Language requirements for employees at OsloMet - Ansatt

Language requirements for employees at OsloMet

Language requirements for employees at OsloMet

All employees at OsloMet, including academic staff, technical/administrative staff, and managers, are expected to have good written and spoken proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, and English.
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By "good proficiency," it is meant that language skills should not hinder or delay the performance of work tasks. Normally, this corresponds to a minimum of level B2.

For the job categories of professor, professor (dosent), associate professor (førsteamanuensis), associate professor (førstelektor), assistant professor (universitetslektor), and university teacher (universitetslærer), the requirement for Norwegian language proficiency is regulated by the regulations to the Universities and University Colleges Act §§ 3-2 to 3-7.

The requirement of B2 level in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish must be documented by presenting a certificate from the Norwegian language test for adult immigrants developed by the Directorate for Higher Education and Competence, or an equivalent certificate from Sweden or Denmark.
Citizens of Norway, Sweden or Denmark, and applicants who have completed upper secondary education in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish are exempt from the requirement to document language skills at level B2.

If an opportunity is given to achieve Norwegian language proficiency at level B2 within three years from the date of employment, this will be stated in the job advertisement. When applying for promotion or transfer, postponement of documentation of the Norwegian language requirement is not granted.

Employees hired with the requirement to achieve Norwegian language proficiency at level B2 within three years from the date of employment will be credited with training hours as follows (applies only to those hired after 14.08.2023):

  • 300 hours during the first year of employment

  • 300 hours distributed over the next two years of employment

For the job categories of PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow, there is no requirement for Norwegian language proficiency upon employment, but applicants who cannot document Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 will be offered Norwegian language training through OsloMet’s regular offerings for employees.

Employees who do not have sufficient proficiency in English shall be offered training.