# 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 Arctic region.
UArctic was launched in 2001, endorsed by the Arctic Council and in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the Rovaniemi Process and the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy.

## Member institutions

There are more than 150 members in the University of the Arctic. There are 45 members from Canada, 10 from Denmark, 1 from the Faroe Islands, 18 from Finland, 3 from Greenland, 10 from Iceland, 19 from Norway, 55 (paused) from Russia, 7 from Sweden, 26 from the United States and 60 from non-Arctic countries (Australia (1), Austria (1), Czech Republic (1), China (16), France (3), Germany (1), India (5), Ireland (3), Italy (1), Japan (1), Korea (2), Mongolia (1), the Netherlands (2) and the United Kingdom (21), plus the International Polar Foundation).
Most UArctic members are higher education institutions, but other members include circumpolar Indigenous organizations and research institutions.
In April 2024, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Board of UArctic decided to put the memberships of all institutions of the Russian Federation on pause.

## History

The University of the Arctic was initially launched by the Arctic Council on June 12th, 2001 in Rovaniemi, Finland. However, the initiative can be traced back to 1997, when the council asked the Circumpolar Universities Association (CUA) for a feasibility study and started implementing the first steps towards the establishment of UArctic. A UArctic Circumpolar Coordination Office was for instance put in place in 1999 in Rovaniemi, which later became the International Secretariat. The academic programs of UArctic were also developed during this period.
In 2002, Lars Kullerud was appointed UArctic Director. First students took Circumpolar Studies courses or went on exchanges via the north2north program. During that year, the network was also granted an official observer status at the Arctic Council.
Besides the International Secretariat, several offices were created during the first decade. In 2003, an office was launched at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada to coordinate the Circumpolar Studies program. The following year, a north2north Mobility office was established at Finnmark University College in Norway, and a Thematic Coordination Office was established in 2005 at the University of Oulu in Finland. Russia welcomed two offices as well in the years 2006 and 2008 (the UArctic Russian Information Center at the North-Eastern Federal University of Yakutsk and the UArctic Research Office at the Northern Federal University in Arkhangelsk).
The first UArctic Rectors’ Forum was held in 2007 at Dartmouth College. IASC, IASSA, and UArctic signed an agreement on research cooperation in the Arctic in 2011. The first non-Arctic members joined UArctic that same year. Regional centres have been established acting as hubs for the coordination of new memberships in different regions (for example, the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France is a regional centre for Western Europe). In 2014, the organisation of UArctic was rethought. A new management structure with a president and vice-presidents (VP Finance, VP Mobility, VP Indigenous etc.) was adopted. Lars Kullerud, former UArctic Director, took on the responsibility of UArctic President. In 2016, Saint-Petersburg hosted the first UArctic Congress. Congresses bring together all UArctic bodies (which were at that time the board, the council and the rectors’ forum) in addition to being scientific conferences. The next year, UArctic became a partner organisation of UNESCO. In 2019, UArctic registered as a non-profit association in Finland. The network is officially registered as UArctic Association ry from then on.
Collaboration with member institutions located in Russia has been paused since 2022 after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. In the words of Kullerud: “The UArctic Board condemns all acts of war. As a result of the current Russian military actions in Ukraine, the collaboration between UArctic and Russian institutions is paused until the situation allows for continuation.”
The latest institutional development was the appointment of UArctic Chairs in 2022. UArctic chairs are highly qualified academics who implement and drive collaborative actions in research and education among members.

## Organization, governance, and administration

The University of the Arctic is governed by a structure in which the member institutions are represented through various mechanisms. It has evolved steadily since the organization's founding in 2001, with the latest addition being the Rectors' Forum (2006).

### Funding

The member organizations contribute resources to the University of the Arctic. Some of the countries with participating organizations, including Canada, Finland and Norway, provide funds for the university and its different programs, though the Federal Government of Canada decided in 2011 to cut its funding by 75 percent. A membership fee is also collected annually from member organizations that do not receive a waiver, ranging from 750€ to 4.000€; this fee is calculated based on the member institution's operating budget.

## Programs
### Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies

The Circumpolar Studies program allows students attending University of the Arctic member institutions to learn about the North, with courses held in the classroom, online, outdoors, and around the world.
The Circumpolar Studies program gives students the opportunity to learn about the lands, peoples, and issues of the circumpolar world and prepares them for advanced study or professional employment in fields such as sustainable resource management, self-government, Arctic engineering, and northern tourism. Special emphasis is given to matters concerning Indigenous people of the Circumpolar North.
The Circumpolar Studies program consists of two required components: The BCS Core and an Advanced Emphasis.
The BCS Core consists of one lower-level introductory course and six upper-level advanced courses in three interdisciplinary fields of study. Advanced Emphases are programs of study, roughly equivalent to a semester of schooling, that focus on the advanced research of an area, issue, or problem of particular relevance to the North and for its people.

### north2north

The north2north program (stylized in all lowercase letters) provides opportunities for students, staff, and researchers from UArctic member institutions that participate in the program to go on exchange at other north2north institutions. All institutions participating in north2north are necessarily members of UArctic.
north2north members fall into two categories depending on their location. So-called “full members” are those institutions located in the United States, Canada, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France; “associate members” are located outside of these regions. The participation of associate members in north2north is limited in a few regards, including that they may only send and receive individuals on exchange to and from full members and that they must fund outgoing exchanges.
There are 73 north2north institutions as of 2025, and it was reported that 149 individuals partook in an exchange in the 2023 reporting year. Exchanges through north2north can range between 1 week to a year in duration.

### Field School

The UArctic Field School incorporates a selection of short, thematically focused courses that provide training for young researchers at member institutions in relevant fields. The Field School provides specialized onsite study of northern issues, organized by northern institutions. The UArctic Field School catalog is an online database of field excursion courses in which students from UArctic member institutions can participate.

### Thematic Networks and Institutes

Thematic Networks and Institutes, often shortened to Thematic Networks, are independent units within UArctic oriented towards the generation of research and the creation of educational opportunities, also operating to facilitate collaboration between different UArctic members as well as relevant non-UArctic entities. The work and activities of each Thematic Network center around a different theme related to the Arctic region, including for instance Arctic Indigenous Film and Arctic Law. The first Thematic Networks were established in 2005, and as of 2025 there are 63; these can be divided into six categories by content:
* Business, Politics, and Law
* Culture and Social Sciences
* Engineering and Technology
* Health and education
* Humanities and Arts
* Natural Sciences
Regarding the structure of Thematic Networks, each are led by a UArctic member institution and at minimum consist of individual experts from at least three UArctic member institutions, which can include the lead institution. Collaboration with non-UArctic entities and individuals is permitted, though UArctic member participants must have majority say when it comes to making decisions for the Thematic Network.