Leave of absence from studies

Who is eligible for leave?

Students who do not wish to use their right to study in their given study programme in the coming academic year or semester, may be granted leave in accordance with the Examination Regulations at UiA § 20.

Students have the right to leave in accordance with the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 4-3 d and § 4-3 e. This applies to documented needs in the following circumstances:

• Students who become parents during their studies
• Conscription and service in the armed forces
• Students serving in political positions
• Other special cases (e.g. top athletes)

When can I take leave?

Leave is typically only granted for full semesters. The application deadline is 1 September for the autumn semester and 1 February for the spring semester.

Normally, leave is not granted for the first semester of study, but an exception can be made if you are entitled to leave according to the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 4-3 d and § 4-3 e.

If you need to postpone a study place for which you have been admitted and wish to reserve for the future, you can find information about this here (in Norwegian only).

For shorter absences/leave, such as military service, home care services or other special cases, legitimate absence may be requested during exams or mandatory teaching, cf. Examination Regulations at UiA § 41.

If for some reason you need to take a break from your studies after you have registered for classes, you will still be considered a student for the remainder of that semester. If you cannot take an exam, you must withdraw from your exam, or hand in documentation of your legitimate reason for absence within the given deadlines.

Read more about examination guidelines.

Right to study and payment of semester fees

Taking a leave of absence typcially means that you will not utilise your right to study for an entire semester and that you are a passive student.

If you are on leave, you should therefore not normally register for the semester or pay the fee for the semester(s) in question.

If during your leave you only register for a new or postponed exam, cf. Examination Regulations § 26, you will not need to pay the semester fee, in line with § 19 of the regulations.

If you have been granted a leave of absence as per the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 4-3 d and § 4-3 e, you may sit the exam in subjects you were not allowed to take before the leave period, provided you meet the conditions for sitting the exam and requirements for prior knowledge. For access to such an exam, you must pay the semester fee and register for the exam by the deadline.

Please note that you can pay the semester fee when you are on leave if you wish to keep your SiA housing.

How to apply for leave

To apply for a leave of absence from your studies for an entire semester, you must fill in an application form. Select login via Feide (username/password) or ID-porten.

If you experience difficulty logging into the form and receive an error message that says "tilkobling er ikke privat/your connection is not private", you can safely proceed with the process, by clicking "advanced/avansert" and then "continue to skjema.uia.no/fortsett til skjema.uia.no". You may also try to use a different browser.

Apply for leave