Mathematical studies in Bergen ?

At this page you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding mathematical studies at our department. For further information regarding studies at the University of Bergen look at the information for Prospective and International students.

• The courses and the research
• Short stays (1/2 to 1 year)
• Regular Degree Programmes
• Master's degree programmes
  
• Doctoral degrees

The courses and the research.
You can look here to see English descriptions of our courses.
Most of the textbooks we use are English, but the courses will normally be given only in Norwegian.
An overview of our research groups is available here.

Short stays (1/2 to 1 year).
If you want to do a part of your Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree at the University of Bergen, you should first check out the information for Prospective and International students, where you will find information about available exchange programs, application schemes and other practical details. When the details regarding the exchange is fulfilled you should contact the student advisor at the Department of Mathematics, to find what courses you might benefit most from during your stay.

 
Regular Degree Programmes.
We do not offer any Bachelor’s degree programmes taught in English. Foreign students, who wish to obtain a regular Norwegian degree at the University of Bergen, must fulfil the ordinary minimum admission requirements as mentioned in Samordna opptak. In addition, proficiency in English and Norwegian must be documented. There is no scholarship scheme for regular degree studies, nor does the University of Bergen offer financial support to foreign students.

Master's degree programmes.
We offer the following Master’s degree programmes:
    Master's Programme in Applied and Computational Mathematics
    Master's Programme in Mathematics
    Master's Programme in Statistics
In case you have taken a First Degree/Bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) and is interested in a Master's degree programme there are two factors which you have to fulfil.

1. You need mathematical courses in your Bachelor's Degree which makes you able to start on a Master programme in mathematics or statistics. (Please check thoroughly the specifications listed under each of the above mentioned programmes before applying.)
2. You must have arranged some sort of finance.

Students from developing countries and certain countries in Eastern Europe are eligible for scholarships from the Quota programme. Students from certain developing countries are eligible for scholarships from the NORAD-fellowship programme. The deadline for applying is 1 December for the preceding academic year. Students from other countries should check out The University of Bergen's information for Prospective students.

Please note that the number of study places for the Quota programme is limited for all categories of students. The competition for admission to study places financed through the scholarship schemes is extremely hard, and therefore only applicants with first class results will be considered for admission. Applicants with 2nd Class, Upper Division/B average or the equivalent will not even be considered for admission.

Doctoral degrees.
The regular doctoral programmes are based on - and are continuations of the Norwegian graduate degrees, or an equivalent qualification. A doctoral programme consists of course work amounting to 1 semester study load, a major research period and the writing of a dissertation which has to be defended in a formal disputation. It takes 3 years or more to complete the doctoral degree.
Candidates applying for a doctoral programme must have an established agreement with a researcher at the department and must submit an approved thesis proposal as part of the application.
Please note that only very rarely are candidates admitted for a doctoral degree on the basis of a foreign degree only. Students admitted to Master's degree programmes may qualify for admission during or upon completion of their programme.
Funding:
The rules pertaining to funding of doctoral studies are very strict. Research grants and scholarships are limited, and competition is extremely high. Scholarship students on the Master's degree programmes who transfer to a doctoral programme will normally have their funding extended for the doctoral period, or part of it.
To be able to participate for a grant the applicant must have first class results, A distinction, in his/hers courses and moreover have done a good master’s degree thesis with a great amount of original solutions to the problems studied in the thesis.
Available scholarships at the moment:
Any available scholarships will be announced at the following website: jobb.norge.no, use Jobcategory = "College/university/research", Subcategory = "Scientific", County = "Hordaland", Council = "Bergen", and do the search.

External funding???
We are sometimes contacted by students claiming that in case they could get an invitation from one of our researchers, they already do have the necessary funding for a PhD-study at our department. These students then ask us to help them come in touch with someone at our department whom might be interested in being their supervisor

Since The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences require more than a promise about funding and a willing supervisor before anyone is accepted as a PhD-student, we would like to bring your attention to the following facts. (If you are among the above mentioned students, please read the rest of this text closely.)

1. The content of the courses the applicant has taken must fulfil some specific requirements - in accordance with the requirements an applicant from the Norwegian educational system has to fulfil. In particular only applicants with first class results - A distinction - will have any chance of being accepted.
   
2. The funding must be sufficient.
   The cities of Norway are among the most expensive places in the world to live. To cover the expenses for living in Bergen for one year, you will as a minimum need at least 50 000 NOK only to rent a place to live, at least 40 000 NOK for food, 10 000 NOK for the electricity bill and at least 10 000 NOK for general transport. On top of this there will be a yearly expense of 85 000 NOK which you must pay to the department to cover the expenses of an office to work in, telephone, access to the computer system, printing expenses and administrative expenses. And moreover you should have at least 20 000 NOK to make you able to participate at international conferences. Altogether this implies that the stipend you are applying for must equal at least 215 000 NOK each year - a total of 645 000 NOK for the whole period of the PhD-Study. (At the eighteenth of January 2007 this equals approximately 100 200 $, Please check here for an updated exchange rate.)
   If the funding is insufficient, the application will be rejected.
3. There must be available an approved project description, which must be written together with some of the scientific staff at our department. This implies in particular that you must convince one of the researchers that you have ideas worth working on within their field of interest. Please note that the only way an applicant successfully might have a chance to reach this goal is to make an extensive study of what our researchers are interested in, read their papers and then contact one of them directly with a proposal for project(s) the applicant think might be of interest for the researcher. Though, there is no point doing this unless the applicant during his/hers master’s degree have written an extraordinary good thesis with a great amount of original solutions to the problems studied in the thesis. (Send the thesis if it is written in English, French or German - if not ask the supervisor from the master thesis to write some words regarding the quality and originality of the work.)