The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet'';

Northern Sami Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and the world's northernmost

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Located in the city of

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

, it was established by an act of parliament in 1968, and opened in 1972. It is one of ten universities in Norway. The University of Tromsø is the largest research and educational institution in Northern Norway and the sixth-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 Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

, multicultural societies, Saami culture, telemedicine,

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

and a wide spectrum of Arctic research projects. The close vicinity of the Norwegian Polar Institute, the

Norwegian Institute of Marine Research The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research ( no, Havforskningsinstituttet) is a national consultative research institute which is owned by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The institute performs research and provides advisory service ...

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. On 1 January 2009, the University of Tromsø merged with Tromsø University College. On 1 August 2013, the university merged with

Finnmark University College Finnmark University College ( no, Høgskolen i Finnmark or HiF) was a university college with three campuses throughout Finnmark, Norway. In August 2013 Finnmark University College and the University of Tromso merged to form what is now called the ...

to form ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet'' (The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway), thereby adding campuses in Alta, Hammerfest and Kirkenes. On 1 January 2016, Narvik University College and

Harstad University College Harstad University College ( no, Høgskolen i Harstad or ) was a høgskole, a Norwegian state institution of higher education, in the city of Harstad which is located in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It was origin ...

merged with UiT - The Arctic University of Norway. As of January 2016 the university now has six campus locations in northern Norway, the main campus being

Faculties and other units

The university is primarily divided into five faculties with multiple subordinate departments and several associated centres. * Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics **Department of Arctic and Marine Biology **The Norwegian College of Fishery Science **School of Business and Economics **

Norwegian College of Fishery Science The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS or in Norwegian NFH: Norges fiskerihøgskole) was established in 1972 as a joint responsibility of the three Norwegian universities in Tromsø, Bergen and Trondheim. In 1988, a new organisational stru ...

*Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology **Department of Industrial Engineering **Department of Building, Energy and Material Technology **Department of Automation and Process Engineering **Department of Computer Science and Computational Engineering **Department of Electrical Engineering *Faculty of Health Sciences ** Department of Medical Biology ** Department of Community Medicine ** Department of Clinical Medicine ** Department of Pharmacy ** Department of Clinical Dentistry ** Department of Psychology ** Department of Health and Care Sciences ** School of sport sciences ** Department of Social Education *Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education ** The Barents Institute ** Centre for Women's and Gender Research ** Centre for Peace Studies, Tromsø (CPS) ** Department of Tourism and Northern Studies ** Centre for Sami Studies ** Department of Archaeology, History, Religious Studies and Theology ** Department of Philosophy ** Department of History and Religious Studies ** Department of Culture and Literature ** Department of Education ** Department of Language and Linguistics *** Center for Advanced Study in Theoretical Linguistics ** Department of Social Sciences ** Department of Language and Culture ** Department of Child Welfare and Social Work *Faculty of Law **Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea *The Arctic University Museum of Norway and the Academy of Arts **The Arctic University Museum of Norway **Conservatory of Music **Academy of Arts *Faculty of Science and Technology **Department of Chemistry **Department of Computer Science **Department of Geosciences **Department of Mathematics and Statistics **Department of Physics and Technology **Department of Technology and Safety ***Tromsø School of Aviation
Lie-Størmer Center
for fundamental structures in computational and pure mathematics * The University Library

Buildings & architecture

Campus Tromsø

*Administration building, 1989 (John Kristoffersen Arkitektkontor AS) *Arctic Biology building, 1993 (Arkitektkontoret Amundsen AS) *Ardna *Breivang building, 1951 / renovated 2016 (Arkitektkontoret Amundsen AS) *Breivika III, 1983 (Arkitektkontoret Dalsbøe & Østgaard AS / Borealis Arkitekter AS) *Exact Sciences (Realfag) building, 1978 (John Kristoffersen Arkitektkontor) *Lower and Uppper Gazebo buildings (Nedre og Øvre Lysthus), 1991 (Blå strek arkitekter AS) *Medical and Health Faculty building, 1991 (Borealis Arkitekter AS & John Kristoffersen Arkitektkontor AS) *Museum Botanical Unit (Kvaløyvegen 30), built in 1952 as aquarium (Reidar Kolstrand), taken by museum in 1959, converted to Marine biology station in 1982 (Eigill Hallset), rebuilt and restored in 1999. *Natural Sciences (Naturfag) building, 1974, extended 1988, restored and rebuilt 2003 (A2-arkitektkontor AS, by architect MNAL Øyvind Ragde, Aall & Løkeland AS Redevelopment: Paul Pincus, Borealis AS) *Norwegian College of Fishery Science, 1994 (Steinsvik Arkitektkontor AS) *Northern Lights Observatory, 1971 (Terje Jacobsen & Eigill Hallset) **Northern Lights Planetarium / Science Centre of Northern Norway, 1989 (John Kristoffersen Arkitektkontor AS) *Operations Centre, 1985 (Arkitektkontoret Dalsbøe & Østgaard AS) *Pharmacy Building, 1998 (Borealis Arkitekter AS) *Polar Museum *Theoretical Subjects (Teorifag) building, Houses 1-6, 2004 (Telje-Torp-Aasen Arkitektkontor AS) *Tromsø University Museum, 1961 (Blakstad & Munthe-Kaas Arkitektkontor, Oslo) *University Library, 1981 (Arkitektkontoret Dalsbøe & Østgaard AS in cooperation with Ark. MNAL Leif Olav Moen)

Honorary doctors

Mari Boine Mari Boine (born Mari Brit Randi Boine, 8 November 1956) is a Norwegian Sámi singer. She combined traditional Sámi joik singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at Nesna University College. Biography Mari Boine was b ...

