University of Greenland


The University of Greenland is Greenland's only university. It is in the capital city of Nuuk. Most courses are taught in Danish, a few in Greenlandic and classes by exchange lecturers often in English.
The university had an enrollment of 205 students in 2018, composed of mostly Greenlandic inhabitants. It has around fourteen academic staff and five technical-administrative employees. The modest student population is due, in part, to most Greenlandic students going to universities in Denmark.

History

The University of Greenland was established in 1987 to provide local higher education for Greenland. It was originally located in the former Moravian mission station of Neu Herrnhut, and moved into a dedicated research complex, Ilimmarfik, in 2009. The university has a DKK 14.8 million budget.

Institutes

The university has four institutes:
The university awards Baccalaureate degrees in all departments and Master's Degrees in all areas except Theology. Ph.D.-programmes have been offered.

Rector

Tine Pars became director of Ilisimatusarfik at the beginning of 2009 after the former rector, Ole Marquardt, resigned in protest on the new University Law in December 2007.

Guest faculty

Due to the small number of faculty, many specialized classes are offered by guest faculty, often coming from Danish universities, but also coming from other countries.
Guest faculty at Ilisimatusarfik are often specialists for research on Greenland, combining teaching at Ilisimatusarfik with their research while staying on Greenland.

Library

The university library holds approximately 30,000 volumes.

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