Students applying for the EnCHiL Nordic Master must at minimum have obtained a Bachelor’s degree corresponding to a minimum 180 ECTS credits from an internationally recognised university, including a minimum of 90 ECTS of studies in natural sciences and technology.
Students in their final year of their bachelor’s studies are eligible to apply, provided they complete their degree by the start of the EnCHiL programme.

Minimum average grade from a bachelor programme of at least equal to C on the ECTS grading scale (grades from other grade systems will be converted to this scale by the admission office).

On the online application form, you will be required to provide the following details:

• Personal information including a clear colour scan (PDF file) of the photo page of your passport. Please make sure that you provide a permanent email address.
  You should upload a curriculum vitae (CV) (see below how to format the file)
• Select entry point preferences to start the EnCHiL programme
  Upload your Motivation letter – statement of purpose (see below how to format the file; see Application instructions for content)
• Previous education: academic degrees awarded with names of institutions, dates and subject(s).
  Upload scanned transcripts of all academic record (see below how to format the file)

For all your uploads, please use PDF file format (.pdf), not word processing files (e.g. .doc, .docx, .odt .rtf files or similar). Please include your name in the file name along with a descriptive title, for example:
Jane_Smith_passport.pdf
Jane_Smith_CV.pdf
Jane_Smith_statement.pdf
Jane_Smith_transcripts.pdf

• In addition to your personal contact information and educational history (some of which will overlap with the information you provide on the online application form), you should list your teaching experience, conference and other presentations and publications, employment history, honours and awards, as well as relevant extracurricular activities. For academic degrees completed, indicate your cumulative grade-point average (GPA); if you have not completed your degree, state your current grade-point average.
• Your curriculum vitae (CV) should be uploaded and submitted as a PDF file, with your online application (see above). Please include your name in the file name along with a descriptive title, for example: Jane_Smith_CV.pdf

At least one semester’s mobility is an obligatory requirement for all EnCHiL students. Students that will start in Lund or Helsinki all come to Iceland in the second semester, where the whole annual intake group is living together. Students that start in Iceland continue there for two semesters, but must go to either Lund or Helsinki in the third semester.

In the application form, you will be asked to indicate if you would like to initiate your studies in Helsinki, in Lund or in Iceland, and in the case you start your studies in Iceland, if you foresee that you would like to go to Helsinki or Lund in the third semester. 

As the whole program will have at maximum 20 available student places per year, or ca. 6-7 at each entry point, the EnCHiL organizers may offer a successful applicant to start at another entry point than he/she put down as the first preference, to ensure an equal geographical balance in the EnCHiL program, as this is important for optimizing use of travel funding between universities.  

You are required to submit a statement of your academic interests and future career goals. Your statement should not exceed 2,000 words and must be written in English. It is important to address all the points below in the order given:
Academic background
Describe the academic experience that now motivates you to pursue graduate studies on environmental issues in the high North. Explain in the following way how your academic background has prepared you for this graduate programme by
Listing the academic courses (with course codes and course names as they appear on your transcript) completed or in progress that have prepared you in particular and given you solid foundation for graduate work in this field.
Describing projects or papers or that you have completed or that you have read outside of class that you found particularly useful and rewarding.
Discussing any other activity or training that will prepare you for the EnCHiL programme.

Academic interests within EnCHiL Programme
Describe your main academic interests within the EnCHiL Programme. Which area(s) would you like to concentrate on in your course work and for your Master’s thesis. Note that you are expected to state and explain your current interests, but this is not binding in any way.

EnCHiL entry point and its 3rd and 4th semester
The first semester of EnCHiL takes place in one of the three core EnCHiL partner universities (Lund University, University of Helsinki and Agricultural University of Iceland); i.e. the EnCHiL programme has three entry points, LU, UH, AUI. In the second semester all students will be together at AUI in Iceland and Greenland, but during the 3rd and 4th semester they can either return to their entry point university, stay at AUI (except the students starting at AUI) or go to any associated EnCHiL partner institute for courses and thesis work.
Please indicate which entry point of the EnCHiL program you would prefer, if possible, and why? Also indicate where you could foresee you would like to spend your 3rd and 4th semesters (those who want to come to AUI as the entry point can select between LU or UH for 3rd semester). Please explain how your choice relates to your academic goals. Please note that you are expected to state and explain your preference, but this is not a binding decision.

