Practicalities
The EnCHiL Nordic Master Programme. Practicalities
Application Deadline
Next application deadline is January 31 for non-EU/EA students or April 15 if you are an EU/EEA student. The programme starts in the fall semester only.
Important dates in the procedure
- If you are a student from a non-EU/EEA country:
1 December – 31 January: send us your application using the AUI online application portal. You can expect a letter of admission or rejection from the admissions office by mid-April. - If you are a student from a EU/EEA country:
1 December – 15 April: send us your application using the AUI online application portal. You can expect a letter of admission or rejection from the admissions office by mid-May.
Fees
The program fees will differ for EU/EEA students and non- EU/EEA students, because at European universities non- EU/EEA students are required to pay additional tuition fees. Tuition fees differ between universities, but the agreement between the EnCHiL degree-awarding parties is that the same tuition fee will be required from non- EU/EEA students irrespective of their entry point to the programme.
Program fees common for all students include student union, semester fees or course fees. In Iceland, all Icelandic and foreign university students are required to pay an annual registration fee of 85.000 ISK. In Finland, all university students have to pay annual student union fee of 57 EUR (during the academic year 2024-2025, subject to change).
Since all EnCHiL students will be jointly registered at UH:AUI or LU:AUI, the universities have reached the following agreement:
EU/EEA students:
Annual fee of 400 EUR per year (during the academic year 2024-2025, subject to change).
Non-EU/EEA students:
An annual flat-rate tuition fee of 9.000 EUR, which includes all the registration and student union fees. The payment of the programme fee will be split into three instalments: i) 400 EUR to officially confirm your registration to the programme (deadline indicated in the letter of admission to AUI), ii) 4100 EUR by 15th August and iii) 4500 EUR by 15th January.
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.
Contact information
For general questions about the EnCHiL Nordic Master.
Enquiries should be directed to enchil.admission@lbhi.is
In the programme – handbook for students
For general questions about the EnCHiL Nordic Master enquiries should be directed to enchil.admission@lbhi.is
Published EnCHiL theses
You can find published EnCHiL theses in the digital repository Skemman and in repositories at LU and UH. Here are some examples of the excellent work done by our outstanding alumni:
Title: Results from Project ECHO: Environmental Challenges & Harmonizing Impactful Outcomes : A qualitative analysis of interdisciplinary research in Finland
Thesis submitted in October 2024.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Population of Gladiolus imbricatus under diverse management regimes in SW Estonia
Thesis submitted in June 2024.
Degree awarded by the Lund University and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Influence of muskox carcasses on soil nutrients and vegetation in a High Arctic ecosystem in northeast Greenland
Thesis submitted in November 2023.
Degree awarded by the Lund University and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Quantifying glacier melt enhancement due to dust deposition during the 2022 melt season
Thesis submitted in October 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Legacy effects of temperature alterations on microbial resistance and resilience to drying and rewetting.
Thesis submitted in September 2023.
Degree awarded by the Lund University and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Fermentation of organic waste for bioplastic production. A potential sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel plastic.
Thesis submitted in September 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Modeling the effect of the energy crisis on air quality in the Po Valley, Italy.
Thesis submitted in July 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Non-growing season CO2 fluxes of a boreal fen – key drivers and responses to anomalous winter conditions.
Thesis submitted in May 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Characterisation of Microphysical and Optical Properties of Atmospheric Aerosols in a High Arctic environment: Villum Research Station, NE Greenland
Thesis submitted in May 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Phenology Effects on Carbon and Water Dynamics in a Pristine Boreal Fen
Thesis submitted in May 2023.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Vegetation cover change on Tindfjöll mountains, Iceland, assessed by aerial photographs, topography, and climate.
Thesis submitted in September 2022.
