UiA gets law degree accreditation
After reconsidering the application to create a master’s degree in law, the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) has now approved the application. UiA plans to launch the programme in August 2023.
(Photo) Information about available student places - see below.
“This is a happy day for UiA. Many people have worked hard to establish a law education for students in Agder, and now it will finally become a reality,” says Rector Sunniva Whittaker.
UiA’s application was initially rejected in October 2022. NOKUT later withdrew the rejection to assess new information from the university and to ensure equal treatment with other applicant institutions. UiA employed one full-time and one part-time professor of law after the first application was sent.
The approval from NOKUT arrived on Wednesday 8 February 2023. The next step in the process is a formal application to the Ministry of Education for a change in the degree regulations, to give UiA the right to award masters’ degrees in law.
“It is important that we get an efficient handling in the ministry, so that our employees and students can start already in the autumn. We are ready here at UiA,” Whittaker says.
“The region can retain our skills and expertise”
UiA currently has a bachelor’s programme in law. UiA students who have wanted a law degree, have had to complete their education elsewhere in the country. The national student survey, Studiebarometeret, showed in 2022 that UiA had the second-most satisfied bachelor’s students in law.
Maryam Bokdasji is a third-year law student in the bachelor’s programme at UiA and is part of the first cohort who can apply to a master’s degree.
“Many of the students have always wanted to be able to take their entire degree in Agder, but up until now that has not been possible. Many people who have a connection with the region end up moving to Oslo or Bergen,” Bokdasji says.
“These are skills and qualifications that Agder as a region needs. Just look at all the exciting initiatives happening across the region. It is great that those of us who wish to continue our law education at UiA now have the opportunity to do so,” she continues.
A full description of the programme and master’s application information will be available on uia.no as soon as possible.
Sørlandet Knowledge Foundation and Aust-Agder Knowledge Foundation both contribute funds to this development.
The University of Stavanger also had its application approved in this round. BI Norwegian Business School received its approval from NOKUT in October 2022.
Read more about the decision in NOKUT’s press release (Norwegian only)