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 northernmostuniversity.[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.
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.
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.[7]
Faculties and other units
The university is primarily divided into six faculties with multiple subordinate departments and several associated centres.[8]
Lower and Upper 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)
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.