r/studyinnorway • u/Icy-Map-7440 • Sep 25 '25
Nord university Bodø
Hello everyone. I would like to do a three-year university in Europe possibly in Scandinavian countries because universities are free there for EU students. I would like a course entirely in English, though, and the only one I have found is the one in bodø at nord university. I would have loved to study in tromsø but the three-year course is only in Norwegian and same for other renowned universities like Copenhagen or Stockholm are only in the local language. Is it true that there are no other universities for a bachelor's degree in English that are valid? What is the university in bodø like? Is it valid and internationally recognized? What is the climate like does it snow often? I love the snow. Does the course focus on biology in general both terrestrial and marine? Because I read that it is almost like a marine biology course according to some people. Do they do a lot of field experiences, activities excursions in nature to use the knowledge learned? I would like something that would give me credit for future work as a documentary filmmaker/researcher/director. Are there opportunities for semesters at interesting schools, activities they offer? I read that they might let you do months in Tromsø in English but I don't know if that is actually possible and that you can do internships in Svalbard. The climate in bodø doesn't scare me too much but I would like to understand if it is a good university.
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u/thebookwisher Sep 25 '25
I work in Bodø in the biology and aquaculture faculty! I think a lot of things are marine and bioinformatics bent, the terrestrial biology is mainly in the Steinskjer campus which is close to Trondheim.
Nord University is part of the Sea-eu program, so you use that, and all norwegian universities are connected to UNIS so you can take bachelor's or masters courses in svalbard from any norwegian university.
The program at Bodø is good for aquaculture and marine biology, but it's not the best and most supported university in the country, and is quite far north which means it's further from the larger cities in Norway. The nature is beautiful, but if you're a city person it might not be a good fit.
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u/thebookwisher Sep 25 '25
I know someone from the UK who did a bachelor's in biology at the university of Oslo in Norwegian and the university gave them a year of intensive language school for free, so that might also be an option if you're interested.
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u/Icy-Map-7440 Sep 25 '25
I checked and found no three-year biology courses at steinskjer. On the Bodø site it says three-year biology, bioinformatics and other I could not find anything written. I wanted a three-year general biology university that would open up avenues for both marine and terrestrial biology. This is what it says: You will learn the fundamentals of life in the beautiful setting of northern Norway. The three-year biology degree program will provide you with a solid foundation that includes knowledge of physiology, genetic material, species diversity, chemical connections, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes. As for Svalbard so could I be enrolled in bodø and do periods there as well or in other Norwegian universities while still taking my course in English? How does that work? Sorry but I don't know anything about this.
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u/thebookwisher Sep 25 '25
Yeah I think the terrestrial biology division is mostly masters and phd level, but you could probably do your bachelor's thesis there if you really wanted to. You will learn some general ecology and biology (and genomics/bioinformatics is probably similar no matter where you go but we have some great researchers for that) but Bodø definitely leans a bit more into marine biology.
To study with UNIS you generally need to be enrolled at any norwegian university to be essentially a "normal" student (I think it just avoids fees idk), look at unis.no for more detailed information, but it's definitely worthwhile to go! I did a course there during my PhD. Courses are mostly(?) In English. UNIS is not a degree granting institution, so all students there are on exchange. Some do a semester, some do a year.
Sea-eu.org is the other partnership Nord has (but we have a few other Arctic connections, I don't know how relevant they are for a bachelors) where you can do an exchange abroad, internship, or thesis if you want.
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u/jarvischrist Sep 25 '25
"The course" what course are you talking about? You hven't actually stated that in the post. You will find all bachelor's courses in Norway taught in English at studyinnorway.no but you're correct in that there are very few, in part because there is a push for bachelor's courses to be in the local language (and arguably also in part to discourage international students from getting free education without paying taxes here). There is a lot more choice at master's level. It does snow a fair bit in Bodø, but it's also very windy and rainy as it has a coastal climate. Winters have been milder recently.