Completion rates of students in higher education, 2014/2015

Among all new students entering higher education in 2007, 41 per cent had completed a degree at bachelor level and 24 per cent had completed at master level within eight years.

Women are more likely to complete than men

For male students entering higher education in 2007, 59 per cent had completed a degree at bachelor or master level within eight years. For female students, the corresponding figure was 68 per cent. For new students younger than 25 years, 69 per cent of the men and 78 of the women completed. For new students aged 25 years and older in 2007, 35 per cent of the men and 44 per cent of the women completed a degree within eight years.

Completion rates increase from bachelor programmes

Comparing new entrants to a bachelor programme in 2005 and 2010, 58 per cent of the students in 2005 had completed their degree within three years. Among those students who entered this level in 2010, 66 per cent had completed a bachelor degree within three years.

From the 33 000 students entering a bachelor programme for the first time in 2010, 48 per cent completed their degree within three years. Two years later, 66 per cent of the students had completed. Seventy-one per cent of the women completed their bachelor degree within five years, compared to 58 per cent of the men. During this five-year period, 20 per cent dropped out.

Students entering a bachelor programme in business and administration had the highest drop-out rate at 30 per cent. The lowest drop-out rate was found in nursing and in transport and communication, safety and security and other services, with 13 and 11 per cent respectively.

Three out of four complete a master degree

From the 11 800 students who entered a 1½ and 2-year master programme in 2011, 45 per cent completed their degree within two years. Within 4 years, 65 per cent had completed. Among the 4 700 students who enrolled in a 5-year master programme for the first time in 2008, 48 per cent completed within five years, while 73 per cent completed within seven years.

More than half complete their doctorate degree within five years

From the 1 876 students who enrolled in a doctorate programme for the first time in 2010, more than half (56 per cent) had completed a doctorate qualification five years later. Another 21 per cent were still enrolled in the doctorate programme after five years, and men (61 per cent) are more likely than women (51 per cent) to complete their doctorate degree within five years.

One out of four doctorate students in 2010 had immigrated to Norway within the last five years, and labour or education were the reasons for immigration.