Guest students at Ilisimatusarfik

Who can apply?

If you want to study at Ilisimatusarfik as a guest student for a semester, then you should:

• Be a full-time student, and

• Have completed at least two full years at an accredited institution

Graduate students who come via Erasmus +, Nordplus, UArctic or another cooperation agreement have priority.

If you would like to apply to Ilisimatusarfik as a guest student, please complete the following steps:

Nomination

If you are a student at a university, where we have a partnership agreement - or your university is part of a network agreement, then your international coordinator is to nominate you as a guest student at Ilisimatusarfik.

Nomination deadlines:

• Fall Semester (September start): 01 May

• Spring semester (February start): 01 October

Fill in the online application forms

Fill in our online application forms:

• The application form (we will send link to application form, once we have received nomination from your home university)

• Housing application (guest students apply for housing through the Government of Greenland. You will receive information about the application procedure together with your admission letter)

• If you are a student at a university, where we have a partnership agreement - or your university is part of a network agreement, then your international coordinator has to nominate you as a guest student at Ilisimatusarfik

Note: before you can submit the application form online - you have to attach the following files (so have them ready):

• Academic transcript from your home university

• TOEFL or IELTS (if you are to take some of our few courses in English)

Application deadlines

Submit online application before these deadlines:

• Fall Semester (September start): application deadline is 01 May

• Spring semester (February start): application deadline is 01 October

After you have sent your online application

We will send you a response to your application after the deadline has expired.

If you have been accepted as a guest student, you will receive additional information.

If you are accepted as a guest student, non-Nordic citizens (including EU citizens who stay for longer than three months) have to apply for a residence permit.

We also recommend that you purchase comprehensive health and travel insurance, which also covers missing flights due to the cancellation or delay of a prior flight.

Language requirements

If you apply for admission as a guest student, and would like to follow courses in English (please note: we only offer few courses in English) - your international coordinator should confirm your academic English proficiency by issuing an official letter stating that you are competent in English.

A TOEFL or IELTS with satisfactory results are also accepted.

If you apply for admission as a guest student, and would like to follow courses in Danish and Greenlandic - then you should be a Nordic citizen, or be able to prove that you are able to use the language at an academic level.

Tuition fees & funding

There are no tuiton fees for guest students at Ilisimatusarfik.

Guests students are, of course, responsible for all personal expenses and travel costs.

If you are a Nordic or European student, you may also be eligible to apply for support from:

• Erasmus+

• Nordplus

• UArctic (North2North)

Check with your international coordinator at your home university if you are eligible.

You can also check if Ilisimatusarfik has a cooperation agreement with your home university.

Courses in English

Ilisimatusarfik only offers few courses in English.

Depending on the semester, it may be possible to get courses in English for a total of 30 ECTS.

Courses in Danish & Greenlandic

Ilisimatusarfik offers courses in Danish and Greenlandic in all our programmes - see the programmes' curriculum for more information about the course content (in Danish or Greenlandic).

Learn Greenlandic 

Ilisimatusarfik does not offer language courses in Greenlandic.

You can view the Spring semester 2025 courses taught in English below (updated: 10 December 2024).

Semesters, courses & exams

Ilisimatusarfik has two semesters:

• Fall Semester: starts primo September - ends ultimo January

• Spring semester: starts primo February - ends ultimo June

Each semester lasts about 14 weeks - followed by exams.

Courses at Ilisimatusarfik vary with between five to thirty students.

Ilisimatusarfik offers courses in Danish and Greenlandic in all our programmes (please note: we only offer few courses in English).

At the end of each semester, exams are taken in every course - with a weighting of 100%.

The primary examination period is January and June - even though there may also be exams before or after this period.

ECTS

Ilisimatusarfik uses European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

A full semester at Ilisimatusarfik equals 30 ECTS.

Greenland Grading System

In Greenland, we use Greenland Grading System (GGS).

Download Greenland Grading System (GGS) as a pdf-version.

Housing

Guest students apply for housing through the Government of Greenland.

You will receive information about the application procedure together with your admission letter.

Living in Nuuk

Nuuk is the capital of Greenland - and while you are studying at Ilisimatusarfik, you have many opportunities for shopping, cafés, sports and much more.

You can read a little more about life in Nuuk here:

• Sermersooq (website of the municipality)

• Colourful Nuuk

• Nuuk på greenland.com

Cost of living

There are no tuiton fees for guest students at Ilisimatusarfik.

Guests students are, of course, responsible for all personal expenses and travel costs.

If you are a Nordic or European student, you may also be eligible to apply for support from:

• Erasmus+

• Nordplus

• UArctic (North2North)

Check with your international coordinator at your home university if you are eligible.

You can also check if Ilisimatusarfik has a cooperation agreement with your home university.

Cost per month for living and studying in Nuuk for a single person is about DKK 5000,-.

Bus to Ilisimatusarfik

Bus 2, 3 and X3 stop at Ilisimatusarfik.

The bus-stop is called "Ilimmarfik / Universitetet".

View timetables for bus services in Nuuk here.

Also: view the busses in real-time here.

Read about guest students' experiences about studying at Ilisimatusarfik.

Guest students at Ilisimatusarfik since 2016 via Department of Internationalization & Communication.