Admission


Admission to the 1st year

If you want to study to be an architect at BAS from the 1st year, you are required to speak and understand Norwegian. If that is the case, please have a look under the Norwegian section of this webpage.


Admission to the 4th year

(Info in English)

Applicants that hold minimum a Bachelor degree of Architecture from another school, may apply for admission to start from the 4. year at BAS, with the intention to complete the master degree in architecture in 2 years. Application deadline 15. April by midnight. If you have a different background, you are welcome to apply and we will consider if your material fulfills our requirements.

The main exam/Diploma is included in the last term in the 5th year, and counts 5 months. Passing the Diploma gives the right to the academic title Master in Architecture. Please note that we offer a professional degree, we do not issue Bachelor degrees after 3 years.

NB! Please note that it is mainly architectural training only that is qualifying for applying at BAS. If you have a different background, you are welcome to apply and we will consider if your material fulfills our requirements.

Deadline  15. April by Midnight CET.  Applications that arrive after this date will not be considered.

Important information for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA

The Norwegian government has decided to introduce tuition fees for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, effective from autumn semester 2023. BAS has to follow this regulation, and for applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, applying for a degree at BAS following August 2024, the tuition fee will be a total of NOK 307.234,- for one full academic year. In addition comes the fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, plus a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,-.

IMPORTANT: If you fulfill a specific requirements, you may be exempt from paying tuition fees. Documentation for exemption must be uploaded in your application in the application portal. We refer to an external web page at the university of Bergen with a good general overview of what can qualify for exemption: https://www.uib.no/en/education/163681/exemptions-paying-tuition-fees

This does not apply to exchange students from partner universities, or to degree seeking students from the EU/EEA/EFTA. Degree seeking students from EU/EEA/EFTA will have to pay regular tuition fee, NOK 40.620,- for one academic year, in addition comes the fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, plus a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,-per semester.

ONLINE SUBMISSION  via online application portal. The LINK can be found HERE! Very important! Make sure you read the text below APPLICATION STEP BY STEP before you start the online process.

APPLICATION STEP BY STEP
After you have read the text below carefully, enter the link to the Online Application Portal.

First you need to enter your e-mail and create a password. Try to remember your password, in case you forget the next time you log in, you can always ask for a new one in the system.
We strongly recommend that you in advance prepare the documents to be uploaded and the parts that need to be filled in manually. The reason for this is that your application will not be saved until you submit the application in the end of the application process. That means you cannot do half of it and return later.  If you log out, you lose what you have added. Once you have submitted the application, you can log in and change it up until the application deadline has expired.

THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE APPLICATION (for your preparation) 

  • Personal information: e-mail, name, address, date of birth, gender, educational background (high school level), citizenship, phone.

Mandatory documents to be uploaded: 

  • Portfolio – Upload your portfolio (max 5MB) We do not want paperback versions of portfolios. Your portfolio is very important part of your application, it should contain your school projects, but also may include other architectural and artistic projects to show your skills and interest. If you deliver your portfolio in ANY other way, (issu, wetransfer, google drive etc) it is YOUR responsibility to make sure we have received it. Contact us at adm@bas.org once you have sent it. BAS will not contact the applicants in case the portfolio is missing.
  • Photo – upload a photo of yourself, the type you would use in a passport/Id card.
  • Education: Certificate/transcript – your certified/original Bachelor certificate, or if you are not yet done with your final exams, upload your transcript of your courses so far.
  • Language – Documentation of English skills. We have specific requirements, see below. Upload your language test score. If you are exempt from the requirements, tick the box.
    Applicants from outside the Nordic Countries must document satisfactory English skills through one of the following tests:
    TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, with a minimum score of   550 points (paper-based test)
    TOEFL Internet based 80 points,   
    TOEFL Computer based test: 213 points
    IELTS – International English Language Testing Service, British Council – with a minimum score of 6.0 points.
    Applicants with the following documentation are exempt from the English requirements: Citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom  and the USA.
    Applicants who have earned their full Bachelor`s degree in English are also exempted (documentation required, you upload it under Education) with one year of university studies in one of the above-mentioned countries, where the language of instruction was English.

If we are in doubt about the language skills of a candidate, we might ask for a skype interview during the admission process. If so, we will contact you to set up an appointment.

  • Motivation letter – We inquire into why you want to apply at BAS and what background you actively negotiate in your meeting with architecture. Discuss and describe aspects of practice, fields of interest and expressions you personally have experienced to give architecture meaning. Upload your motivation letter as word or pdf.

Parts to be filled in manually:  (please note that there is a maximum of 4000 characters in each answer)

  • Bachelor degree in Architecture: From which school?
  • When did you start and end your Bachelor degree? Month/year – Month/year
  • Do you have other relevant education?
  • Documentation of English skills, scroll down and tick your level of knowledge.
  • Input skype address (if you have one)
  • Next of Kin: Who to contact in case of emergency; family, partner, etc. Voluntary but strongly recommended.

 An admission committee will evaluate all the applicants; we accept approximately 10 students to 4th year admission. Some years the number of students accepted may be lower or higher due to various capacity in the school building. You can expect an answer from us at the latest by 15. May. We will contact you via your registered e-mail.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MASTER STUDIES AT BAS
The two last years will consist of the following:

  • 3 semester courses (integrated course package that includes architecture, design, art, theory and construction. A master course at BAS is not split into minor course units, one semester will give credit of 30 ECTS, for one full year 60 ECTS.
  • Plus 1 semester diploma thesis, concluded with an exam for external assessors. Self-programmed project with tutorials and reviews offered from the school. This project will be evaluated by external assessors during the diploma exam.

This gives you a total of 120 ECTS when completing your diploma exam. You will then be given a diploma from BAS which gives you the title Master of Architecture. Please note that this is a regular Master, not PhD.

We have semester courses in the following categories:

  • Restructuring of urban settlement
  • Restructuring of rural settlement
  • Complex building
  • Architect in another culture
  • Construction where architectonical projecting/design is the foundation
  • Exchange study: 1 semester exchange will be possible for external applicants.
  • Other

The regulations at BAS are as follows:
You need a minimum of Bachelor level before applying at BAS. This will be recognized as the first three years of study at BAS.
You must pass 3 semester courses before you start your diploma semester. You will have 2 attempts only to take your diploma exam. BAS does not have other grades than PASS / FAIL.  If you fail one semester course, you must take a complete new course the next semester.
Please note that it is a full time study, and you will pay regular tuition fee per semester,  at the time NOK 20.310,- (NOK 40.620,- for a full academic year) , plus a fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, plus a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,-. The tuition fee will be price adjusted annually according to the consumer price index. Tuition fee paid in due time is requirement in order to continue to the next semester. BAS does not have any scholarships available.

Important information for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA

The Norwegian government has decided to introduce tuition fees for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, effective autumn semester 2023. BAS has to follow this regulation, and for applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, applying for a degree at BAS starting August 2023, the tuition fee will be a total of NOK 307.234,- for one full academic year. In addition comes the fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, plus a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,- per semester.

This does not apply to exchange students from partner universities which are exempt from paying tuition fee. Degree seeking students from the EU/EEA/EFTA will pay regular tuition fee of NOK 40.620,-per year..

You must take full responsibility of your own situation, both practically, financially and of your own study situation. BAS will offer the same conditions for the architectural training as for the other regular students at BAS, and with the same level of demands and requirements.

The school year: The exact dates will be confirmed once you are admitted to BAS: The autumn semester will always start Mid-August, last day before Christmas is always around December 20th. We start again around 4th of January. The spring term is concluded end of May or during the first week of June. Your last diploma semester is concluded with an examination 27.-30. June. Followed by a public exhibition and celebration in August the same year.

Governmental / formal regulations. In case you are admitted to BAS, please note the following for foreign citizens (Non-EU):
Important – you must apply for a residence permit for students in order to study in Norway. Check out the UDI pages for more information. This must in most cases be done from your country of origin.  As soon as you are accepted at BAS, we will send you a letter of admission. For the residence permit, it is also required that you have documentation of housing. BAS is not able to provide accommodation for you, but we may assist you in reserving student housing through the Students Welfare Organization in Bergen. (Sammen)  Have a look at the Sammen pages for more information. More information about this will follow once you are admitted to BAS.

Please note that it is your own responsibility to find accommodation.

In addition, you must provide Documentation of subsistence. You must be ensured subsistence for the period to which the application relates. You must have financial means equivalent to full funding by the State Educational Loan Fund at the current rate. For the academic year 2023-24 this amounts to NOK 137.907,-. The tuition fee will come in addition to the above-mentioned subsistence requirement. (If your only way is to deposit the amount in a Norwegian bank account, BAS will have an bank account for this purpose).

Here you can download a general information folder about BAS.

Please contact administration adm@bas.org if you have further queries.


Exchange study at BAS

Students from partner institutions of BAS can apply for 1 or 2 semester exchange at BAS. This will be through the networks Erasmus and Nordplus, plus bilaterale agreements. Please note that you must have completed your bachelor degree before applying for exchange to BAS.

Students who are interested in exchange to BAS must fill out an online application form. Contact your international coordinator in your school and check the nomination procedure and how to proceed with the application. The application is done via on online application portal which we will give you access to after you have been nominated. The application must be submitted 15. April for starting studies in the Fall, and 1. October for studies in the spring.  Make sure your exchange coordinator sends an e-mail to BAS and nominates you in advance to give you time to work on the application. 

