International bachelor programmes

For applicants who have completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme:

1. The International Baccalaureate Diploma - or
2. IB Diploma Programme Course Results / IB Certificate, with these additional requirements:
   • A total of minimum 20 points, including any points for Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay.
   • Passed at least 3 subjects at standard level and 3 at higher level, or 4 subjects at higher level and 2 at standard level.
   • Grade 3 or higher for all subjects at standard level and higher level.
   • Passed Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay.
   • Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) must be “fully satisfied”.

Applicants who have completed the IB Diploma programme and have achieved IB diploma or IB Diploma programme course results fulfil the English proficiency requirements if they have passed English A with grade 3 or above or English B with grade 5 or above. All other IB students are required to submit an English test with a sufficient score.

For international applicants with standard Secondary Education / High School:

• Requirements vary between countries. BI follows the official Norwegian regulations by Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Please consult the GSU list from NOKUT to see the requirements for your country. For some countries, one year of college or university education is required in addition to a high school or school leaving certificate. We require 60 ECTS credits or 1/3 of the total amount of a 3 year degree (1/4 of a 4 year degree) for applicants who need to document one year of University education.

For applicants with Norwegian education:

• 3 years of upper secondary education is the most common background to qualify. See our admission requirements in Norwegian for other options.

All applicants are required to document English language proficiency. English can be
documented with one of the following tests/exams:

High school / higher education:

• English (140 hours) at Norwegian upper secondary school with grade 4 or
  above. Applicants with “privatisteksamen” must have passed both a written
  and an oral exam with a sufficient grade.
• A specialisation course in English completed with a passing grade at a
  Norwegian upper secondary school.
• High school completed in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, or
  Ireland OR
  a Bachelor’s degree completed in one of the above-mentioned countries.
• English A with grade 3 or above from IBDP programme.
• English B with grade 5 or above from IBDP programme.
• English completed at an upper secondary level that is equivalent to English
  (140 hours) grade 4 or above from Norwegian upper secondary school.

OR

One of the following English tests:

• TOEFL ibt overall score of 80 or above.
  TOEFL ibt home edition overall score of 80 or above.
• IELTS Academic overall band score 6.0 or above.
• Pearson PTE Academic, overall score of 59 or above.
• Pearson PTE Academic online, overall score 59 or above.
• The European Language Certificate (telc), telc English B2-C1 University.
• The University of Cambridge exams:
  B2 First (First Certificate in English) overall score of B and above.
  C1 Advanced (Certificate in Advanced English) overall score of C and above.
  C2 Proficiency (Certificate of Proficiency in English) overall score of C and above.
• University of Michigan, Michigan Language Assessment:
  Certificate of Proficiency (ECPE).
  Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE) overall band score 840 or above.

Please note that we do not accept English proficiency test score reports that are older than 2 years. 

Applicants to our Bachelor of Data Science for Business programme are required to document sufficient skills in mathematics with one of the following:

For applicants who have completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme:

• Mathematical Studies SL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematics: application and interpretation SL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematics SL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematics HL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematical methods SL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematics: analysis and approaches SL, passed with grade 3 or above. 
• Mathematics: application and interpretation HL, passed with grade 3 or above.
• Mathematics: analysis and approaches HL, passed with grade 3 or above.

For international applicants with standard Secondary Education / High School:

• Mathematics equivalent to Mathematics R1 or S1+S2 at Norwegian upper secondary school level. For further details, please contact us via chat. 

For applicants with Norwegian education:

• Mathematics R1 (or S1+S2) completed with a passing grade at Norwegian upper secondary school.

For all applicants who do not meet requirements in Mathematics with high school or higher education: 

Mathematics Placement Test (OMPT), type F. The test must be passed with 60% or higher. We allow maximum 2 attempts per intake.

Please visit the OMPT website (Online Admissions Tests for Mathematics) in order to register for the test.  You will need to select BI Norwegian Business School and then choose “Bachelor of Data Science for Business” programme.

Good skills in mathematics are also recommended for applicants to Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor in Digital Business, but applicants to these programmes are not required to document the above mentioned requirements in mathematics.

In our application portal, you are asked to submit the following documents.

BI reserves the right to request official copies of all documents and/or contact the educational institution issuing the documents to verify authenticity as part of the evaluation for admission.

