Year of foundation: 1994
Approx. number of students: 8,500
Period of study: Mid August - Mid December; Early January - Early June
MCI partner since: 2010
The City
Grimstad belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet and has approx. 20,000 inhabitants. It is a little maritime town set among many small islands. There is a harbor, a long pedestrian shopping street, a small market square, a church, and a museum dedicated to the early life of Henrik Ibsen, who served as an apprentice to Grimstad's local pharmacist Reimann, from 1844 to 1847, before leaving Grimstad in 1850. Ibsen's intimate knowledge of the local people and surroundings can be seen in his poem Terje Vigen.
The University
University of Agder is one of the largest institutions for higher education in Norway. Agder University College was instituted in 1994 after 6 colleges in Kristiansand, Grimstad and Arendal merged. The university college became Norway's 7th university on September 1, 2007, after the government had granted it status as university on August 10, 2007. As of today, the university is split between three campuses; Arendal, Grimstad and Kristiansand, with the latter being the largest.
The University of Agder has five faculties, with the teacher training programs organized in an interdisciplinary fashion. Currently the university offers 175 study programs, including 20 Master programs and 7 PhD programs, in a wide variety of subjects, such as business administration, social sciences, language, culture and literature, engineering, music and health related courses, as well as several other study programs. All engineering programs are currently located in Grimstad, nursing and healthcare programs are taught both in Arendal and Kristiansand. The remainder of the programs and courses are taught in Kristiansand. The university is involved in significant international cooperation, and has signed agreements with 170 universities on student and teacher exchange in all parts of the world. The university closely collaborates with business, the public sector and NGOs in the Agder region. UiA contributes considerably to the economic, social and cultural development of the region.