Career goals
Briefly describe your future career goals. Why is doing a Nordic Master in Environmental Changes at Higher Latitudes important for your future goals?
Your Motivation letter —written in English and not exceeding 2,000 words—should be uploaded and submitted as a PDF file together with your online application (see above). Please include your name in the file name along with a descriptive title, for example: Jane_Smith_statement.pdf

You are required to submit official transcripts of academic record, officially certified copy of the diploma and diploma supplements (when available) bearing the seal of the institution and signature of the registrar or other appropriate official. These transcripts and diploma supplements should be in the original language and in English, as a certified English translation. Note that a translation cannot be submitted in lieu of the original records; the original records must be submitted as well.

Transcripts of academic record are to be submitted as follows:
A complete scanned version (clear and readable, colour or black and white) should be uploaded and submitted as a PDF file together with your online application (see above). Make sure to include the transcript legend (often found on the reverse page of the transcript). Please include your name in the file name along with a descriptive title, for example: Jane_Smith_transcripts.pdf
AND
We are no longer requesting hard-copies of transcripts.

The EnCHiL programme is taught in English, so if you are not a native English speaker you need to demonstrate proficiency in English. This can be done by either taking a language test or submitting information about previous studies in English. You need to upload proofs that you meet those requirements and those can be proven in three different ways:

What is considered adequate foreign English studies is specified per country and follows the entry rules of Lund University for international M.Sc. students. You can find those country-based language requirements here. Please note that it is ONLY the language proficiency requirements we are using from Lund University web-page.

Non-native English speaking applicants can also demonstrate their proficiency in English by means of an internationally recognised test:

• TOEFL: Paper-based (PBT): Min score of 580 (written section grade 4.5) / Paper: (rPDT) Min score of 20 in each section (22 in written section) / Internet-based test (IBT): Min total score of 92 (written section 22)
• IELTS: 6.5, no section lower than 5.5 (only IELTS Academic Training accepted)
• PTE Academic. Min of 62; where of 54 in communication skills section.

Please note that the language test must not be older than two years.

For all applicants, a university degree (or polytechnic/university of applied science degree) completed in English in one of the EU/EEA countries or Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland or the USA is also an acceptable way of demonstrating academic English language skills. Such degree must include a minimum of what is equal to 60 ECTS studies given in English.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is located in one of the accepted countries.

Online language studies or open university studies are not acceptable when indicating language skills.

For futher information, contact the EnCHiL application office (enchil.admission@lbhi.is)

Carefully review your application and all supporting materials before submitting it. Make sure nothing is missing. Incomplete applications will not be processed.

Electronic application form
Is your contact information correct?
Have you provided a permanent email address that will not expire in the foreseeable future?
Have all the required documents been uploaded with the application:- clear colour scan of the photo page of your passport- curriculum vitae (CV)- Motivation letter- scanned transcripts of academic record
Are all supporting files in PDF format?
Do all file names include your name and content description (Jane_Smith_transcripts.pdf, etc.)?

Curriculum vitae
Is your CV complete and up to date?
Does it include your GPA? (if applicable in your system)

Motivation letter
Does your statement of purpose address all the points described in the application requirements?

Transcripts of academic record
Have you verified that all scans are complete? Are you confident that no pages are missing?
Is the transcript legend included?
Are all scans clear and legible?

Have you made arrangements to have hard copies of the transcripts sent to EnCHiL Admission Office by your home institution?

 Note that incomplete applications will not be processed.

Enquiries should be directed to enchil.admission@lbhi.is

• Once the application has been submitted, the applicant will receive a mail from the EnCHiL admission office verifying that the application has been received
• Applicants will be notified of their application results no later than six weeks after the set deadline.
• Initial notification of admission will be sent by email to the email address given in the application. Please make sure we have your current email address. A formal letter of admission will follow.

EEA/EU students: annual programme fee ≈ 400 EUR

Non-EEA/EU students: annual programme fee of 9.000 EUR*

*The parliament of Iceland is currently (Oct 2024) discussing the possibility of public universities (including the Agricultural University of Iceland) should start to charge non-EU/EEA students tuition fees, as it is now done in all the other Nordic countries. It is not clear (if or) when this would be implemented if it passes as new laws from the parliament later this autumn. It could be in the 2025/2026 academic year. We will keep this information updated in our website, as it could affect the EnCHiL Program Fees for our non-EU/EEA (=non-Schengen) students.