University of Iceland
Háskóli Íslands | |
UArctic | |
Mascot | Athena |
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Website | english.hi.is |
The University of Iceland (
History
The University of Iceland was founded by the
The university played an important role in the construction of the Icelandic nation-state and was perceived by Icelanders as an important stepping stone towards full independence.[2] Demands for a national Icelandic university stretch as far back as to the first session of the elected assembly of Althingi in 1845.[2] Icelandic nationalist leaders petitioned Denmark at the time to create a "national school" to achieve cultural and material progress, but also to make sure that the education that Icelanders obtained was sufficiently national in character.[2]
For its first 29 years, the university was housed in the Icelandic Parliament building,
In recent years, there has been some major restructuring. In 2008, the university was divided into five different schools. Simultaneously, the
On 21 January 2021, a broken main water pipe serving the Vesturbær neighbourhood of Reykjavík flooded the campus with over 2,000 tonnes of water, causing damage to buildings Háskólatorg and Gimli.[3]
Campus
School buildings
The university's main campus lies immediately south-west of
Library
In 1994, the university library (formally established in 1940) merged with the national library of Iceland, Landsbókasafn Íslands (est. 1818) to form one large academic library, the National and University Library of Iceland (Icelandic: Landsbókasafn Íslands - Háskólabókasafn). The library main building, Þjóðarbókhlaðan, is situated next to the main campus.
Hospital
Education and research at the University of Iceland are closely tied with the National University Hospital in Reykjavík. The facilities of the School of Health Sciences are therefore largely located on the hospital grounds.
Organisation
Administration
The University Council is the highest administrative authority within the institution and consists of the Rector and ten other members, including two students and two members endorsed by the University Forum. The University Forum consists of the Rector, faculty heads and various domestic representatives. It does not have any executive powers but works with the Council on the overall strategy of the university. The five academic schools and their faculties are headed by deans and have much control over curricula and day-to-day administration.
Jón Atli Benediktsson is the current Rector of the University of Iceland. He took over from Kristín Ingólfsdóttir in 2015.
Schools and faculties
The University of Iceland is divided into five schools (svið) which are further divided into a total of twenty-five faculties (deildir). Prior to 2008, it was divided into eleven faculties which were then divided into departments (skorir). The largest current school is the School of Social Sciences with over 4,700 students, while each of the other four have around half that number.[5] The university also operates a continuing education centre.
The university consists of the following schools and faculties:
- School of Social Sciences
- Faculty of Business Administration
- Faculty of Economics
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Faculty of Social Work
- Faculty of Political Science
- School of Health Sciences
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Nursing
- Faculty of Odontology
- Faculty of Pharmacology
- Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition
- Faculty of Psychology
- School of Humanities
- Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
- Faculty of Language, Literature and Linguistics
- Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies
- Faculty of History and Philosophy
- School of Education
- Faculty of Sport, Leisure Studies and Social Education
- Faculty of Teacher Education
- Faculty of Educational Studies
- School of Engineering and Natural Sciences
- Faculty of Industrial-, mechanical engineering and computer science
- Faculty of Earth Sciences
- Faculty of Life and environmental sciences
- Faculty of Electrical and computer engineering
- Faculty of Physical sciences
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Institutes
There are over sixty research institutes and seven rural research stations run by the university.[6] Some of the most notable are:
- Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
- Institute of Earth Sciences (includes the Nordic Volcanological Centre)
- Keldur – Institute for Experimental Pathology
- Social Science Research Institute
- Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages (a UNESCO category 2 institute)
Academics
In addition to the major faculties, there are numerous research institutes attached to the university. With more than 700 tenured teachers, over 2,000 non-tenured teachers and about 300 researchers and administrators, the University of Iceland is the largest single work-place in Iceland.
Some of the resources available at the university are uniquely Icelandic; these include the manuscripts preserved in the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, Icelandic census records dating from 1703, exceptionally complete genealogical data and climatological, glaciological, seismic and geothermal records.
Education
The University of Iceland offers studies in more than 160
The principal language of instruction is Icelandic. Textbooks are mainly in English and Icelandic. Most departments offer courses in English and allow foreign students to take their examinations in English. Icelandic language, medieval studies and environmental sciences are some of the university's strongest specialties, owing to Iceland's unique literary heritage and nature. A growing number of English-taught programmes are offered in these fields and others, attracting a large number of foreign students.
