MSc in Economics and Business Administration

NHH Norwegian School of Economics placed 83rd worldwide in the Financial Times Masters in Management 2025 ranking, with a weighted three-year salary of approximately US $77,000 and a 93% employment rate at three months.⁶ Founded in Bergen in 1936, NHH is Norway’s premier business school and holds the rare triple-crown accreditation from EQUIS, AMBA, and AACSB — a distinction shared by fewer than 1% of business schools globally.³ For EEA, EU, and Swiss students, the programme is entirely free of tuition charges, making it one of the most compelling value propositions in Scandinavian MiM.²

Overview

NHH is Norway’s national specialist school of economics and business, established in Bergen in 1936.⁵ It is the country’s only business school represented on the FT Masters in Management table and the only Norwegian institution in the CEMS alliance — the global network of elite business schools whose joint degree, the CEMS Master in International Management, is offered as a dual degree alongside the NHH MSc.⁴

The FT-ranked programme is the MSc in Economics and Business Administration, a two-year, fully English-taught degree structured over 120 ECTS.¹ Within that umbrella, students specialise in one of several majors spanning economics, strategy, finance, and management. NHH’s Bergen location, at the gateway to the Norwegian fjords and close to Norway’s energy and maritime industries, shapes both the school’s academic profile and its recruiter base. For a broader discussion of whether a MiM is the right credential, see our guide on whether a MiM is worth it in 2026.

Curriculum & Structure

The MSc runs for 24 months (120 ECTS) and is built around a chosen major.¹ Core coursework in the first year establishes a grounding in economics, quantitative methods, and business fundamentals. The second year is dominated by the chosen major, an elective cluster, and the master’s thesis — the capstone through which students demonstrate independent research capability.

A notable structural option is the CEMS MIM dual degree.⁴ Students who opt for the CEMS track complete the standard NHH MSc requirements and additionally fulfil the CEMS alliance requirements: an exchange semester at a CEMS partner school abroad, a corporate-led international business project, block seminars, and a modern language skill. Graduates of this track receive both the NHH degree and the CEMS Master in International Management, doubling the credential’s geographic reach. For context on the value of internationally recognised credentials, see our piece on how to build a MiM profile.

Application & Deadlines

NHH admits to the MSc for a single autumn intake each year.¹ The application portal opens 1 November and the deadline for all applicants is 15 February (CET) — a firm, single-round cut-off with no rolling admissions process. Because both EEA and non-EEA applicants compete in the same single window, the February deadline is the operative date for the entire pool. Dates for the 2027/28 intake are not yet published.

Tuition & Funding

The tuition structure is the feature that makes NHH particularly compelling for European applicants.² EEA, EU, and Swiss students pay no tuition — only a semester registration fee of approximately NOK 910 applies per semester, roughly €80 at current rates, covering administrative costs. For non-EEA students, the programme costs NOK 204,000 per year (NOK 408,000 for the full two years).²

Living costs in Bergen are moderate by Norwegian standards and significantly lower than Oslo. The combination of a free or near-free programme for EEA students, triple-crown accreditation, and a ranked degree from Norway’s flagship business school makes NHH one of the most distinctive cost-per-outcome arguments in European MiM. For a direct comparison of the credential against alternatives, see our piece on MiM vs MBA.

Career Outcomes

The Financial Times 2025 ranking reports a weighted three-year salary of approximately US $77,000 and a 93% employment rate at three months for NHH MSc graduates — these are the FT’s standardised cross-school metrics.⁶ NHH does not publish its own salary figure for the MSc; the school reported that spring 2025 graduates achieved a record-high outcome, with 96% in relevant employment, but released no specific earnings number.¹ The FT figure is therefore the primary quantitative benchmark available and should be read as a standardised metric rather than a starting-salary guarantee, given it weights earnings three years post-graduation and adjusts for country of employment.

Graduates are well positioned for roles in Norwegian and Nordic corporates, particularly in the energy, maritime, financial services, and management consulting sectors that anchor Bergen’s and Oslo’s economies. The CEMS network extends career optionality substantially for students on the dual-degree track, connecting them to CEMS alumni across 34 partner schools worldwide. For a framework on building professional networks before and after graduation, see our piece on the funnel theory of networking.

Campus & Reputation

NHH’s campus sits in Bergen, Norway’s second city and the historic gateway to the western fjords.⁵ The school’s triple-crown status — EQUIS accredited since 2001, AMBA since 2020, AACSB since 2022 — reflects sustained institutional quality across teaching, research, and industry engagement.³ As the only Norwegian member of the CEMS alliance, NHH occupies a structurally unique position: it is the single entry point into the CEMS network for students based in or targeting the Norwegian market. School-wide, approximately 15% of NHH’s roughly 3,700 students come from outside Norway, giving the MSc cohort meaningful international composition without the programme-level data required to state precise ratios.¹ The school’s nine-decade track record and its position as Norway’s national business school give the degree strong and durable recognition with graduate employers across Scandinavia and beyond.