The Arctic University of Norway


The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway is a state university in Norway and the world's northernmost university. Located in the city of Tromsø, Norway, it was established by an act of parliament in 1968 as Norway's fourth university, and opened in 1972 as University of Tromsø. As of 2024, it is the largest research and educational institution in Northern Norway and the fifth-largest university in Norway. The university's location makes it a natural venue for the development of studies of the region's natural environment, culture, and society.
The main focus of the university's activities is on auroral light research, space science, fishery science, biotechnology, linguistics, mathematics, multicultural societies, Saami culture, telemedicine, epidemiology and a wide spectrum of Arctic research projects. The close vicinity of the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and the Polar Environmental Centre gives Tromsø added weight and importance as an international centre for Arctic research. Research activities, however, are not limited to Arctic studies. The university researchers work within a broad range of subjects and are recognised both nationally and internationally.

History

Mergers

On 1 January 2009, the University of Tromsø merged with Tromsø University College. The college's teacher education department became part of the university's department of education and pedagogy. On 1 August 2013, the university merged with Finnmark University College to form Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet, thereby adding campuses in Alta, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes. On 1 January 2016, Narvik University College and Harstad University College merged with UiT - The Arctic University of Norway. As of September 2024 the university has eleven campus locations in northern Norway, the main campus being Tromsø.

Spy case in 2022

In October 2022 a guest researcher at UiT was arrested by the Norwegian Police Security Service and charged with espionage against Norway. The researcher posed as a Brazilian researcher named José Assis Giammaria, but later revealed that he is a Russian citizen by the name Mikhail Valerijevitsj Mikusjin.
Mikusjin is a suspected illegalist who worked for the Russian intelligence service GRU.

International collaboration

UiT is an active member of the University of the Arctic. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.
The university also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.

Faculties and other units

The university is primarily divided into six faculties with multiple subordinate departments and several associated centres.
The university is host to the , a Norwegian Centre of Excellence that produces ground-breaking insights into how the links between ice sheets, carbon cycles and ocean ecosystems are impacting life on earth. As of late 2024, the interdisciplinary centre consisted of 46 scientists including 25 early career researchers.

Buildings & architecture

Campus Tromsø

University Campus Brevika in Tromsø consists of total 34 buildings and objects.
  • Administration building, 1989
  • Arctic Biology building, 1993
  • Ardna
  • Breivang building, 1951 / renovated 2016
  • Breivika III, 1983
  • Exact Sciences building, 1978
  • Lower and Upper Gazebo buildings, 1991
  • Medical and Health Faculty building, 1991
  • Museum Botanical Unit, built in 1952 as aquarium, taken by museum in 1959, converted to Marine biology station in 1982, rebuilt and restored in 1999.
  • Natural Sciences building, 1974, extended 1988, restored and rebuilt 2003
  • Norwegian College of Fishery Science, 1994
  • Northern Lights Observatory, 1971
  • *Northern Lights Planetarium / Science Centre of Northern Norway, 1989
  • Operations Centre, 1985
  • Pharmacy Building, 1998
  • Polar Museum
  • Theoretical Subjects building, Houses 1-6, 2004
  • Tromsø University Museum, 1961
  • University Library, 1981

Honorary doctors

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received an honorary doctorate at the University of Tromsø in 2011 for having secured an agreement on the dividing line in the Barents Sea but lost his status after 28 February 2022 due to a board decision related to his co-responsibility for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

Logo

The ravens in the university's logo are Huginn and Muninn. In Norse mythology, Hugin and Munin travel the world for Odin, bringing him news and information. Huginn represents thought and Muninn memory. Ravens are an early Norse symbol, used, for example, on the raven banner.