The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

with campuses in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

and

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The institution was established as a

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

(''høgskole'') in 1994 through the merger of the Agder University College and five other colleges, including a

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

and a

nursing school Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, and was granted the status of a full university in 2007.

History

The idea of a university in the

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

region is not completely new. In his short period as ruler of the union of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

Johann Friedrich Struensee Count, Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish gov ...

planned on reforming the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. He ordered Bishop

Johann Ernst Gunnerus Johan Ernst Gunnerus (26 February 1718 – 25 September 1773) was a Norway, Norwegian bishop and botanist. Gunnerus was born at Oslo, Christiania. He was bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros from 1758 until his death and also a professor of theology ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

to develop more detailed plans. Gunnerus presented a proposal in 1771 in which he suggested establishing a new university in Norway, and placing it in Kristiansand. The motives for suggesting Kristiansand as a university town have been debated. Regardless, the idea was soon discarded as planning began for the first Norwegian university. In 1811, a resolution was passed to establish Norway's first university in Christiania (

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

). Even without a university in the region, and as the need for better educated employees rose, several smaller colleges were established throughout the Agder region. The first, ''Christiansands Stiftsseminarium på Holt'', later known as Kristiansand Teacher Training College, was founded at

Holt, Aust-Agder Holt is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1960 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Tvedestrand which is now in Agder county. The admi ...

in 1839, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Norway. It was followed by Arendal College of Nursing (1920), Agder Music Conservatory (1965), Agder Regional College of Technology (1967), Agder Regional College (1969) and Kristiansand College of Nursing (1976). Agder University College was established by a merger in 1994, when the six public regional colleges in the Agder counties became one institution. The University College received full university accreditation and became the University of Agder on 1 September 2007.

Organisation and administration

UiA has a shared leadership. The rector, who becomes the head of the university board and bears responsibility for the academic programmes and activities, is elected by the faculty, staff, and students. The university director, by contrast, is the head of administration and is responsible for financial and administrative affairs.

Student culture

At campus Kristiansand, the heart of the university building is the axis that stretches from the "wandering hall" by the main entrance, to the canteen. The library, two cafés, a book store, the largest lecture halls and other facilities are located along this axis. Every autumn, experienced students organizes events, stands, competitions and "social groups" to welcome the newly arrived students. Students also organizes several cultural, charitable and athletic associations. In addition to this, UiA offers student accommodation on campus as well as a gym. Virtually all athletic activity at campus Kristiansand is organized by Kristiansand Studentidrettslag (KSI), while the teams at campus Grimstad constitutes Grimstad Studentidrettslag (GSI). Membership is offered to students of UiA and other institutions of higher education in the area only. Sports offered at one or both of the campuses includes football, golf, handball, floorball, basketball, volleyball and multiple martial arts. The male student lacrosse team in Kristiansand is a notable exception, as it operates independently from KSI. Teams from KSI and GSI competes in local leagues as well as selected regional and/or national tournaments. Students at UiA also organizes several orchestras and choirs, political and non-profit/charitable associations, as well as associations specific to the different programs. The pubs and concert venues "Østsia" (East side/wing) and "Bluebox" is located at campus Kristiansand and Grimstad, respectively. The students at UiA does not shy away from the general nightlife, however, as they frequent the pubs, bars and clubs in downtown Kristiansand and Grimstad.

International collaboration

The university of Agder is an active member of the

University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...

. 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.

Transport and infrastructure

Both campuses are located some distance outside their respective city centers, along the E18, one of eastern/southern Norway's major roadways (E18 becomes the equally important E39 right after passing the campus in Kristiansand).

Faculties and academia

The University of Agder has six faculties as well as an own unit for teacher education.

School of Business and Law

* Department of Economics and Finance * Department of Management * Department of Working Life and Innovation * Department of Law The School of Business and Law is a member of the EFMD and AACSB, and is AACSB-accredited for its high-quality education on an international level as of 2019.

Faculty of Social Sciences

* Department of Development Studies * Department of Information Systems * Department of Political Science and Management * Department of Sociology and Social Work

Faculty of Fine Arts

* Department of Music (Gimlemoen) * Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts (Gimlemoen)

Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences

* Department of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition (Gimlemoen/Grimstad) * Department of Health and Nursing Science (Gimlemoen/Grimstad) * Department of Psychososial Health (Gimlemoen/Grimstad)

Faculty of Humanities and Education

* Department of Foreign Languages and Translation (Gimlemoen/Grimstad) * Department of Nordic and Media Studies (Gimlemoen) * Department of Education (Gimlemoen) * Department of Religion, Philosophy and History (Gimlemoen)

Faculty of Engineering and Science

* Department of Mathematical Sciences (Gimlemoen) * Department of Natural Sciences (Gimlemoen) * Department of Engineering (Grimstad) * Department of ICT (Grimstad)

Teacher Education Unit

The teacher training programmes are organized in an interdisciplinary fashion.

Research centres

* Achieving Accountability in School Practice * Center for Artificial Intelligence Research * Center for intelligent networks and signal processing * Centre for Business Systems * Centre for Care Research * Centre for Cultural Studies * Centre for Development Studies * Centre for Didactics * Centre for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) * Centre for Entrepreneurship * Centre for European Studies * Centre for Gender Equality * Centre for Innovation and Work Life Studies * Centre for International Economics and Shipping * Centre for Multicultural Activities * Centre for Norwegian Studies Abroad * Centre for Real Estate * Center for Sustainable Energy Solutions * Norwegian Centre for Offshore Wind Energy (NORCOWE)

Library

Agder University Research Archive
(AURA) is a full text digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder. The University Library administrates AURA.

References

{{authority control Education in Agder

Buildings and structures in Agder Buildings and structures in Kristiansand 1994 establishments in Norway 2007 establishments in Norway