The Royal Ministry of Education and Research (, KD; full name: ''Det kongelige kunnskapsdepartement'') is a

Norwegian government The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power ...

ministry responsible for

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, research,

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

s and integration. The ministry was established in 1814 as the Royal Ministry of Church and Education Affairs. The current Minister of Education is

Tonje Brenna Tonje Brenna (born 21 October 1987) is a Norwegian politician currently serving as the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion since 2023. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as its deputy leader since 2023 and previously served as the ...

of the Labour Party and the current Minister of Research and Higher Education is

Ola Borten Moe Ola Borten Moe (born 6 June 1976) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was an MP for Sør-Trøndelag from 2005 to 2013, and was re-elected in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, he served as Minister of Research and Higher Education. He also ...

of the Centre Party. The department reports to the legislature (

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

et).

History

The ministry was established in 1814, following the dissolution of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

, in which the joint central government administration of the two formally separate but closely integrated kingdoms, had been based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Originally named the Ministry of Church and Education Affairs, the ministry was the first of six government ministries established in 1814, and was also known as the First Ministry. The other ministries were the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Police, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of War. Norway was in a union with Sweden with a common foreign and defense policy until 1905, however church and educational policy was entirely the domain of each respective national government. The ministry was previously responsible for church affairs, but this function was transferred to the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

in 2002. Kindergartens were transferred to the ministry in 2006.

Name

The full formal name of the ministry is ''Det kongelige kunnskapsdepartement'' (literally "the royal ministry of knowledge"), but this name tends to be used only on formal occasions and in formal letters. In everyday speech the ministry is known by the short form ''Kunnskapsdepartementet'' ("the ministry of knowledge").

Organisation

Political staff

As of November 2023, the political staff of the ministry is as follows: * Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun ( Labour Party) ** State Secretary Sindre Lysø (Labour Party) ** State Secretary Synnøve Mjeldheim Skaar (Labour Party) ** Political Adviser Øyvind Jacobsen (Labour Party) * Minister of Research and Higher Education Sandra Borch ( Centre Party) ** State Secretary Oddmund Løkensgard Hoel (Centre Party) ** Political Adviser Signe Bjotveit (Labour Party)

Departments

The Ministry of Education and Research consists of seven departments: * Department of Integration * Department of Schools and Kindergartens * Department of Education, Training and Skills Policy * Department of Administration and Strategic Priorities * Department of Legal Affairs * Department of Governance of Higher Education and Research Institutions * Department of Higher Education, Research and International Affairs

Subsidiaries

Subordinate agencies

The following

government agencies A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, ...

are subordinate to the ministry: *

Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, NOKUT is a Norwegian government agency, established in 2003 as part of the Quality Reform. Its areas of responsibility include quality assessment of Norwegian universities, university coll ...

, or ''Nasjonalt organ for kvalitet i utdanningen''
Official site
conducts quality assurance of higher education institutions and tertiary vocational training, as well as recognition of degrees from foreign countries. *

Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

, or ''Direktorat for internasjonalisering og kvalitetsutvikling i høyere utdanning''
Official site
Promotes international cooperation in higher education and research. *

Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund () is a government agency that allocates loans and grants to Norwegian and certain foreign students for their education. Lånekassen was established in 1947. Lånekassen is organized under the Ministry o ...

, or ''Statens lånekasse for utdanning''
Official site
Awards loans and grants to students. * Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service, or ''Samordna opptak''
Official site
Coordinates admission to most undergraduate courses at state universities and colleges. * Skills Norway, or ''Kompetanse Norge''
Official site
works in areas such as adult education in basic skills, Norwegian language and socio-cultural orientation, vocational training, career advice and matching skills with the needs of the labour market. *

Unit Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

- the Directorate for ICT and Joint Services in Higher Education and Research
Official site
provides governance of and access to shared

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

(ICT) services. *

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; ) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,7 billion (2022) annually. The Research ...

, or ''Norges forskningsråd''
Official site
is responsible for research funding and research policy. * The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees, or ''De nasjonale forskningsetiske komiteene''
Official site
are professionally independent agencies for questions regarding research ethics, and for investigating misconduct in all fields of study. * Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, or ''Utdanningsdirektoratetet''
Official site
Responsible for the development of primary and secondary education. Approves the primary and secondary school curriculum. * Statped
Official site
is a national service for special needs education for county municipalities and

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. * National Parents' Committee for Kindergartens, or ''Foreldreutvalget for barnehager'' (FUB)
Official site
ensures that the voices of parents are heard in debates on kindergarten policy, and it also acts as the Ministry of Education and Research's advisory and consultative body representing parents interests. *

National Parents' Committee for Primary and Secondary Education National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, or ''Foreldreutvalget for grunnskolen'' (FUG)
Official site
ensures that the voices of parents are heard in debates on education policy, and it also acts as the Ministry of Education and Research's advisory and consultative body representing parents' interests. *

Directorate of Integration and Diversity The Directorate of Integration and Diversity () is a Norwegian government agency which is responsible for implementing public policy concerning refugees and integration. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and was est ...

, or ''Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet''
Official site
is responsible for implementing public policy concerning integration. * 22 July Information Center, or ''22. juli-senteret''
Official site
is an information center dedicated to the 22 July 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway, in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and at

Utøya Utøya () is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. ...

. *

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (; NUPI) is a Norwegian research institution based in Oslo, Norway. It was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1959. History The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) was establ ...

, or ''Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt''
Official site
Foreign policy research. * VEA – State School for Gardeners and Florists, or ''Norges grønne fagskole - Vea''
Official site
Educates gardeners and flower decorators at secondary school level.

Universities

Nord University Nord University (; ; ) is a state university in Nordland and Trøndelag counties of Norway. As of 2024, it is the second-largest research and educational institution in Northern Norway with more than 11,000 students at study locations in Northe ...