Rankings
University rankings | |
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Global – Overall | |
ARWU World[7] | 601–700 (2023) |
QS World[8] | 1201–1400 (2024) |
THE World[9] | 501–600 (2024) |
USNWR Global[10] | =452 (2023) |
In 2011, Times Higher Education included the University of Iceland for the first time, placing it in the 276-300 band globally.[11] The following year it had risen to the 251-275 band on the same list.[12] The 2017 edition of Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) placed it in the 401-500 band globally.[13]
Student life
Student funding
The University of Iceland is a public, government-funded university and as such it does not charge tuition (although an enrollment fee of 75,000 króna must be paid).[14] In terms of living expenses, most students at the University of Iceland either work part-time to finance their studies or receive student loans at favourable interest rates from the Icelandic Student Loan Fund.
The Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture annually offers awards to foreign students for the study of
The major source of funding available to foreign graduate students is the
Student politics, unions and services
The Students' Council is the official representative of those studying at the university. It handles all kinds of rights issues and relations with internal and external authorities. Elections for the council take place every year. There are three major parties that participate in the student politics. These are Vaka and Röskva. Many local politicians started their careers as members of the council.
There are over 60 student unions in operation within the university.[15] Each union is made up of students of a particular subject or a few related ones. Postgraduate students in some fields have their own unions. Membership is optional. A large part of the unions' function revolves around social activities, the most common of which are the so-called "science trips", a tradition where companies and organizations in the industry invite students in a relevant field over for a presentation and drinks. Some postgraduate student unions also organize small-scale academic seminars.
Félagsstofnun stúdenta[16] is a self-owned institution that runs several services in and around the campus. These include kindergartens, low-rent apartments, cafeterias and a large bookstore.
Notable faculty members
Current
- Inga Bergmann Árnadóttir (odontologist)
- Hrund Ólöf Andradóttir (civil engineer)
- Vilhjálmur Árnason (philosopher)
- Brynhildur Davidsdottir(ecological economist)
- Jóhanna Einarsdóttir (early childhood education)
- Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson (political scientist)
- Þorvaldur Gylfason(economist)
- Gísli Pálsson (anthropologist)
- Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir (sociologist)
- Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir (epidemiologist)
- Þór Whitehead (historian)
- Hannes Jónsson (theoretical chemist)[17]
Former
- Sigrún Aðalbjarnardóttir (professor emeritus)
- Halldór Ásgrímsson (lecturer, 1973–1975)
- Guðmundur Finnbogason (writer, teacher)
- Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (political scientist, former President of Iceland)
- Þorsteinn Gylfason (philosopher)
- Erlendur Haraldsson (social scientist)
- Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (President of Iceland)
- Sigurður Nordal (Medieval literature scholar)
- Páll Skúlason (philosopher, 1945-2015)
- Sigurður Þórarinsson (geologist)
Notable alumni
- Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (former President of Iceland)
- Ólafía Einarsdóttir (archaeologist)
- Arnaldur Indriðason (writer)
- Arndís Þórarinsdóttir (writer)
- Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (politician, former President of Iceland)
- Björn Bjarnason (politician)
- Davíð Oddsson (politician)
- Einar Pálsson (literature)
- Árelía Eydís Guðmundsdóttir (writer, academic)
- Einar Már Guðmundson(writer)
- Friðrik Sophusson(politician)
- Guðmundur Finnbogason (writer, teacher)
- Hreiðar Már Sigurðsson (businessman)
- Kári Stefánsson (physician and scientist)
- Kristín Steinsdóttir (writer)
- Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir (writer)
- Magnús Scheving (actor)
- Rannveig Þorsteinsdóttir (lawyer and politician)
- Sigurjón Sighvatsson (film producer)
- Stefán Jón Hafstein (writer and statesman)
- Thor Sigfusson (businessman)
- Vigdís Grímsdóttir (writer)
- Þórarinn Eldjárn (writer)
- Þórður Helgason (writer and educationalist)
- Össur Skarphéðinsson (politician)
- professor emerita)
- Páll Logason (powerlifter and strongman)
See also
- Skemman.is(digital library)
- National and University Library of Iceland
- Icelandic scholars
- List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
References
- ^ a b c d e "Facts and Figures". Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "University of Iceland A Citizen of the Respublica Scientiarum". Retrieved 2017-05-14.
- ^ Elliott, Alexander. "University campus flooded as water main bursts". Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. RÚV. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "Veldu HÍ | Háskóli Íslands". Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
- ^ HÍ - skráðir nemendur, febrúar 2011
- ^ "Research institutions". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023". shanghairanking.com. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "QS World University Rankings: University of Iceland". Top Universities. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "University of Iceland". Times Higher Education (THE). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ U.S. News. "University of Iceland". Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Search". Times Higher Education (THE). 27 September 2021.
- ^ "World University Rankings". 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017".
- ^ "Registration Fees". Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Nemendafélög HÍ (in Icelandic) Retrieved January 20, 2010". Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- ^ "FS – FS".
- ^ "Hannes Jónsson - Professor | University of Iceland". english.hi.is. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
External links
- (in Icelandic) Official website
- (in English) Official website