Health sciences remain the most popular field of study in Norway, according to multiple reports. The decline in applications to teacher and lecturer educations has reversed, the government said.
At UiT Norges arktiske universitet, around 34,000 have applied through Samordna opptak, but only 7,450 have UiT as their first choice, down from 8,417 last year, according to multiple reports. UiT has more applicants to teacher and nursing educations than the national average, said Rikke Gürgens Gjærum. Teacher educations at UiT increased by 7.6% in first-choice applicants, while nursing applications are stable, compared to a national decrease of 6.5%, multiple reports said.
The nursing program in Narvik has the highest percentage of male applicants in Norway, according to multiple reports. Harstad saw a 17% increase in applicants; Bodø, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes also increased. The increase in some locations is due to flexible study offerings, Gjærum said. UiT has 470 fewer applicants to online studies this year, though nearly 2,000 will study digitally at UiT. A new online study in sustainable tourism, leadership, and visitor management has over 100 applicants, multiple reports said.
Waiting lists for prestigious studies like law, medicine, and psychology are shorter, according to multiple reports. The shorter waiting lists are due to increased national capacity, not lower interest, Gjærum said.
In Sweden, more than 424,000 people have applied to higher education, according to multiple reports. Applications to the pharmacy technician program nearly doubled, with a 94% increase in first-choice applicants. At Uppsala University, the increase was 600%, multiple reports said. The increase is due to information campaigns and removal of a requirement to have studied natural sciences in high school, said Fredrik Jernerén.
Applications to the police education in Sweden increased by 17%, with 10,649 applicants so far, according to multiple reports. The Swedish government has announced paid education for police students who stay in the profession for at least eight years.
Applications to the psychology program at University of Agder had 1,451 applicants for 45 places, according to multiple reports. At University of Stavanger, there were 905 applicants. Psychology at UiA is the third most applied-to study per study place in Norway. There are about 11,000 psychologists in Norway now, compared to 1,500 in 1985, multiple reports said. However, 15% of Norwegian municipalities still lack a legally required psychologist, according to Statistisk sentralbyrå.
Applications to the police college in Norway increased by 21% compared to last year, with 3,650 applicants for 549 study places, according to a Politihøgskolen press release. The application deadline was March 1. The increase is entirely due to a new session-based temporary study program in Alta, said Rector Nina Skarpenes. For the three established campuses (Oslo, Stavern, Bodø), applicant numbers continued to decline. The Alta program is a three-year pilot with 24 study places, session-based, with four sessions per semester and digital teaching. Students in Alta learn the same as those in Oslo, Stavern, and Bodø. In the first and third years, students attend sessions in Alta and study from home; in the second year, they complete an internship in one of the three northernmost police districts. 202 applicants applied to Alta in 2025, a slight decrease from the previous year, according to research.
The police college in Bodø had the largest increase, up 79%, with 289 more first-choice applicants, according to research. The police used a digital recruitment campaign targeting 16-25 year olds, multiple reports said. The college spent about two million kroner on a national recruitment campaign in 2025, with an additional one million kroner allocated by the rector's leadership meeting, according to research. The college also introduced a travel support scheme to prevent dropouts from Northern Norway due to expensive travel to physical tests.
Applications to the police college have decreased significantly over the past ten years; in 2016 there were 5,663 applicants for 720 places, according to multiple reports. In 2024, there was a record low of nearly 2,900 applicants, a 22.5% decrease, according to research. Applicant numbers have declined steadily since the peak year 2016, a 35.5% decrease. Despite the decline, 97.2% of the 2025 cohort from Politihøgskolen had a job in the police by the turn of the year, according to Politiforum.
Nord University had 5,651 first-choice applicants, an increase of 600 from last year, according to multiple reports. Real estate brokerage, HR management, and nursing are among the most popular studies at Nord University. HR management is a new online study with 1,407 applicants for 40 places. University of South-Eastern Norway had nearly 17,000 applicants, a 3% increase, with maritime and engineering studies increasing the most, multiple reports said.
Information about deadlines for the next admission will be available by February 1, 2026, according to research. Applicants must submit mandatory documentation via Digipost no later than March 20th. The cover letter must be signed and include the applicant number, and will be available for download no later than February 1, 2026. The medical certificate must be the Politihøgskolen's form and not filled out more than six months before submission. The police certificate must be comprehensive and extended, with correct purpose and category, issued after February 1st of the application year.