Guest students at Ilisimatusarfik
Guest students are welcome to study a semester at Ilisimatusarfik.
Please note that we only offer few courses taught in English.
Graduate students via Erasmus+, Nordplus, UArctic or another cooperation agreement have preference.
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 (click on the Danish or Greenlandic version of this website).
Learn Greenlandic
Ilisimatusarfik does not offer language courses in Greenlandic.
However, there are some that offer this option:
- Oqaatsuit - Language Centre in Sisimiut
- Ilikkarit - courses by Bente Meilvang
- Learn Greenlandic - Per Langgård's linguistic approach to learning Greenlandic
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 the language.
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.
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 the Greenland Grading System (GGS) - and it looks like this:
You can view the Spring semester 2023 courses taught in English below (updated: 04 January 2023).
Business Economics programThis bachelor course is taught in English.
Course information is coming as soon as possible.
This bachelor course is taught in English (master students are more than welcome to join).
The course is intended to be closely related to the course World History I.
World History II is a survey course, providing the student with an overview of global developments from about 1750 to the present.
At selected points, students are provided with a more in-depth understanding of the different views of what has determined historical development through the inclusion of sources and specialised literature.
The course includes the history of indigenous peoples within nation-states from a broader international perspective.
This bachelor & master course is taught in English.
This course looks at how identities and images of people and nature in the North Atlantic have been shaped through folklore, visual and material culture.
Students will complete independent projects on a chosen subject and attend field trips in Nuuk’s locality, nature and museums. The lectures and presentations will focus on experiences and images in relation to national and regional identity formations and representations.
We examine how narratives, traditions, material and visual culture shape nations such as Iceland and Greenland and forge larger groupings in the Arctic, North Atlantic or West Nordic regions.
We explore folklife and folktales, films, television and music, cultural heritage museums and festivals, games, contemporary art and political spectacles. In particular we will analyse how national images unite and divide different groups of people and species.
In that context we look at rural and urban communities, mobile people and animals, racism and gender.
We'll study these images as dynamics and ideals, resources and matters of dispute, that are used for various purposes by different people in different places, by demagogues and greens, government and industry, scholars and students.
This bachelor course is taught in English.
Arctic Law is primarily built on international law but also draws on political science and economics.
Arctic law introduces the student to the legal principles and rules that govern the Arctic and teaches the student the legal and political tools available to solve contemporary issues in the region.
This bachelor course is taught in English.
The course aims to introduce students to basic theoretical models of economic theory in a social perspective.
The course introduces microeconomic and macroeconomic understandings to support students' economic concepts and basic assumptions.
This bachelor (5 ECTS) & master (10 ECTS) course is taught in English.
Course information is coming as soon as possible.
This bachelor (5 ECTS) & master (10 ECTS) course is taught in English.
Course information is coming as soon as possible.
This master course is taught in English.
The aim of the course is to further develop the skills acquired in the bachelor programme in independent analysis and critical positioning on political problems.
This can be done through a deeper examination of development and modernisation issues, with particular insight into the impact of global and regional processes on the nation and the individual (integration and identity, etc.).
Issues such as nationalism, nation-building and autonomy are addressed in a Greenlandic context.
Arctic relations are also included in the course.
This master course is taught in English.
This course covers treaty law, human rights law and fundamental aspects of EU law.
In relation to treaty law, particular mention may be made of the area of the law of the sea, the marine environment and of raw materials.
Information on other legal systems may be included.
This bachelor course is taught in English.
The purpose of the course is to enable the student to understand English as it is spoken and written in English and / or American mass media, and to participate in conversations in English using common English terminology.
The course deals with topics related to Greenland's relations with the rest of the world, including the EU.
This bachelor course is taught in English.
The purpose of the course is to enable the student to communicate orally in English in the form of professional presentations and the like.
The student should know basic rhetorical concepts and be able to communicate freely in English without disruptive pronunciation, grammatical and lexical errors and be able to prepare written support material in English in the form of PowerPoint slides with a high degree of grammatical and lexical correctness.
If you would like to apply to Ilisimatusarfik as a guest student, please complete the following steps:
1. 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.
2. Courses in Danish, Greenlandic & English
Ilisimatusarfik offers courses in Danish and Greenlandic in all our programmes - see the programmes' curriculum for more information about the course content (click on the Danish or Greenlandic version of this website).
Please note: we only offer few courses in English.
Your language skills will determine which courses you can apply for as a guest student.
3. 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
4. Apply: 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)
5. Application deadlines
Submit online application(s) before these deadlines:
- Fall Semester (September start): application deadline is 01 May
- Spring semester (February start): application deadline is 01 October
6. 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.
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 ..
Guest students at Ilisimatusarfik since 2016