The University of the Faroe Islands ( fo, Fróðskaparsetur Føroya) is a state-run university located in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. " Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

, the capital of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. It consists of five faculties: Faculty of Faroese Language and Literature, Faculty of Social Sciences and History, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Science and Technology and Faculty of Health Sciences. The University offers

bachelors A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, masters, and Ph.D. programs. The student body is relatively small (around 1000). The University organises an annual dissertation competition open to all students. The educational language of the university is Faroese, making it the only university in the world to conduct classes officially in the Faroese language. Some classes are taught in other languages. The University works closely with the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

and the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servant ...

for research projects and is a member of

UArctic 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 Arct ...

History

The University of the Faroe Islands was founded in 1965 by members of the Faroese Scientific Society, founded in 1952. Among their activities, the Society published a scientific periodical and carried out comprehensive work on the compilation of Faroese vocabulary. The university began with one professor, Christian Matras, and a registrar, Maud Heinesen. In its first years the school offered one-year courses in natural history and Faroese language for teachers. The University arranged for a collection committee with the task of preserving all Faroese folk culture. Today this material is in the archives of the Faculty of Faroese Language and Literature. A further committee was appointed in 1972 to collect Faroese hymns and spiritual ballads. On 1 August 2008 the Faroese School of Education and the Faroese School of Nursing were incorporated into the University, becoming its 4th and 5th departments.

Organisation and administration

The University of the Faroe Islands is administered by a board of seven directors. Four are appointed directly by the minister, while the remaining three are appointed on recommendation from the university. The Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. The rector is currently Chik Collins. The University of the Faroe Islands is publicly funded. In 2010 the university was allocated 68,178,000 DKK by the Faroese

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

. Apart from the government, the university also receives funding for specific projects from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as from the private sector. The university is a member of

Academic profile

The University of the Faroe Islands is divided into five faculties: Faroese Language and Literature, History and Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, and Health Sciences. The university offers a total of eighteen different first degree (bachelor's) courses. These include: *BA Faroese Language and Literature *BSc History, Small Nations and Globalisation *BSc Social Science in Politics and Administration *BSc in Nursing *Bachelor of Education in Primary and Lower Secondary Education *Bachelor in Pedagogical Development *BSc Nursing *BSc Software Engineering *BSc Biology *BSc in Molecular Life Science There are also nine

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

courses. These include: *MA in Faroese Language and Literature *Masters of Arts in Law *Master of Science in Health There are also joint masters degree courses in cooperation with the

University of Greenland The University of Greenland ( kl, Ilisimatusarfik Kalaallit Nunaat; da, Grønlands Universitet) 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 lec ...

, the

University of Akureyri The University of Akureyri ( is, Háskólinn á Akureyri , regionally also ) was founded in 1987 in the town of Akureyri in the northeastern part of Iceland. It is today a school of health sciences, humanities and social science, and a school of ...

, the

, and the

University of Nordland The University of Nordland, (Abbreviation: UIN; no, Universitetet i Nordland) previously Bodø University College, was a public university located in Bodø, Norway. In January 2016, the university was merged with Nesna University College and Nord ...

: *MA/MSc West Nordic Studies, Governance and Sustainable Management For 2010 there were reported to be 146 students in the Department of Nursing. A further 266 students were reported in the Department of Education (formerly the Faroese Teachers Training School) Finally there were 146 undergraduate students, 23 postgraduate students, 5 Ph.D. candidates, and 65 students who took single courses or minor subjects in the other departments.

Research

Research is a priority of the University of the Faroe Islands. Its mission is to increase knowledge within the university and in Faroese society. Research is focused on various fields including

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

and literature of Faroese language, education, didactics,

competitiveness In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firmsThis article follows the general economic convention of referring to all actors as firms; examples in include individuals and brands or divisions within the same (legal) firm ...

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

, tidal streams,

waves Waves most often refers to: * Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (ban ...

and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. The Research Center for Social Development is an institution connected with the university which undertakes 3- to 5-year research projects.

Noted people

* Christian Matras, founder and first professor of the university * Dorete Bloch, zoologist * Jógvan á Lakjuni, politician and musician

References

External links

Official website of the University
{{Coord, 62, 00, 26, N, 6, 46, 48, W, source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Schools in the Faroe Islands Educational organizations based in the Faroe Islands Tórshavn Educational institutions established in 1965 1965 establishments in the Faroe Islands