Admission and how to apply
Admission requirements
The following requirements need to be fulfilled:
1. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (180 ECTS). This programme requires a completed and passed bachelor’s degree in engineering in line with the national curriculum regulations for engineering education in Norway and:
• at least 25 ECTS in mathematics
• at least 5 ECTS in statistics
• at least 2.5 ECTS in chemistry
• at least 7.5 ECTS in physics
2. The grade point of average of your bachelor’s degree must be C or better.
3. Applicants from outside the Nordic countries must provide evidence of their academic achievements and proficiency in English. See our page for how to document proficiency in English.
See the list of all required documents here.
Norwegian applicants Deadline: April 15th 2026.
Admission to HVL
Why study Fire Safety Engineering?
A society undergoing rapid change places new demands on fire safety. Societal development toward denser, more sustainable cities and increasingly complex buildings leads to new solutions and materials. This results in different fire scenarios and sets high requirements for fire prevention and risk management. At the same time, climate change and new energy solutions are influencing fire risk for buildings and their surroundings. Together, these factors create a growing need for professionals with strong expertise in fire safety and risk understanding.
In this Master’s program in Fire Safety Engineering, you develop both theoretical understanding and practical skills relevant to design, consultancy, management, research, and regulatory development. The program has an interdisciplinary perspective and equips you to contribute to safe, robust, and sustainable solutions in buildings and infrastructure—both nationally and internationally.
The program is delivered digitally and part-time, with one mandatory on-campus session at the Haugesund campus.
What can you work with?
- Fire safety consultancy and engineering design for buildings, industry, and infrastructure.
- Fire prevention, inspections, and emergency preparedness in the public sector and fire services.
- Risk analysis, safety management, and work with regulations and standards—nationally and internationally.
What will you learn?
In this program, you will gain knowledge in:
- Analysis of complex fire scenarios and risk in buildings, industry, tunnels, and other critical installations.
- Methods for risk-based analysis, barrier thinking, and the design of mitigating measures.
- How human behavior, evacuation, and vulnerable groups affect fire safety and emergency preparedness.
- Use of modeling, calculations, and simulations to assess fire, smoke, and evacuation conditions.
- How to apply national and international regulations, standards, and performance-based fire safety design.
- How to collaborate across disciplines with various stakeholders and communicate fire risk and fire safety to authorities, organizations, and the public.
Target group
The program is relevant for engineers in fire and safety, construction, mechanical, electrical, energy, and chemical engineering who wish to build specialized and formal competence in fire safety. It is well suited for those seeking in-depth expertise in analysis, modeling, and risk assessment in order to handle more complex projects. The program also supports career development and provides formal qualification as a Master of Science in Engineering.
The degree is also suitable for strengthening competence in prevention, regulations, and societal safety, and is therefore well suited for public-sector employees working as fire inspectors and engineers. If you are seeking a more research-based academic pathway in fire safety, this Master’s program is a step in the right direction.
What is the teaching like?
The Master’s program in Fire Safety Engineering is a flexible, digital, part-time program designed for working professionals. Teaching is mainly delivered online through a combination of asynchronous learning resources and scheduled synchronous sessions, where you meet lecturers and fellow students digitally. The program emphasizes active learning through collaboration, case studies, simulations, discussions, and project work.
The program runs over four years (120 ECTS credits) and is taught in English. It consists of 7.5 ECTS courses that build on one another, as well as a 30 ECTS Master’s thesis in the final year of study.
Study sessions
The program has a joint digital start on Monday, 24 August at 09:00 (week 35).
Fire is a physical phenomenon that is important to study in practice. Therefore, one mandatory 4-day on-campus session at the Haugesund campus is needed in connection with the course SIK500. Participation in one such session during the Master’s program is compulsory and constitutes a key learning arena where theory, experimentation, and professional dialogue are closely integrated.