, or ''Nord universitet''
Official site
*

Norwegian University of Life Sciences The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus (county), Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 185 ...

, or ''Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet''
Official site
*

Norwegian University of Science and Technology The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...

, or ''Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet''
Official site
*

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

, or ''Universitetet i Bergen''
Official site
*

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, or ''Universitetet i Oslo''
Official site
*

University of Stavanger The University of Stavanger ( Norwegian: '','' UiS) is a public research university located in Stavanger, Norway. It was established in 2005 when the Stavanger University College received university status. The university is organised in six f ...

, or ''Universitetet i Stavanger''
Official site
*

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway a ...

, or ''Universitetet i Tromsø''
Official site
*

University of Agder The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university college (Scandinavia), univer ...

, or ''Universitetet i Agder''
Official site
*

Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Metropolitan University (Oslomet; )"Skrivemåten av universitetsnamnet Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet," Language Council of Norway, 17/677-4/DGI, 18 January 2018 is a state university in Oslo and Kjeller in Norway. It is the result of ...

, or ''Oslomet – storbyuniversitet''
Official site
* University of South-east Norway, or ''Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge''
Official site

Specialised University Colleges

Oslo School of Architecture and Design The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (, AHO) is an autonomous institution within the Norwegian university system. The School offers education in the fields of architecture, urbanism, design, and landscape architecture. AHO offers three f ...

, or ''Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo''
Official site
*

Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration The Norwegian School of Economics () or NHH is a business school situated in Bergen, Norway. It was founded in 1936 as Norway's first business school and is the leading teaching and research institution in Norway for the fields of management and ...

, or ''Norges handelshøgskole''
Official site
*

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (, NIH) is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides education at the Bachelor, Mast ...

, or ''Norges idrettshøgskole''
Official site
*

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

, or ''Norges musikkhøgskole''
Official site
*

Norwegian School of Veterinary Science Norwegian School of Veterinary Science () or NVH was a public university located at Adamstuen in Oslo, that educated veterinarians and veterinary nurses as well as research within aquatic medicine, food safety, comparative medicine and mam ...

, or ''Norges veterinærhøgskole''
Official site
*

Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, ''KHiO'') is a tertiary institution in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in Norway that teaches in v ...

, or ''Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo''
Official site
*

MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society (MF for short) is a Norwegian private specialized university. MF focuses on education, research and dissemination of their fields of expertise. The specialized university is located at Majorstu ...

, or Det teologiske menighets fakultet
Official site
*

BI Norwegian Business School BI Norwegian Business School () is a Norwegian specialized university that provides education and conducts research primarily in the fields of business and economics, marketing, strategy, management, and administration. BI is organized as a self ...

, or ''Handelshøyskolen BI''
Official site
*

Molde University College Molde University College - Specialized University in Logistics (, abbreviated ''HiM'' or ''HiMolde'') is a Norway, Norwegian Higher education in Norway, specialized university. It is located in the town of Molde (town), Molde in Molde Municipalit ...

, or ''Høgskolen i Molde - Vitenskapelig høgskole i logistikk''
Official site

University Colleges

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences The University of Inland Norway (also known as INN University, ) is a state university in Innlandet county, Norway. It was established in 2017 as the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, from the merger of the Hedmark University College ...

, or ''Høgskolen i Innlandet'' (Official site) * Sámi University College, or ''Samisk høgskole ''
Official site
*

Volda University College Volda University College ( or HVO) is one of the no-tuition state institutions in the system of higher education in Norway. It is located in Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. History HVO was established on 1 August 1994, when the Mør ...

, or ''Høgskolen i Volda''
Official site
*

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences () or HVL is a Norwegian public institution of higher education, established in January 2017 through the merging of formerly independent colleges across five campuses: Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, So ...

, or ''Høgskolen på Vestlandet''
Official site
*

Østfold University College Østfold University College (, HiØ) is a University college (Scandinavia), university college in Østfold, Østfold county, Norway. It has campuses in Fredrikstad and Halden, and has around 7000 students (as of 2017) and 550 employees (as of 20 ...

, or ''Høgskolen i Østfold''
Official site

Limited companies

Norwegian Centre for Research Data The Norwegian Centre for Research Data () (NSD) was a Norwegian institution established to manage data for the research community of Norway. Until 1 March 2016 it was known as Norwegian Social Science Data Services. In 2022, the organization was mer ...

, or ''Norsk senter for forskningsdata''
Official site
Information and data services for higher education and research. *

University Centre in Svalbard The University Centre in Svalbard (; UNIS) is a Norway, Norwegian state enterprise, state-owned aksjeselskap, limited company that is involved in research and provides some higher education in Arctic studies. The company is wholly owned by the Min ...

, or ''Universitetssenteret på Svalbard''
Official site
conducts research and some university-level educational offerings in Arctic studies. *

Uninett Uninett AS is a state-owned company responsible for Norway's National Research and Education Network. The organization develops and operates the national research network in Norway. The center of operations in located at Teknobyen Innovation ...

Official site
Operates the national education and research internet communication network and the norid domain register. *

Simula Research Laboratory Simula Research Laboratory (also known as Simula) is a Norwegian non-profit research organisation located in Oslo, Norway. Simula was founded in 2001 by the Norwegian government to conduct fundamental, long-term research within information and c ...

Official site
conducts research in the fields of networks and distributed systems,

scientific computing Computational science, also known as scientific computing, technical computing or scientific computation (SC), is a division of science, and more specifically the Computer Sciences, which uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and s ...

, and

software engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norwegian Ministry Of Education And Research Education and Research Education in Norway

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Ministries established in 1814 1814 establishments in Norway Research ministries