Scholarship to Study in Norway: Options for Indians

19 min read · Published on August 18, 2026 · Updated on August 18, 2026

There is no universal Norwegian government scholarship for an Indian degree applicant. The realistic direct routes are a current Erasmus Mundus Joint Master, a BI Norwegian Business School entrance scholarship, or an India-based grant or loan award for which you meet the category and course rules. For 2026/27, a tuition-only award can still leave NOK 170,368 in living funds to document.

The first useful test is whether you can personally apply for the current intake. A Norwegian partner, an old award page or the words “fully funded” do not answer that. Eligibility, tuition, living support, payment timing and renewal are separate decisions. A tuition waiver can still leave a large study-permit funding gap.

Which Norway scholarships can an Indian student actually apply for?

An Indian student can personally apply to selected Erasmus Mundus programmes, BI scholarships and qualifying Indian funding schemes. The first table separates those routes from exchange, nomination and institutional programmes that cannot be entered through an individual form.

Scholarship route check for an Indian applicantGreen means a personal application is possible, amber means another institution must act, and red means the route is closed.

Route	Level	Can you apply personally?	Position for a new applicant
Erasmus Mundus Joint Master	Master’s	Yes, through the chosen consortium	The exact current intake, scholarship and Norway mobility period must all be published.
BI entrance scholarship	Bachelor’s or master’s, depending on the award	Yes, with a BI admission application	Current 2026 award pages publish eligibility, coverage and renewal rules.
Indian government or foundation funding	Usually master’s or PhD	Yes, if you meet its category and course rules	Annual windows close early. Some awards are repayable loans.
Exchange grant	One or two semesters within an existing degree	Not directly to the Norwegian host	Your home university needs an agreement and normally nominates you.
NORPART, NORHED or Students at Risk	Project or nomination dependent	No ordinary self-application	Participation comes through an institution, project or designated nominator.
NORSTIP or the old Quota Scheme	Not a current route	No	Do not put either name in a 2027 or 2028 finance plan.

Current route, degree level and application access as checked on 15 August 2026

The BI rows below use autumn 2026 terms, and the Indian schemes show their position on 15 August 2026. A student targeting 2027 or 2028 needs the call for that later cohort before submitting.

Does Norway offer a government scholarship to every international student?

No. Study in Norway says the Norwegian government offers no individual scholarship to degree students. Its wider cost page also says there is no individual government scholarship open to all international students.

The Norwegian government offers no individual scholarships to degree students. There are, however, a few other schemes that offer scholarships for degree students.Study in Norway

Erasmus Mundus belongs to the European Union, BI awards belong to one private business school, and India’s National Overseas Scholarships serve defined categories. Each has its own form and eligibility. None is a Norway-wide form for an ordinary bachelor’s or master’s applicant.

A public university can waive tuition for a formal exchange student or a participant in a named programme, but that exemption belongs to the admission route. New Indian degree students normally pay tuition because students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland are usually charged. Use the exact fee in the Norway cost of study calculation unless the university confirms an exemption in writing.

How does an Indian student apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship with a Norway partner?

You apply directly to one current Erasmus Mundus Joint Master, not to Norway as a country. A consortium is the group of universities that jointly teaches the degree. Its page controls admission, the scholarship application and where each study period takes place.

Apply for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master. Students from all over the world are welcome. You will study at several universities in Europe and beyond.Erasmus+

The EU opportunity page says applicants need a bachelor’s degree or must be in their final bachelor’s year, with graduation before the joint master’s begins. Applications usually run between October and January. A scholarship can cover participation costs and contribute to travel, visa and living costs. The current programme guide calculates individual support at EUR 1,400 a month for the programme duration.

Check	Document to open	What it decides
Current cohort	The consortium’s admission page for your intended start year	Whether applications are actually open.
Scholarship call	The same programme’s funding page	Whether a scholarship is offered for that cohort and whether consideration is automatic or separate.
Norway mobility	The published semester or mobility plan	Whether your cohort studies in Norway, and for how long.
Coverage	The award terms	Which participation, travel, visa and living costs are funded.

A Norwegian university logo alone doesn’t pass these checks. NTNU’s current programme list marks CoMEM+ and Marine and Maritime Intelligent Robotics as having no admission for 2026, even though older programme pages remain online. For 2027 or 2028, reopen the consortium page and the Norwegian partner’s current list before writing the route into your budget.

A master’s in Norway can involve several countries when it is an Erasmus joint degree. Each move can create another housing deposit, journey and arrival bill even when participation costs and monthly support are covered. The semester locations show where those costs arise.

Which BI bachelor scholarships accept applicants from India?

Two published BI bachelor awards accept eligible international applicants. Both are entrance scholarships, which means you seek them with the degree application before starting the course. They are not a general scholarship that can be moved to another Norwegian university.