It is important to respect these deadlines, as we have a committee that is evaluating the applications. The applicant will receive an answer at the latest by 15. May / 1. November if we are able to offer them a student position at BAS. We only accept students who have completed minimum 3 years of architectural training.
Please note that BAS has limited capacity due to the size of our school building. Therefore we cannot guarantee that we will be able to admit all exchange students that apply. We do out outermost to fulfill our obligations towards our partners, but in some case exchange students might be rejected in competition with other strong candidates. Based upon this, it is wise to spend some time in making a good portfolio. The portfolios are an important part of the evaluation process. We strongly encourage you to have an alternative destination in case you are not admitted.

About the online application: if you are nominated, it is important that your read the text below APPLICATIONS STEP BY STEP FOR EXCHANGE STUDENTS before you start the online application. 

LOG IN: Enter the link to the online application portal. First you need to enter your e-mail and create a password. Try to remember your password, in case you forget the next time you log in, you can always ask for a new one in the system. We strongly recommend that you in advance prepare the documents to be uploaded and the parts that need to be filled in manually. The reason for this is that your application will not be saved until you submit the application in the end of the application process. That means you cannot do half of it and return later.  If you log out, you lose what you have added.

Once you have submitted the application, you can log in and change it up until the application deadline has expired.

Personal information:e-mail, name, address, date of birth, gender, educational background (high school level), citizenship, phone.

Mandatory documents to be uploaded:  

  • Portfolio – Upload your portfolio (max 5MB) We do not want paperback versions of portfolios. Your portfolio is very important part of your application, it should contain your school projects, but also may include other architectural and artistic projects to show your skills and interest. If you deliver your portfolio in ANY other way, (issu, wetransfer, google drive etc) it is YOUR responsibility to make sure we have received it. Contact us at adm@bas.org once you have sent it. BAS will not contact the applicants in case the portfolio is missing.
  • Photo – upload a photo of yourself, the type you would use in a passport/Id card.
  • Motivation letter – We inquire into why you want to be an exchange student at BAS. Upload your motivation letter as word or pdf.

Parts to be filled in manually: (please note that there is a maximum of 4000 characters in each answer)

  • Your intended period of study at BAS (scroll down to select one option: autumn only / spring only / both semesters)  Must be according to what your home school has nominated you for.
  • Home institution: name of your school
  • Total length of your study programme and how many semesters you have completed by now? For instance, 10 semesters/ 5 semesters
  • Name of coordinator in your home institution? The person that is dealing with your exchange period.
  • E-mail address of your coordinator in home institution
  • Next of Kin: Who to contact in case of emergency; family, partner, etc. Voluntary but strongly recommended.

In case you are admitted to BAS: 

ERASMUS/NORDPLUS/BILATERAL AGREEMENT: Students will be placed in a semester course for the 4th year, with an integrated course package that might include architecture, design, art, theory and construction. One master course is not split into minor course units, so one semester will give credit of 30 ECTS, for one full year 60 ECTS.

We cannot guarantee that the complete program for the courses will be available by the time of applying, but we will provide this a soon as possible before the exchange student arrives in Bergen. The teaching will be in English, so it is not required to speak and understand Norwegian in order to study at BAS. We do not ask for any language test score for exchange students, but trust that the home institution selects candidates that can manage with English in another country.

Accommodation: For exchange students we can assist you in applying for a single room through the Student Housing in Bergen. That is if we respect the deadline for applying for a room which is 15. May/ 15. October. For students that receive an offer, we will give all required information about application for housing.

BAS is a private school of Architecture, and the students here pay tuition fee. For students in an Exchange program there will be no tuition fee. All cost for study equipment, books, field trips etc. must be covered by the student.

BAS is a rather small school, with approx. 160 students divided on 5 years of study. Exchange students are automatically members of the SAMMEN – the Students Welfare Organisation  in Bergen which offers a lot of welfare services. Our semesters run from mid August until approx..20. December /Approx.4 January –  end of May. Christmas Break is from 21. December until 3. January. We are always closed in the Easter week after Palm Sunday

Here you can download a general information folder about BAS. If you require more information, please contact adm@bas.org

For the Erasmus program, BAS has agreed on some principles, and these can be read at the BAS ERASMUS EXTENDED UNIVERSITY CHARTER.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.


Visiting student

Students from institutions that do not have an exchange agreement with BAS, or other interested, have the opportunity to apply as visiting student.

Regulations for  Visiting Student  at BAS 

This letter is to inform you about the possibility of becoming – Visiting student (free mover, not part of exchange program)

The main issue for applying as visiting student at BAS, is your motivation and dedication, and wanting to learn something new. It could be that you have started an education in your country, and want to get some new impulses, or that you have worked for a while and want to get a new perspective on things.

