Recognition of previous degrees at the Faculty of Psychology

External qualifications refers to qualifications that you have completed at a university or university college other than the University of Bergen.

You can apply for recognition of qualifications from a different higher education institution in Norway or abroad as part of your bachelor’s, master’s or candidate of psychology degree at the Faculty of Psychology. Use the application form on the right of this page.

External qualifications must be documented through:

• course descriptions 
• literature lists

These must be drawn up in one of the Scandinavian languages or English. You do not need to enclose a transcript if the qualifications were taken at one of the higher education institutions included in this list. You must enclose a transcript if the higher education institution is not included in the list.

Documentation of external qualifications from foreign higher education institutions must be presented in original versions at the Information Centre at the same time as or before applying for recognition. 

Have you taken examen philosophicum or a corresponding course at another higher education institution? The rules for exemption from or specific recognition of examen philosophicum can be found here.

Internal qualifications refers to courses you have taken at the University of Bergen that are generally not part of the degree you are currently studying towards. You do not need to complete this application form if you have studied at the University of Bergen. Send an enquiry via the University of Bergen Helpdesk addressed to the student advisor for your programme of study and ask if the course can be approved as part of the programme of study you are currently taking.

You can apply to the Faculty of Psychology to replace compulsory courses in your degree with courses you have previously taken. Such an application is required to replace compulsory courses in the degree, such as specialisation courses and introductory courses. It is important that you make an assessment of whether the learning outcomes in your previous course overlap with the learning outcomes in the compulsory course you wish to replace. Also, remember that the courses you wish to have approved must be of the same credit value. A course with 10 ETC's cannot replace a course with 15 ETC's. 

You do not need to submit an application for recognition of previously completed internal qualifications in the form of elective courses in your degree. It is sufficient to send a message via the University of Bergen Helpdesk stating which courses you want to include in the elective part of your degree.

You can reuse up to 90 credits from a previous completed degree in a new degree at the University of Bergen. A previous degree may also provide grounds for exemption from introductory courses and the examen philosophicum. Contact your student adviser for information about the procedures for applying for recognition of courses in your second degree.

If you have taken the examen philosophicum at another faculty at the University of Bergen, you do not need to apply specifically to use this in the degree. All examen philosophicum variants at the University of Bergen are equal and will therefore be automatically added to your individual education plan. Check whether we can obtain your examen philosophicum results electronically in this list of universities and university colleges. If you find that your previously completed examen philosophicum at the University of Bergen still does not show in your individual education plan, please send a message via the University of Bergen Helpdesk to correct the matter. 

Please note that the examen philosophicum carries 10 credits at the University of Bergen. If you have taken an examen philosophicum variant that carries fewer credits, for example 7.5 credits at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, you will have too few credits. In such a case, we will also recognise credits from other previous qualifications, or you can take an additional course at the University of Bergen. 

If you are planning to travel abroad for a student exchange or want a period of study abroad to be recognised as part of your degree, there are separate procedures in place for recognition. You can find information about this on our page about the recognition of periods of study abroad.