AFS-201
International Polar Field School (10 ECTS)

Required previous knowledge/specific course requirements:
Applicants must meet one or more of the prerequisites for UNIS undergraduate courses:

• 60 ECTS within general natural sciences, of which 30 ECTS within the field of biology
• 90 ECTS within the field of mathematics, physics or geophysics
• 60 ECTS within general natural science, whereof 30 ECTS must be within Earth sciences
• 60 ECTS within the field of mathematics, physics, mechanics or chemistry
  
  Note: PhD students are overqualified for this course
  

Learning outcome:

Interdisciplinary basic knowledge of environmental change in the Polar areas based upon past, present and future research being done in the Arctic during and after the IPY. Unique field-training experience in a high-arctic environment to be used in interdisciplinary project work during the field-school.

Academic content:
This course will focus on the impacts of climatic changes on the Polar regions, and students will accordingly get a general overview of topics including geology, glaciology, permafrost, oceanography, meteorology, biology, Polar social science and management/decision making in the Polar areas.

The field-school will provide hands-on activities, field-work, group work and lectures covering the main topics, but also a deeper look into present polar research that was accomplished during IPY 2007-2009.

Students will work with group projects and thus get training to improve report writing and presentation skills. The projects will be based on data collected during fieldwork, the lectured scientific topics and the lectures regarding management systems and the legal framework applying to the Polar region. In total the course provides facts and information on a variety of issues within the main concerns mentioned, and introduces students to field-work in the Arctic, methods in different disciplines, skills in how to make a good presentation and perform research outreach, and finally how to see Polar research in a broader perspective. The field school is a collaborative initiative between IPY Norway, UNIS, UArctic and the Association of Early Career Polar Scientists (APECS).

Teaching methods and activities:
Lectures, excursions, field work.

Compulsory assignment:
Field work, excursions, project work including poster production and presentation.

Assessment:

All assessments must be fulfilled in order to receive a final grade.

Application deadline: To be announced

More about the IPY Field School students' experiences:

Watch videos from the previous IPY Field Schools: