Arctic biology courses


Despite the apparent harshness of the high Arctic, many organisms are well adapted to this environment. The fauna and flora of Svalbard include more than 1,800 marine invertebrate species, 1,200 terrestrial or freshwater invertebrate species and over 170 higher plant species in addition to the 22 mammal and 28 bird species.
UNIS emphasizes the biological studies (taxonomy, diversity, ecology, physiology) of the fauna and flora of Svalbard related to the physical and chemical environment. Easy access to key habitats gives students and staff at UNIS a unique opportunity to identify and quantify environmental threats in addition to gaining basic knowledge of the Arctic.
Field activities
All AB courses are research-based in both content and activities. Our students get hands-on experience with ongoing research and are trained in real-life situations.
Field activities are undertaken year-round in combination with classroom activities and laboratory exercises. This integrated approach provides students with a first-hand experience of the biological processes and the natural history of the terrestrial, limnic and marine flora and fauna in an Arctic environment.
Centre of excellence in higher education (SFU)
The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) has awarded UNIS, together with University of Bergen and Institute of Marine Research a Centre of Excellence in Higher Education (SFU). SFU is a national Norwegian prestige programme to promote standards in higher education, and implies a focussed and long-term commitment to stimulate the teaching and learning methods at bachelor, master, and PhD level.
BioCEED (Centre of Excellence in Biology Education)
Part of the motivation for BioCEED (Centre of Excellence in Biology Education) is to further develop the integration of field-based activities and the link to ongoing research in our education. The first noticeable change is a reorganisation of our bachelor courses. The marine biology course (AB-202) is offered in the spring semester and the Arctic Ecology course (AB-204) in the autumn semester. This enables us to improve the overall field component of the courses by linking them more effectively to ongoing research, as well as giving a tighter link between courses offered in the same semester.

Bachelor course combinations
Recommended workload is 30 ECTS per semester.
Autumn semester
Autumn semester bachelor
Spring semester
Spring semester bachelor

Winter Ecosystems in the warming Arctic
Added value of completing the full course series
By taking all three courses you will gain a unique and comprehensive understanding of Arctic ecosystems across seasons as the polar night recedes and summer arrives, biological scales, and environmental settings. Together, the three courses provide an integrated perspective that goes far beyond what is achieved in any single five week course.
Learning outcome
You will connect insights from terrestrial winter ecology, microbial processes, and marine ice-covered ecosystems, allowing you to understand the ecology of the Arctic landscape—from microbes in permafrost and snow, to plants and animals on the tundra, to primary producers and nutrient cycles in and beneath the sea ice.
Through diverse Arctic fieldwork in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, you will develop advanced practical skills in ecological and microbiological methods, data collection, analysis, and scientific communication. The overarching thematic foci of the courses are climate change impacts, adaptation mechanisms, and ecosystem dynamics.
By successfully completing this semester package you will and will strengthen your ability to critically evaluate and integrate complex environmental information and have built a strong interdisciplinary foundation preparing you for careers focused on Arctic and or environmental challenges.
Block 1 – Arctic Winter Ecology
Block 2 – Arctic Microbiology
Block 3 – Ecosystems in the ice covered waters

Biology of the Arctic summer
Added value of completing the full course series
The summer block focuses on the brief summer period students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how the terrestrial ecosystem functions, the biodiversity and the adaptations to the environment. The course combines fieldwork with lectures and lab sessions, offering hands-on experience in identifying the flora and fauna, analyzing vegetation communities biotic / abiotic interactions. You will explore ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, phenology, and the impact of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. This course equips you with practical skills and theoretical knowledge essential for ecological research in polar regions.
Block 4 – Arctic microbiology

Biodiversity and adaptations in a freezing world
Added value of completing the full course series
In the autumn semester, three postgraduate courses are combined with focus on the ecology of the Barents Sea, molecular tools to reveal biodiversity and seasonal change, and finishing with setting this ecology in the context of rapid Arctic environmental change on both land and sea. Each course delivers valuable knowledge and skills. Nonetheless, by successfully completing this three course semester package you will gain an additional inseight and understanding of Arctic ecosystems between seasons as the short Arctic summer draws to a close and the 24 hour polar night commences. Together, this package provides an integrated perspective that goes beyond that a single five-week course can deliver. You will develop an understanding of Arctic ecosystems, the extreme seasonality at these High Arctic latitudes, methodological skills, and enhance you ability to interpret ecological data in the broader context of rapid Arctic environmental change. This progression provides a solid foundation for research careers and policy-relevant environmental work in polar regions.
From Organisms to Ecosystems
AB-321 Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology introduces you the ecology of Arctic marine benthos, emphasizing taxonomy, functional traits, and trophic interactions. This course including a research cruise with the research vessel Helmer Hansen, introduces you to the benthic organisms of the Arctic sea and the complexity and functioning of the seafloor communities.
Linking Ecology with Genetics
AB-332 Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology builds directly on the marine biology concepts from AB-321 by introducing you to molecular tools. You will gain experience in state-of-the-art genetic techniques applied to real-world Arctic field samples. By combining ecological insight from AB-321 with molecular methods, you are able to explore and understand biodiversity, seasonality, and food webs.
Understanding Ecosystem Change in a Warming Arctic
The final course, AB-340 Climate Change Biology, expands the focus to ecosystem-scale responses, terrestrial and marine, to environmental change. This course will provide the student with knowledge and comprehension of Arctic climate change. Through a diverse range of learning activities, the student will learn to analyse, synthesise and evaluate effects of climate change in the Arctic using research-based knowledge across natural sciences.
By successfully completing this semester package you will strengthen your ability to critically evaluate and integrate complex environmental information and have built a strong interdisciplinary foundation preparing you for careers focused on Arctic or global environmental challenges.
Block 5 – Ecology of Arctic Marine Benthos
Block 6 – Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology
Block 7 – Climate Change Biology
Master course combinations