, Norway (2018) * Olav Holt, Norway (2018) * Richard Horton, UK (2018) *

Arieh Warshel Arieh Warshel ( he, אריה ורשל; born November 20, 1940) is an Israeli-American biochemist and biophysicist. He is a pioneer in computational studies on functional properties of biological molecules, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry ...

, US (2018) * Laila Stien, Norway (2015) * Trond Mohn, Norway (2015) * Oran R. Young, US (2015) *

Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre (; born 25 August 1960) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the prime minister of Norway since 2021 and has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He served under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as Minister of For ...

, Norway (2011) *

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (russian: Сергей Викторович Лавров, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. Lavrov served as the Permanent Represe ...

, Russia (2011) * Narve Bjørgo, Norway (2008) *

Ole Henrik Magga Ole Henrik Magga (born 12 August 1947) is a Sami people, Sámi linguistics, linguist, professor and politician from Kautokeino, Norway. As a linguist As a linguist, Magga is best known for his work on syntax. His master's thesis at the Unive ...

, Norway (2008) * Barbara Neis, Canada (2008) *

Steven Pinker Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. ...

, US (2008) * Johan P. Olsen, Norway (2006) * Jan Raa, Norway (2006) * Rodolfo Stavenhagen, Mexico (2006) * Ottar Brox, Norway (2003) * Erica I.A. Daes, Greece (2003) * Tor Hagfors, Norway (2003) * Nawal el-Saadawi, Egypt (2003) * Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibet (2001) *

Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ( he, מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1952), also known as John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israe ...

, Israel (2001) *

William Nygaard William Nygaard (born 16 March 1943) is the retired head of the Norwegian publishing company Aschehoug. He was also chairman of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He has two children. Business career From 1974 to 2010, he was the chief pub ...

, Norway (1998) *

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...

, UK (1998) * Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia (1998) * Robert Paine, Canada (1998) * Susanne Romaine, UK (1998) * Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Guatemala (1996) * Carsten Smith, Norway (1995) * Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South Africa (1994) * Jørn Dyerberg, Denmark (1993) * Torstein Bertelsen, Norway (1993) *

Georg Henrik von Wright Georg Henrik von Wright (; 14 June 1916 – 16 June 2003) was a Finnish philosopher. Biography G. H. von Wright was born in Helsinki on 14 June 1916 to Tor von Wright and his wife Ragni Elisabeth Alfthan. On the retirement of Ludwig Wittgenste ...

, Finland (1993) * Ragnhild Sundby, Norway (1993) * Helga Marie Hernes, Norway (1993) *

Parzival Copes Parzival Copes, (22 January 1924 – 8 September 2017) was a Canadians, Canadian economist with a particular interest in regional science and specialization in Bioeconomics (fisheries), fisheries economics and Fisheries management, management ...

, Canada (1993) * Amy van Marken, Netherlands (1987) * Kjell Bondevik, Norway (1982) * Peter F. Hjort, Norway (1982)

Notable employees

* Nils Jernsletten (born 1934), was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...

and editor of Sámi newspaper Ságat (1964–1966). * Jelena Porsanger (born 1967), Russian Sami ethnographer and university rector.

Notable alumni

* Monica Kristensen Solås (born 1950), glaciologist, meteorologist, polar explorer and crime novelist *

Svein-Erik Hamran Svein-Erik Hamran (born 1960) is a Norwegian professor in radar remote sensing at the University of Oslo. He led the development of the Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface experiment (RIMFAX) for the Mars rover Perservance as Principal Investi ...

(born 1960), led the development of the RIMFAX for the Mars rover

Perseverance Perseverance may refer to: Behaviour * Psychological resilience * Perseverance of the saints, a Protestant Christian teaching * Assurance (theology) Geography * Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia * Perseverance Island, Seychelles ...

* Sandra Márjá West (born 1990), politician and festival manager of Riddu Riđđu * Marianne Haukland (born 1989), politician and member of the Standing Committee on Family and Cultural Affairs

Logo

The

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine 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 Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...

. Ravens are an early Norse symbol, used, for example, on the

raven banner The raven banner ( non, hrafnsmerki ; enm, hravenlandeye) was a flag, possibly totemic in nature, flown by various Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. The flag, as depicted in Norse artwork, ...

References

External links

University of Tromsø

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Tromso * Tromso Education and research in Tromsø Educational institutions established in 1968 1968 establishments in Norway Universities and colleges formed by merger in Norway