Award	Eligible applicant and course	Coverage	Deadline	Renewal condition
Bachelor International Scholarship	International applicant educated outside Norway, applying to BBA, Data Science for Business or Digital Business	50 per cent of tuition for up to three years	1 March	Complete 30 ECTS each semester and keep a cumulative B grade.
Women in Finance and Tech Bachelor Scholarship	Eligible female international applicant to Finance or Data Science for Business	Full tuition for up to three years	1 March for a non-resident applicant	Complete 30 ECTS each semester and keep a cumulative B grade.

ECTS is Norway’s university credit system. BI makes renewal depend on completing the normal 30 ECTS semester load and maintaining a cumulative B. “Up to three years” is therefore conditional, so keep a later-year fallback if the family budget depends on renewal.

Bachelor International leaves half the tuition plus all living and travel costs. The women’s award removes tuition for the covered period but publishes no living stipend. BI still applies the bachelor’s in Norway admission rules before either award is considered.

Which BI master’s scholarships accept applicants from India?

BI publishes four relevant master’s routes for eligible international applicants. Each belongs to BI admission, and each has its own academic or programme filter. The Norway admission application and the scholarship decision remain separate.

Award	Main entry filter	Coverage	Deadline	Renewal
BI Presidential Scholarship	First master’s at BI, with an overall A-grade equivalent; named exclusions apply	Full tuition up to two years plus NOK 50,000 living stipend each semester for an international winner	1 March	30 ECTS each semester and cumulative B.
Master of Science International Scholarship	International applicant outside Norway, admitted to an eligible first master’s, normally with at least a 4.0 ECTS grade equivalent	Full tuition up to two years; some awards fund one year	1 March	30 ECTS each semester and cumulative B.
Women in Finance and Tech Master Scholarship	Eligible female international applicant to a named finance, analytics, data or quantitative programme	Full tuition up to two years	1 March	30 ECTS each semester and cumulative B.
A. Wilhelmsen Foundation Scholarship	Applicant outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, living outside Norway, accepted to a first BI master’s	NOK 250,000 a year; two awards stated for autumn 2026	1 March	Semester payments depend on satisfactory progress, including the published credit and grade floor.

For A. Wilhelmsen, the applicant writes the required letter and submits it through BI’s portal. Sending an application directly to the foundation is the wrong mechanism. BI administers the award and pays it by semester, subject to progress.

That fixed value needs to be compared with the actual programme invoice and living plan. If it exceeds tuition, the official award terms still decide whether any remainder is available for living. The label “NOK 250,000 a year” cannot be split into tuition and cash by assumption. BI’s written decision is the usable record.

Scholarship decisions are not sent with the offer of admission. Accept your offer of admission to be considered for a scholarship.BI Norwegian Business School

Accepting the place keeps scholarship consideration alive, but it does not prove that funding has arrived. BI’s written scholarship decision is the funding evidence.

Which scholarships and loan awards can you apply for from India?

Several Indian schemes can fund overseas study, but they solve different problems. Category scholarships and foundation grants need strict eligibility. J. N. Tata and K. C. Mahindra are repayable loan awards, so they should not be described as free money.

Scheme	Who can use it	Published value or coverage	Status checked 15 August 2026
National Overseas Scholarship, Social Justice Ministry	Eligible master’s or PhD applicant from the listed Scheduled Caste and other specified groups	Tuition, maintenance and named allowances under the guideline, administered through Indian missions	First 2026/27 round closed on 2 June 2026. Watch the official portal for another round.
National Overseas Scholarship, Tribal Affairs Ministry	Eligible Scheduled Tribe or Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group applicant, including the published family-income test	Tuition, annual maintenance, contingency, visa, insurance and airfare under the scheme	Current scheme page and registration portal exist; the scheme summary does not state a closing date.
Inlaks Scholarship	Indian resident with an Indian degree, admission and a course that is not excluded	Up to USD 120,000 towards tuition, living, one-way travel, visa and health cover	2026 applications closed. Business, finance, computer science, most engineering and MBA study are among the exclusions.
J. N. Tata Endowment	Eligible Indian applicant for full-time postgraduate, PhD or postdoctoral overseas study	Loan scholarship up to INR 20 lakh at 2 per cent simple interest	2026 cycle closed. Repayment applies.
K. C. Mahindra Scholarship	Eligible Indian citizen with a first-class degree pursuing postgraduate study overseas	Interest-free loan: up to INR 10 lakh for the top three, up to INR 5 lakh for other selected students	2026 applications closed. Repayment applies.

A Norway admission doesn’t automatically make the course eligible. Inlaks, for example, excludes several popular subjects. A National Overseas Scholarship application depends on category, income, course and institution rules. The current guideline decides whether essays or references are worth preparing.