The regular study at BAS has duration of 5 years, divided into two parts; 3 years in first part, and 2 years in second part. The first part is concluded with an examination. Passing this exam gives the right to continue to the second part. The main exam/Diploma is included in the last term and counts 5 months. Passing the Diploma gives the right to the academic title Master in Architecture. Please note that we do not offer a Bachelor degree, we have professional degree with duration of 5 years.

For visiting students from institutions which are not part of exchange program, it is possible to study for one or two terms in the second part/master level.(maximum 1 year)  As a minimum, you will normally have to have completed 3 years of architectural study before you apply to BAS. (if you have a different background, contact us to hear if you are eligible. A regular school fee applies for this category. (for the time being NOK 20.310,- per term  plus a fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, and a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,-.) The tuition fee will be price adjusted annually according to the consumer price index. Tuition fee paid in due time is requirement in order to continue to the next semester. BAS does not have any scholarships available. The tuition fee will cover the teaching, it does not include expenses for materials nor the mandatory field trips.

Important information for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA

The Norwegian government has decided to introduce tuition fees for students from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, effective from autumn semester 2023. BAS has to follow this regulation, and for applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA/EFTA, applying for a degree or as visiting student at BAS following August 2024, the tuition fee will be a total of NOK 307.234,- for one full academic year, NOK 153.617,- for one semester. In addition comes the fee to the Students Welfare Organisation in Bergen of NOK 690,-, plus a smaller copyright fee of NOK 259,- per semester.
IMPORTANT: If you fulfill a specific requirements, you may be exempt from paying tuition fees. Documentation for exemption must be uploaded in your application in the application portal. We refer to an external web page at the university of Bergen with a good general overview of what can qualify for exemption: https://www.uib.no/en/education/163681/exemptions-paying-tuition-fees

If you are Non EU/EEA/EFTA, please note that you will also have to apply for residence permit to study in Norway, and then there is a requirement that you document subsistence. Meaning an amount of NOK 137.907,- per year that comes in addition to the tuition fee. This is to prove that you have enough money to provide for yourself while studying in Norway. For more info: https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/studies/

This does not apply to exchange students from partner universities, or to students from the EU/EEA/EFTA.

Application visiting student: You need to apply via our online application portal by 15. April CET  (for studies in the fall) and 1. October (for studies in the spring).  

Applications that arrive after the deadline will not be considered. The master level at BAS is always taught in English.

Very important to read the text below APPLICATION STEP BY STEP FOR VISITING STUDENTS before you start the online application process. 

APPLICATION STEP BY STEP FOR VISITING STUDENTS

After you have read the text below, enter the link to the online application portal. application deadline 15 April 2024  

First you need to enter your e-mail and create a password. Try to remember your password, in case you forget the next time you log in, you can always ask for a new one in the system.

We strongly recommend that you in advance prepare the documents to be uploaded and the parts that need to be filled in manually. The reason for this is that your application will not be saved until you submit the application in the end of the application process. That means you cannot do half of it and return later.  If you log out, you lose what you have added.

Once you have submitted the application, you can log in and change it up until the application deadline has expired.

THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE APPLICATION (for preparation)  

Personal information
e-mail, name, address, date of birth, gender, educational background (high school level), citizenship, phone.

Mandatory documents to be uploaded:  

  • Portfolio –Upload your portfolio (max 5MB) We do not want paperback versions of portfolios. Your portfolio is very important part of your application, it should contain your school projects, but also may include other architectural and artistic projects to show your skills and interest. If you deliver your portfolio in ANY other way, (issu, wetransfer, google drive etc) it is YOUR responsibility to make sure we have received it. Contact us at adm@bas.org once you have sent it. BAS will not contact the applicants in case the portfolio is missing.
  • Photo–upload a photo of yourself, the type you would use in a passport/Id card.
  •  Education: Certificate/transcript–your certified/original Bachelor certificate, or if you are not yet done with your final exams, upload your transcript of your courses so far.
  •  Motivation letter-We inquire into why you want to be a visiting student at BAS. Upload your motivation letter as word or pdf.

Parts to be filled in manually:  (please note that there is a maximum of 4000 characters in each answer)

  • Your intended period of study at BAS (scroll down to select)
  • Bachelor degree in Architecture: From which school?
  • When did you start and end your Bachelor degree? Month/year – Month/year
  • Next of Kin: Who to contact in case of emergency; family, partner, etc. Voluntary but strongly recommended.

We advise you to check the possibilities you have for financing your studies in Norway. Have a look at the website for Lånekassen (Norwegian State Education Loan Fund).

Here you will find an  information folder about BAS.
Contact adm@bas.org if you have further questions.

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