Perspectives on the Energy Transition (part-time)
Learn more about the challenges and opportunities associated with the energy transition, drawing on perspectives from law, economics, natural sciences and social sciences. Online part-time course starts at UiB in autumn 2026. Open for applications now!
Introduction
UiB has developed a new online part-time course, designed to provide a broad, interdisciplinary approach to sustainability and the global energy transition. The topics and perspectives draw on natural sciences, social sciences, law, ethics and economics.
The course is offered at Master’s level and can be taken as a stand-alone continuing education course. In the longer term, the course is planned to form part of a part-time Master’s program in renewable energy currently under development.
Academic Content
The program is divided into six thematic modules:
Module 1 provides an introduction to the energy transition and sustainability.
Module 2 addresses the background to the energy transition. It covers climate change—its causes and consequences—along with ethical and moral dilemmas related to responsibility and burden-sharing in efforts to address and halt climate change.
Module 3 offers a brief overview of different renewable energy sources, with a primary focus on energy storage and subsurface storage.
Module 4 examines the natural resources and technologies that are critical to the transition. It also discusses the importance of access to and utilisation of these various resources and technologies.
Module 5 focuses on the legal aspects of the energy transition, including relevant regulatory and legal frameworks related to climate change, the energy transition and resource utilisation.
Module 6, the final module, explores the energy transition and society, addressing topics such as land use, social sciences, politics and economics.
Key themes throughout the programme include:
- driving forces and motivations behind the transition to a more sustainable energy system and a low-emission society
- climate change, resource bases and technologies that enable the energy transition
- key technologies in the energy transition, including hydrogen, CO₂ capture and storage, mineral requirements and artificial intelligence, as well as their technical and societal implications
- interdisciplinary challenges related to the energy transition, with particular emphasis on environmental, technical, legal, economic and social science perspectives
- legal frameworks and regulatory mechanisms that govern and influence the energy transition
How is the programme structured?
The programme is offered on a part-time basis over approximately 15 weeks during the autumn semester, starting for the first time in autumn 2026.
Teaching is delivered entirely online via UiB’s learning platform, Mitt UiB, to which you will gain access once you have been admitted as a student. For each of the six modules, you will find 2–5 video lectures, as well as assignments and discussion forums related to the topic of the module. You will also complete quizzes after each lecture.
Teaching in autumn 2026
The programme begins with a joint digital kick-off meeting in early September 2026 (date to be announced).
You will work through the six modules at your own pace, before meeting for an optional, full-day in-person session in Bergen in late October (date to be announced). Attendance at this session is voluntary, and you may choose whether you have the time and opportunity to participate.
One or two additional digital sessions will also be organized in the afternoons during the semester. Dates and times will be announced later.
During the autumn semester, you will write a term paper. Both the assignments linked to each module and the term paper must be approved before you are eligible to sit the final examination.
Assessment
The programme concludes with a digital take-home examination (dates to be announced).
Assessment is on a pass/fail basis.
Admission requirements and Documentation
Admission requirements
The course is offered at Master’s level, and you must therefore document that you meet both of the admission requirements listed below:
- A Bachelor’s degree, cand.mag. degree, or an equivalent degree or basic education amounting to a minimum of three years / 180 credits. There is no requirement that your prior education be in specific subject areas.
- A minimum of two years of relevant work experience.
You must document that you meet both requirements. Particularly extensive and relevant work experience beyond the minimum requirement of two years may, following an individual assessment, replace up to one year of the educational requirement (60 credits).
Required documentation
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To enable us to process your application, we must receive documentation showing that you meet the admission requirements:
- Diploma and/or transcript(s) from higher education
- CV
- Documentation of relevant work experience
If you have completed your education at UiB or at other public universities or university colleges in Norway, we will in most cases be able to access this information directly, and you do not need to upload any documentation. If you have completed your education at a private institution, abroad, or if it has been a long time since you completed your studies, you will be asked to upload diplomas and transcripts together with your application. Once you log in to submit your application, you will find an overview of which educational institutions share results automatically.
You must also upload your CV and documentation of relevant work experience, such as certificates of employment from previous positions or a confirmation of employment from, for example, your immediate supervisor or HR department, documenting the position and duration/scope of employment. An employment contract or CV alone is not considered sufficient documentation.
Study costs
Tuition fee
The standard tuition fee for the programme is approximately NOK 25,000.
As the course is being offered for the first time in autumn 2026, it is available at an introductory price of NOK 11,000.
The tuition fee covers all costs related to teaching and examination.
Course literature, as well as travel and accommodation expenses related to the optional in-person session in Bergen in late October, are not included and must be covered separately by the individual participant or their employer.
An invoice for the tuition fee will be issued around the start of the semester.
By default, the invoice will be sent to you personally. If your employer is covering the tuition fee, the employer must complete a form with invoicing details. You will receive further information about this once you have been offered a place on the programme.
Semester fee
All students are also required to pay a legally mandated personal semester fee of NOK 650 per semester. This fee is paid to Sammen – the Student Welfare Organisation for Western Norway – and contributes to shared welfare services and facilities for students.
You will receive further information on how and when to pay the semester fee after you have been offered a place on the programme.
Do you want more information?
Do you have questions about the academic content, organisation or teaching? Please contact the Department of Earth Science: