Bible- or art school

Female student smiling. Photo.

Loans and grants for attending bible schools or art schools

Bible- og art schools are different type of schools. If you are a pupil at a bible- og art school, you may receive basic support for up to ten months.

If you attend a bible school or art school, you no longer receive a grant as you perhaps received for upper secondary education, but you receive a loan.

You may receive basic support of up to NOK 125,370 for the whole year, and 40 per cent of the loan can be converted to a grant. If you are paying tuition fees, you can receive an extra loan to cover them.

All students can receive basic support, and this is what most people call a student loan.

The loan is free of interest for as long as you are receiving loans for full-time education

In order for the loan to be free of interest and instalments, you must be taking a student loan for full-time education. When you no longer receive a student loan or go from full- to part-time studies, interest will accrue on the loan and you must start repayments.

Application deadlines

You must have a study place before applying. The final deadline for applying is

  • 15 November for the entire year or just the autumn semester
  • 15 March for the spring semester

Assessment time

Most applications are processed within 24 hours, but more complex cases can take a long time to process. Make sure you apply as early as possible, so that the money is in your account when the semester starts.

To the application

Are you paying tuition fees?

You may borrow up to
NOK 74,366
for tuition fees

You may have an extra loan for covering tuition fees. The extra loan will not be converted to a grant and must be paid pack in full.

The amount applies for full time students who are studying for the entire academic year. If you are studying a single semester, you will receive a maximum of half the amount, and if you are studying part time, the loan will be reduced.

You may only receive a loan to cover tuition fees. Other expenses for accommodation or books, are not covered. You cannot receive a bigger loan than the tuition fees you are paying the school.

When do I receive the funds?

You receive larger
disbursements in
August and January.

The first disbursement in the school year arrives when the folk high school has confirmed that you are attending.

You receive a larger amount at the start of each semester than in the other months. 40 per cent of the support amount each semester is disbursed in the first month.

The funds are disbursed on the 15th of each month, with the exception of the first disbursement

Part-time or shorter academic year?

You receive a
smaller loan
if you study part-time.

Most students at bible schools or art schools take full-year courses full-time. If you are taking a shorter course full-time, you receive ordinary basic support for the months the course lasts. If you are attending a course part-time, the basic support is reduced corresponding to your part-time percentage. This also means that the grant is reduced.

You take out a loan

You do not receive a grant in the same way as in upper secondary education, but up to 40 per cent of the loan may subsequently be converted to a grant.

When you attend an art school or bible school, you receive loans and grants under the same rules that apply for university and university college education. There are some differences from receiving grants for upper secondary education that are important to be aware of.

You must repay the loan when you have completed your education

When you no longer receive loans for full-time education, you are sent a repayment plan and must start to pay instalments. The first instalment is due approximately seven months after the final disbursement from Lånekassen.

The loan is interest-free only for as long as you are receiving loans or grants for full-time education.

40 per cent of the basic support can be converted to a grant

If you complete the school year and have income and assets below the limits, 40 per cent of the loan is converted to a grant. This means that you are not required to repay it. You will receive a separate decision from us when the loan is converted.

If you live at home with your parents, you are not qualified for a grant

Only those living away from home may have loans converted to grants. If you are living in a dormitory, you are considered to be living away from home.

Conversion only takes place the year after you have completed your education

The loan is not converted to a grant until we have checked your income and assets. We only do this when your tax assessment is ready for the year or years in which you received the loan from us.

This means that if you completed a year at a folk high school in the spring of 2023, your loan is not converted to a grant before the spring/summer of 2024.

More about conversion

Extra grants and loans

If you have children, become ill or have reduced functional ability, you may receive extra grants and/or loans from Lånekassen.

What you may receive depends on your situation.

Related rules