University of the Faroe Islands

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University of the Faroe Islands
Fróðskaparsetur Føroya
Latin: Academia Færoensis
Motto:	Mildar veittrar tendraðu ein vita føroyum stjørnuleið frá øld til øld ("Gentle elves set light to lead the Faroes on the starry way from age to age")
Established:	1965
Type:	Public
Rector:	Jóan Pauli Joensen
Faculty:	45
Students:	142
Location:	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Website:	www.setur.fo

The University of the Faroe Islands is a state-run university located in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. It consists of three faculties: Faroese Language and Literature, Science and Technology, and History and Social Sciences. The university offers bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D.'s in all three faculties. The student body is small, with 142 students total. The university organizes an annual dissertation competition open to all students. The educational language of the university is Faroese, making it the only university in the world to conduct classes officially in that language.

The university has an annual operating budget of DKK 19 million and works closely with the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland for research projects.

[edit] History

The University of the Faroe Islands was founded in 1965 by members of the Faroese Scientific Society, founded in 1952. Among their activities, the Society published a scientific periodical and carried out comprehensive work on the compilation of Faroese vocabulary.

The university began with one professor, Christian Matras, and a registrar, Maud Heinesen. In its first years the school offered one-year courses in natural history and Faroese for teachers. In addition to the yearly courses, the university arranged for a collection committee with the task of preserving all Faroese folk culture. Today this material is in the archives of the Faculty of Faroese Language and Literature. A further committee was appointed in 1972 to collect Faroese hymns and spiritual ballads.