Winter Ecosystems in the warming Arctic
Added value of completing the full course series
By taking all three courses—AB-329 Arctic Winter Ecology, AB-327 Arctic Microbiology, and AB-330 Ecosystems in Ice Covered Waters—you will gain a unique and comprehensive understanding of Arctic ecosystems across seasons as the polar night recedes and summer arrives, biological scales, and environmental settings. Together, the three courses provide an integrated perspective that goes far beyond what is achieved in any single five week course.
You will connect insights from terrestrial winter ecology, microbial processes, and marine ice-covered ecosystems, allowing you to understand the ecology of the Arctic landscape—from microbes in permafrost and snow, to plants and animals on the tundra, to primary producers and nutrient cycles in and beneath the sea ice.
Through diverse Arctic fieldwork in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, you will develop advanced practical skills in ecological and microbiological methods, data collection, analysis, and scientific communication. The overarching thematic foci of the courses are climate change impacts, adaptation mechanisms, and ecosystem dynamics.
By successfully completing this semester package you will and will strengthen your ability to critically evaluate and integrate complex environmental information and have built a strong interdisciplinary foundation preparing you for careers focused on Arctic and or environmental challenges.
Block 1 – Arctic Winter Ecology
Block 2 – Arctic Microbiology
Block 3 – Ecosystems in the ice covered waters

Biology of the Arctic summer
Added value of completing the full course series
The summer block focuses on the brief summer period students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how the terrestrial ecosystem functions, the biodiversity and the adaptations to the environment. The course combines fieldwork with lectures and lab sessions, offering hands-on experience in identifying the flora and fauna, analyzing vegetation communities biotic / abiotic interactions. You will explore ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, phenology, and the impact of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. This course equips you with practical skills and theoretical knowledge essential for ecological research in polar regions.
Block 4 – Arctic microbiology

Biodiversity and adaptations in a freezing world
Added value of completing the full course series
In the autumn semester, three postgraduate courses are combined with focus on the ecology of the Barents Sea, molecular tools to reveal biodiversity and seasonal change, and finishing with setting this ecology in the context of rapid Arctic environmental change on both land and sea. Each course delivers valuable knowledge and skills. Nonetheless, by successfully completing this three course semester package you will gain an additional inseight and understanding of Arctic ecosystems between seasons as the short Arctic summer draws to a close and the 24 hour polar night commences. Together, this package provides an integrated perspective that goes beyond that a single five-week course can deliver. You will develop an understanding of Arctic ecosystems, the extreme seasonality at these High Arctic latitudes, methodological skills, and enhance you ability to interpret ecological data in the broader context of rapid Arctic environmental change. This progression provides a solid foundation for research careers and policy-relevant environmental work in polar regions.
From Organisms to Ecosystems
AB-321 Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology introduces you the ecology of Arctic marine benthos, emphasizing taxonomy, functional traits, and trophic interactions. This course including a research cruise with the research vessel Helmer Hansen, introduces you to the benthic organisms of the Arctic sea and the complexity and functioning of the seafloor communities.
Linking Ecology with Genetics
AB-332 Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology builds directly on the marine biology concepts from AB-321 by introducing you to molecular tools. You will gain experience in state-of-the-art genetic techniques applied to real-world Arctic field samples. By combining ecological insight from AB-321 with molecular methods, you are able to explore and understand biodiversity, seasonality, and food webs.
Understanding Ecosystem Change in a Warming Arctic
The final course, AB-340 Climate Change Biology, expands the focus to ecosystem-scale responses, terrestrial and marine, to environmental change. This course will provide the student with knowledge and comprehension of Arctic climate change. Through a diverse range of learning activities, the student will learn to analyse, synthesise and evaluate effects of climate change in the Arctic using research-based knowledge across natural sciences.
By successfully completing this semester package you will strengthen your ability to critically evaluate and integrate complex environmental information and have built a strong interdisciplinary foundation preparing you for careers focused on Arctic or global environmental challenges.
Block 5 – Ecology of Arctic Marine Benthos
Block 6 – Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology
Block 7 – Climate Change Biology
Are you a student enrolled at University of Oslo, NTNU or NMBU?
See how a semester or two at UNIS fits into your study programme:
- University of Oslo – Bachelor in Life Sciences (biovitenskap)
- NTNU – Bachelor in Marine Biology and Aquaculture; Ecology, Behavior and Evolutionary Biology; Ecology, Behavior and Evolutionary Biology II
- NMBU – Bachelor in Ecology and Nature Management