The two universities each have collaborated with several international UArctic partner institutions to develop the programmes and, with their partners, will share the programme delivery.

The University of Lapland and its institutional partners in the Comparative Social Work Master’s programme comprise the Barents Cross Border University; partners include the Northern Arctic Federal University, Karelian State Pedagogical University, Petrozavosk State University, Murmansk Humanities Institute, Murmansk State Humanities University, Murmansk State Technical University (Russia); and the University of Oulu (Finland).

Institutional partners with Finnmark University College in the Northern Tourism programme include the University of Oulu and University of Lapland (Finland); Umeå University (Sweden); the University of Northern British Columbia and Lakehead University (Canada); and the University of Iceland and University of Akureyri (Iceland).

The UArctic Endorsement certifies that the Master’s programmes have been developed and are jointly delivered by UArctic member institutions from at least two countries, include a knowledge generation/research base, contain an integrated mobility component, are northern relevant, and provide insights into traditional forms of indigenous knowledge and perspectives. Students may receive their degrees from a partner institution or from the lead institution depending upon the programme.

According to Rich Boone, UArctic Dean of Graduate Studies, “The UArctic Master’s Endorsement encourages the development of collaborative Master’s degree programmes among UArctic members who together can leverage their joint resources and expertise to offer Master’s degree programmes that will both fill a gap in graduate education in the Arctic and meet the needs of northern peoples. In particular the University of Lapland and Finnmark University College programmes will help address the need to better understand the rapid social changes underway in the Arctic and to equip northern peoples to better respond to the growing interest in Arctic tourism.”

For further information about the Comparative Social Work programme see www.ulapland.fi/csw; for information about the Northern Tourism programme contact Ola Sletvold (ola.sletvold@hifm.no). Details about the UArctic Master’s Endorsement can be found at http://www.uarctic.org/compactArticles.aspx?m=629