Academic transcripts and certificates

IB applicants
Please submit your final IB diploma and transcript of grades issued by IBO. If you are currently enrolled in the final year of the IBDP programme, please submit an official statement of your predicted grades.

We kindly ask applicants who are currently enrolled in the final year of the IB programme to give BI Norwegian Business School access to their grades via the IBO database, so that we are able to assess their applications as soon as the final grades are published in early July.

BI’s IB institute number: 000609 - Handelshøyskolen BI

International applicants with standard Secondary Education/High School 
Please submit all documents stated as mandatory for your country in the GSU list.

Applicants with Norwegian educational background
Please submit your Vitnemål fra videregående opplæring. We strongly encourage you to give us access to your Vitnemål electronically via Nasjonal vitnemålsdatabase (NVB).

Documents submitted must be official, and in English or a Scandinavian language. If your documents are in any other language, please submit both your original documents and a certified English translation.

If you have previously completed higher education and you think you may be eligible to apply for credit transfer, please also submit detailed course descriptions and reading lists / curriculum for each of the courses that you would like to have assessed.

English test / Exam

For all international and Norwegian applicants, a satisfactory English language test / exam is required. 

Letter of motivation

In the Letter of Motivation you should explain what your future plans, ambitions and dreams are, and how this relates to your choice of programme at our school. If you are an international student, we would also like to know why you want to study in Norway. The Letter of Motivation should be about one page, and written in English.

CV/Resume

A short CV/resume listing your contact information (your full postal/mailing address, e-mail, phone etc), your education (school name, degree, dates, and number of years) and work experience (employer's name, type of work, duration, dates, etc.), including extra-curricular activities. The CV must be typed, not handwritten, and written in English.

Copy of passport

All applicants must include a scan of their passport showing nationality, name and dates of issue and expiry. Please provide certified true copies of previous residency permits to Norway, if applicable.

Financial plan

All international applicants must submit a personal financial plan. The financial plan is a general overview of how you intend to finance your degree and living expenses. Please use our financial plan template.

Applicants to the second year must fulfill higher education entry qualification requirements to the first year, and in addition document at least 37.5 relevant ECTS credits, whereas at least 30 ECTS credits must cover first year courses of the programme. The remaining 7.5 ECTS credits can cover first, second- or third-year courses.

Please note that previously completed higher education that is a part of higher education entry requirements to the first year, cannot be transferred – e.g. if you have to document one year of higher education to meet higher education entry qualification, and have completed 60 ECTS credits at an accredited University, all of these credits are a part of your entry qualification, and none of them can be transferred. In this case you do not have any credits left to cover 2nd year requirements and you can only apply for admission to the first year.  For further details on higher education entry qualifications, please see GSU (Higher Education Entrance Qualification).

• Admission directly to the third year is very rare. In most cases only applicants who have completed at least 3 years of a similar degree in addition to higher education entry requirements qualify for admission to the third year.
• Admission requirement to the third year requires at least 75 relevant ECTS credits, whereas at least 30 credits cover first year courses, and at least 30 credits cover second year courses. The remaining 15 credits can cover first, second- or third-year courses of the programme you’re applying to. 

Exception: Bachelor of Data Science for Business
Applicants to Bachelor of Data Science of Business programme must meet the above-mentioned requirements, and, in addition document that they have passed courses equivalent to programme specific courses. These courses have EBA course code. Please see Bachelor of Data Science for Business for overview of these courses. Only applicants who have passed all of the programme specific courses can apply for admission to 2nd or 3rd years.

Do you qualify for direct admission to 2nd or 3rd year, based on the requirements mentioned above?
Please contact us for further details and application link.

Priority application deadlines:

• 1 March for international applicants
• 15 April for Norwegian applicants
• 15 June Deadline to submit all of the required documentation for applicants from countries outside EU/EEA

After these dates, BI offers rolling admission, based on availability. Applicants from outside the EU who do not currently reside in Norway must have submitted all of the required documentation by 15 June to allow time for securing a student residence permit.

International applicants: If you are completing your Secondary Education/High School and/or one year of full-time university level studies in spring, please choose “Upper secondary/High school” as your application background. In the "Documents" section of the application, tick the checkbox labeled "I will upload my final diploma later" under the "High School Diploma and Transcript" requirement. This lets you apply for admission by the priority deadline, and you can submit your documentation as soon as it is available.