Campus Finnmark

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About Finnmark

Finnmark is the largest county in Norway. Campus Finnmark is located in Alta and in Hammerfest, two towns at 70 degrees north. Both towns have a wide range of urban activities like cafes, cinemas, shopping, and concerts in addition to easy access to Europe’s last wilderness.

Campus Finnmark at UiT: The Arctic University of Norway offers several courses taught in English. 

The facilities are modern and with sophisticated technical/ IT infrastructure. Campus Finnmark is known for its compact locations and the informal student oriented learning environment.

Climate

Finnmark is on the same latitude as Siberia, Greenland and Alaska, but thanks to the Gulf Stream, the harbours along the coast of Finnmark do not freeze over and the area enjoys relatively mild winters.

There is normally a lot of snow during the winter. Many parts of the region are surrounded by mountains which provide shelter from the winds and cold from the sea.

Inland, near the Finnish border, it can get extremely cold in the winter, and the summers are often warm and dry. Still the weather and temperatures can change quickly throughout the entire region.

The midnight sun and northern lights

The Arctic Circle marks the starting point for the midnight sun. The further north you travel, the longer these periods last.

On the Arctic coast, the sun does not set for two and a half months. And then the autumn darkness gradually takes over. During the autumn and winter when the sky is clear, you can experience the northern lights, an unforgettable sight, as hues of green, pink and purple dance across the skies. 

The Sami

The Sami people are an indigenous people resident in four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Estimates show that there are approximately 50,000 - 100,000 Sami living in these countries, and that slightly more than half of them reside in Norway.

It has not been possible to ascertain how long the Sami have lived in Finnmark, but from around the time of the birth of Christ, the local culture shows distinctive characteristics that we recognise in the Sami culture of later times.