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The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norwegian: Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet; Northern Sami: Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta) is a state university in Norway and the world's northernmost university.[3] Located in the city of Tromsø, Norway, 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.[4] The university's location makes it a natural venue for the development of studies of the region's natural environment, culture, and society.
 | You can help expand this section with text translated from the corresponding article in Norwegian. (January 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| Motto | Drivkraft i nord |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Driving force in the North |
| Type | Public University |
| Established | 1968 |
| Chair | Marianne Elisabeth Johnsen |
| Rector | Dag Rune Olsen |
Total staff | 3776 (2021)[1] |
| Students | 17,808 (2021)[2] |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Multiple sites |
| Affiliations | EUA, UArctic, YERUN, EUGLOH |
| Website | www.uit.no |
The main focus of the university's activities is on auroral light research, space science, fishery science, biotechnology, linguistics, 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[5] 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. The college's teacher education department (the descendant of the Tromsø Seminarium first established in 1848) 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 (The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway), thereby adding campuses in Alta, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes.[6] 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.
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.[7]
The university is primarily divided into six faculties with multiple subordinate departments and several associated centres.[8]
University Campus Brevika in Tromsø consists of total 34 buildings and objects.
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.[14][15]
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.
