About the research school

The Nordic Graduate School of Educational Research (formerly WNGER II) was founded by Rune Johan Krumsvik and officially opened on August 23, 2018, to strengthen doctoral education across 7 universities and colleges in Western Norway. The intention of the WNGER II graduate school is to complement the existing PhD programs in Western Norway, allowing doctoral candidates to take doctoral courses that suit their progression and interests.

The target group for the graduate school includes doctoral candidates in pedagogy, teacher education, university and college pedagogy, educational science, health and sports science, special education, and professional practice.

The host institution is the University of Bergen, and the original partner institutions were the University of Stavanger, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, NLA University College, VID Specialized University, and Volda University College. The University of Agder became an associated member as of May 1, 2020.

Since autumn 2023, the graduate school has expanded from 7 to 15 partner institutions and has become a national graduate school. It now consists of the host institution, the University of Bergen, and the partner institutions: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, NLA University College, VID Specialized University, Volda University College, the University of Agder, the University of Tromsø, the Norwegian Police University College, Molde University College, Oslo Metropolitan University, Østfold University College, the Norwegian Academy of Music, the University of Gothenburg, Queen Maud University College, and Kristiania University College.