subject area or field of knowledge. You must document that the submitted works are your own.

BI Norwegian Business School may require that originals of the documents be submitted. We can also request verification of documents directly from the issuer.

Are you e.g. refugee and, due to very special circumstances, cannot document your academic competence, you also have the opportunity to have your education assessed as equally good at BI Norwegian Business School. Your education must be within BI's subject areas, and you must familiarise yourself with our studies in order to apply for your education towards a relevant degree. You will be tested in the subject areas.

Applications for academic recognition that are rejected or denied can be appealed.

Complaints must be made in writing within 3 weeks after the refusal was made known to the applicant. The complaint should be factually justified, and it is recommended that additional relevant information is attached. The complaint is addressed to the decision-making unit.

If the complaint is not accepted in full by the decision-making unit, the decision-making unit must forward the case to BI's Appeals Committee.

We recommend a formal structure for the complaint letter. See template here (in Norwegian).

There can sometimes be a long processing time in BI's Appeals Committee.