The award type affects the later family cash flow. A grant is normally non-repayable when its conditions are met. A category scholarship pays only for a person who satisfies the scheme’s defined social and financial rules. A loan scholarship provides education finance that must be repaid, even when the selection process is competitive and the word scholarship appears in its name.

Annual status is just as important as eligibility. Inlaks, J. N. Tata and K. C. Mahindra show closed 2026 cycles. The Social Justice portal’s first 2026/27 round closed on 2 June 2026. These are not rejection decisions about a student’s profile. They mean the application window itself is unavailable on the date of this review.

Payment also differs. The Social Justice scheme routes funds through Indian missions, while a lender or foundation can follow another schedule. Its sanction or award letter needs the amount, currency, purpose and payment date before that money can support the university invoice or later permit file.

Which Norway schemes require nomination or an institutional partnership?

NORPART, NORHED, Students at Risk and formal exchange funding are not ordinary self-application scholarships. They become relevant only when the student’s institution, a funded project or an approved nominator is already involved.

Scheme	Who starts the process	What the student must already have	Practical consequence
NORPART	Higher-education institutions apply for projects	Participation through an approved institutional partnership; India is not in the published partner-country group	There is no personal NORPART scholarship form for an ordinary Indian applicant.
NORHED	Institutions within development partnerships	A place within the relevant project or programme	A general university admission does not create access.
Students at Risk	A designated institution, embassy, university or human-rights organisation nominates	Eligible human-rights activism and documented risk	The candidate cannot self-apply or self-nominate.
Erasmus+ or Nordplus exchange	The home university handles the agreement, nomination and grant process	Current enrolment and an exchange agreement with the Norwegian host	Ask the international office at your Indian institution before approaching Norway.

Which Norway scholarship names should you stop treating as open?

NORSTIP and the Quota Scheme are not open routes for a new Indian applicant. Both names persist in search results, but neither supplies a current personal application.

NMBU labels NORSTIP discontinued and says there are no applications. Its page still explains an existing cohort through June 2027. That continuing support doesn’t reopen the scheme for a student starting later.

The Norwegian government records that the Quota Scheme was discontinued and replaced by institution-level cooperation. A page listing Quota support, a December deadline or a current Indian application is using obsolete information.

Major public institutions also reject the idea of a broad university award. NTNU says it offers no scholarships, discounts or instalment plans for tuition. UiB says it has no scholarships or tuition scholarships. NMBU and UiT also state that they do not offer broad financial support to full-degree international applicants.

Does a scholarship remove the Norway study permit funds requirement?

No, unless the documented award covers the required amounts in a form and at a time accepted for the permit. Tuition and living funds are separate. A full-tuition award can leave every rupee of the living requirement unpaid.

UDI’s current India page requires NOK 15,488 a month or NOK 170,368 for the 2026/27 academic year. The money can come from a student loan, a grant, permitted account funds or a combination. If tuition applies, it must also be paid or covered.

The final award letter belongs in the Norway student visa plan. It needs the student’s name, course, award period, tuition amount, living amount, payment date and renewal conditions so UDI can assess what the award actually covers.

The word “full” must always name its object. Full tuition pays the university charge stated in the award. Full funding would need to meet tuition, living and the other costs the student actually faces. Most BI awards on this page publish tuition coverage without a living stipend. Presidential is the exception, but its NOK 100,000 across two semesters is still below the current NOK 170,368 living figure.

Scholarship gap = unpaid tuition + uncovered NOK 170,368 living funds + travel, insurance and arrival costs

Published award	Tuition covered	Living support	Amount still needing evidence
BI Bachelor International	50 per cent for up to three years	No stipend stated	Remaining tuition plus the living-funds requirement and other costs.
BI Women in Finance and Tech Bachelor	Full tuition for up to three years	No stipend stated	Living funds and other costs.
BI Presidential for an international winner	Full tuition for up to two years	NOK 50,000 each semester, NOK 100,000 across two semesters	Paper living gap of NOK 70,368, about INR 7.11 lakh at the 14 August 2026 ECB cross-rate, plus other costs. Award timing must be accepted for the permit.
BI Master of Science International	Full tuition for one or two years, depending on the award	No stipend stated	Living funds and other costs.
Erasmus Mundus scholarship	Participation costs covered under the scholarship terms	EUR 1,400 a month under the current programme calculation, with travel and visa contribution	Check the award letter, mobility costs and payment schedule against each country’s permit process.

The BI Presidential calculation uses a dated planning rate of INR 10.10 for NOK 1. It comes from European Central Bank reference rates on 14 August 2026. It is not a bank quote. More importantly, a paper subtraction is not a permit decision. The award letter and UDI must settle whether the stipend’s value and payment timing count as evidence.

