Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies

Study points/ECTS: 180
Full- or part time: Optional
Semesters: 6
Location: Bodø University College
Tuition/Fees: None
Start semester: Optional
Language of Instruction: English
Responsible Faculty: Bjørn K. Sagdahl,
E-mail: Bjoern.Sagdahl@hibo.no

Target Groups: The programme is designed for students who want to develop a multi-disciplinary competence on the northern circumpolar world with a special reference to the social sciences.

Admission Requirements: General competence for admission to higher education.

International study programme

Bodø University College is a member institution of the University of the Artic, a network of universities in the circumpolar north, which offers units for the study programme Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies. The bachelor programme can be taken as a combination of online courses and site delivery courses. The core courses are offered online, while the advanced emphasis courses of the programme are offered on site. Bodø University College has established this international programme and offer a full bachelor degree programme of which all the courses are offered by the college.

Bachelor degree

The major of the bachelor programme consists of five core courses (50 ECTS), three advanced emphasis courses (30 ECTS) and an assignment on 10 ECTS, leaving 90 credits (ECTS) for optional courses. Bodø University College will advise their students to take the Bachelor in Circumpolar Studies as a degree where two majors are included. In this way they will have access to more Master programmes according to the supplementary major (minimum 80 credits) taken as part of their study programme. The credits given for the BCS courses are tailored to fit into the credit and degree system of Bodø University College as well as the common European standard (ECTS).

Study type: Bachelor programme

Study level: Introductory and advanced courses

Target groups: The programme is designed for students who want to develop a multi-disciplinary competence on the northern circumpolar world with special reference to social sciences.

Admission requirements: General competence for admission to higher education.

Tuition fee: No tuition fee

Objectives:

Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies is a course programme with special relevance for Northern students and those seeking knowledge of Northern nature, resources, environment, politics, people and cultures, included a special focus on indigenous peoples of the north. The core of the programme consists of five courses, which are offered online. Bodø University College will also offer the opportunity for its students to take the courses by on site delivery depending of a sufficient number of students, based on the online offerings but with seminars and some tuition from staff. The core courses will otherwise be run as distant/online teaching for students with access to Internet and the college’s online teaching programme ClassFronter.

Study programme content:

The major in circumpolar studies consists of five core courses (50 ECTS), advanced emphasis courses (30 ECTS) and an assignment of 10 ECTS. The following core courses, extended version, are all available online:

BCS100X An Introduction to the Circumpolar World (10 credits/ECTS)

BCS110X Land and Environment of the Circumpolar World (10 ECTS)

BCS120X Peoples and Cultures of the Circumpolar World (10 ECTS)

BCS131X Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World I (10 ECTS)

BCS132X Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World II (10 ECTS)

The international BCS secretariat for the University of the Arctic (uarctic) offers the same courses online, organised as seven 6 credit courses with less syllabus required. This courses can be combined with our extended BCS courses. In case this online version of the courses are preferred or taken, the student has to take additional courses/credits to meet the formal requirements for a BA degree at Bodø University College. (BCS110X is composed by BCS311 and BCS312 and BCS120X covers BCS321 and BCS322.) For further information, confer the course information (below) or visit the home page of the University of the Arctic. Bodø Regional University has the six credit coursers included in its course calendar and may also give these courses on request. Otherwise, these courses are regularly offered by uarctic.

www.uarctic.org

The advanced emphasis courses of our bachelor programme forms a one semester programme, Northern Scandinavia Politics and Society, which consists of three courses, delivered on site as ordinary taught courses:

SA215S The History of the High North, 10 credits/ECTS

SA210S Scandinavian Politics, 10 credits/ECTS

SA212S Northern Scandinavian Societies, 10 credits/ECTS

Other member institutions of the uarctic network offer optional emphasis courses. Further information is available at the uarctic home page/ www.uarctic.org/ or by contacting the department/programme responsible teacher. Students who want to take advanced emphasis courses at a networking institution of the uarctic, will have access to a special scholarship program (Nort2North). In this case the responsible programme teacher has to confirm that the chosen courses will be accepted as part of the BCS major at Bodø University College.

The major in circumpolar studies, minimum of 80 credits, and the BA assignment (10 credits), can be combined with any other major or electives of 90 credits/ECTS. This implies that courses and programmes according to the student’s own preferences may compose the remaining credits, but we advise that these credits are used to constitute a major in another subject to widen the opportunities for available master programmes within the uarctic network.

Bodø University College will encourage the students to take this opportunity to build competence on circumpolar issues and to make use of the University of the Arctic and its member institutions.

Organisation

Autumn semester 1., 2. og 3. year                               Spring semester 1., 2. og 3. year

Teaching and learning methods:

The BCS core courses are taught online by the use of the virtual classroom programme ClassFronter. The advanced emphasis courses will be taught on site by lectures and seminars and requires active student participation by papers and oral presentations. Excursions will be included as part of the learning programme. These courses are also offered to exchange students as advanced emphasis courses within social sciences.

Exams and evaluations:

Students taking the courses as online offerings, will be assessed for the specific courses according to established routines and guidelines for exams at Bodø University College. The exams will be composed by papers/assignments and final home exams. Grading from A to F of which F means not approved. The department is using a combination of internal and external censors.

The courses and the programme will be evaluated by the students at the completion of the courses by oral and written feed-back. Further development of the courses will be partly based on this information.

Further education:

The BA in Circumpolar Studies forms a highly relevant background for a disciplinary Master degree with a focus on Northern social science studies.

Job qualifications: The BA degree gives no specific job competence but gives a broad and relevant background for public and private jobs where knowledge on circumpolar conditions is needed.