Payment timing can create a gap even when the annual value looks sufficient. A scholarship paid after enrolment may help with later rent but not with money that must be documented before the permit is approved. The family needs evidence that works at the permit stage, not only a promise of support after arrival.

Renewal creates a second-year risk. BI’s recurring condition of 30 ECTS per semester and a cumulative B means the later tuition benefit depends on progress. Erasmus and Indian schemes publish their own continuation rules. A complete budget separates the first confirmed award period from support that remains conditional.

How should you build a scholarship application plan for Norway?

Begin with the earliest official date. BI’s 2026 awards above closed on 1 March, while Erasmus Mundus applications usually run between October and January. The course and award must name the same intake.

A workable plan begins with one named course and one intake. The course must accept the student’s qualifications and publish its fee before an award can be priced against it. The universities in Norway comparison keeps that subject and cost decision together.

Each funding lead then needs a plain description of who can start it and whether it is a grant or loan. Erasmus goes to its consortium, BI awards go through BI, Indian schemes go to their official portals, and A. Wilhelmsen goes through BI rather than the foundation. Nomination and exchange routes remain with the authorised institution.

The official call supplies the nationality, degree, grade, income or category rule. It also supplies the five money terms that matter later: award value, tuition coverage, living coverage, payment date and renewal condition. A search snippet cannot supply those terms.

Admission and scholarship decisions remain separate. BI asks an applicant to accept admission while scholarship consideration continues. Until the written result arrives, the uncovered amount is unpaid tuition, the current UDI living requirement and any travel or arrival cost that the award does not name.

The 2026 calls and amounts show how early preparation can begin. They do not set a 2027 or 2028 deadline or award. The later course and award pages must name the same start year before the applications belong in one finance plan.

Key takeaways

Norway has no universal government scholarship form for an Indian degree applicant.
Erasmus Mundus, BI entrance awards and qualifying Indian schemes are the main direct application routes.
NORPART, NORHED, Students at Risk and exchange grants require an institution or nomination.
NORSTIP and the Quota Scheme are not open to a new applicant.
Full tuition doesn’t automatically cover NOK 170,368 in 2026/27 living funds.

Frequently asked questions

Are there fully funded scholarships in Norway for Indian students?

There is no universal Norwegian government award. A current Erasmus Mundus scholarship can cover participation and support living, travel and visa costs. BI Presidential covers full tuition and gives an international winner a stipend. Both are highly specific competitive routes, not funding available for every Norwegian course.

How can I get a scholarship to study in Norway?

Choose the course first, then find a current official award tied to that course or applicant category. Check nationality, degree level and intake before preparing documents. Apply through the named consortium, university portal or Indian scheme portal. Keep a complete finance plan until a written award arrives.

Can I apply for NORSTIP from India?

No. NMBU’s official page says NORSTIP is discontinued and that there are no applications. Existing support continuing to June 2027 belongs to an earlier cohort. It does not create a 2027 or 2028 application route for an Indian student.

Do Norwegian public universities give scholarships to international students?

Do not assume they do. NTNU, UiB, NMBU and UiT state that they do not offer the broad scholarships many full-degree international applicants expect. A named Erasmus Mundus programme, exchange agreement or external award can still apply, but it needs its own current official terms.

Can I get a Norway scholarship without IELTS?

A scholarship doesn’t waive the course’s English requirement. The admission page decides which tests or previous education it accepts. First meet the degree’s language rule, then apply for funding. An advertisement combining “without IELTS” and “fully funded” is not evidence of either admission or scholarship eligibility.

Is the BI Presidential Scholarship fully funded?

For an international recipient, it publishes full tuition for up to two years and NOK 50,000 each semester for living expenses. Against the 2026/27 UDI amount, that stipend alone leaves NOK 70,368 across two semesters, before other costs and subject to the award’s payment timing.

Does Erasmus Mundus guarantee that I will study in Norway?

No. A Norwegian consortium member doesn’t prove that your cohort has a Norway semester. Open the current programme’s mobility plan and identify every study location. Also confirm that the intake is open, because NTNU’s list shows some joint programmes with no 2026 admission.

Can a scholarship letter be used for the Norway study permit?

UDI allows grants and student loans as part of the funding evidence, but the document and timing still matter. The letter should state the amount, award period, tuition coverage and living support. If the scholarship pays after arrival, ask UDI and the institution what separate pre-arrival evidence is required.

Are J. N. Tata and K. C. Mahindra scholarships grants?

No. J. N. Tata publishes a loan scholarship with simple interest, while K. C. Mahindra publishes an interest-free loan scholarship. Both may reduce the immediate family contribution, but both create repayment. Record them as education finance, not as non-repayable scholarship income.