Degree awarded by the Lund University and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Influence of climate change on behavioural traits of Palaemon elegans, an invasive species in the Baltic Sea
Thesis submitted in August 2022.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Environmental Changes in Eastern Lapland during the last 50 years
Thesis submitted in May 2022.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Title: Married to the Lab. Tying the Knot of Art and Science
Thesis submitted in November 2022.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
MSc. Eyrún Gyða Gunnlaugsdóttir
Title: Experimental warming of subarctic biocrust: Temporal responses of soil respiration and plant community
Thesis submitted in August 2022.
Degree awarded by the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural University of Iceland.
(And here is where we will put yours!)
EnCHiL publications
If your thesis leads or contributes to a scientific publication, first of all, congratulations! Second, we would very much appreciate if you include EnCHiL in your acknowledgments. Here is a suggested text: Name of the student acknowledges the staff of the Nordic Master program in Environmental Changes at Higher Latitudes (EnCHiL) for their support.
Also, we can help you to increase the visibility of your EnCHiL-related publications. Share it with us (alejandro@lbhi.is) and we will post them in here:
Särkelä, K., Salovaara, J. J., Vesterinen, V.-M., Siponen, J., Salmela-Aro, K., Riuttanen, L., and Lauri, K. A.: Students’ sense of belonging and its impact on effectively teaching about environmental changes in high latitudes during a master’s programme, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-715, 2025
Siponen, J. O., Salovaara, J. J., Särkelä, K., Ronkainen, I., Veijonaho, S., Vesterinen, V.-M., Barrio, I. C., Riuttanen, L. I., and Lauri, K. A.: Seeds of transformative learning and its pedagogical implications on a conference-based university course for environmental and geosciences, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4097, 2025
Oikarinen, T., Salovaara, J. J., and Lauri, K. A.: Piloting a course model for blended multisite field course, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-17745, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-17745, 2025
Salazar, A., Gunnlaugsdóttir, E. G., Jónsdóttir, I. S., Klupar, I., Wandji, R. P. T., Arnalds, Ó., & Andrésson, Ó. (2024). Increased biocrust cover and activity in the highlands of Iceland after five growing seasons of experimental warming. Plant and Soil, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06900-7
EnCHiL alumni
We are very proud of our alumni! They are making valuable contributions to academia, industry and the public sector. Here is a summary of the most updated information that we have about them (published with their consent):
PhD student at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen.
Email: qifan.wu@nbi.ku.dk
PhD student at The Arctic University Museum of Norway, working on the project Arctic Greening: using ancient DNA to determine responses of willows and birches to climate changes.
Email: yuan.pan@uit.no
PhD student at the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), University of Helsinki.
Email: samuel.chua@helsinki.fi
PhD student at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä.
Email: raakel.fvvuojolainen@jyu.fi
Works in the Micrometeorology research group at the University of Helsinki. Doing a PhD focused on the impacts of environmental variables and environmental change on greenhouse gas fluxes from peatlands at various latitudes. Works in the Micrometeorology research group at the University of Helsinki.
Email: eyrun.gunnlaugsdottir@helsinki.fi
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5879-7193
Currently pursuing a PhD at Uppsala University in the Plant Ecology and Evolution program, within the multidisciplinary PredPeat project. Her research focuses on establishing quantitate links between vegetation functional traits and water quality in rewetted peatlands across Sweden, contributing insights to peatland restoration and ecosystem management.
Email: sahra.gibson@ebc.uu.se
EnCHiL was a good opportunity to learn from and with professionals across the Nordics. A fun way to build a network and gain new perspectives. My studies have led to me to a doctoral research project in climate change ecology at University of Eastern Finland (Peat & Trees research group). I’m now studying the effects of Global Change on boreal peatlands. How does warming affect ecosystem ecology (e.g. plant community changes) and how do such variations drive the micrometeorology of gas-, water- and energy-exchange between biosphere and atmosphere? I shall let you know ; )
I met a bunch of lovely people along the EnCHiL journey, and they are now integral part of my professional life. Good times.
Email: maximilian.king@uef.fi
PhD student at the Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu. My research examines carbon cycling and balance in northern peatland ecosystems by integrating atmospheric CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes with water-transported carbon to develop a comprehensive net ecosystem carbon balance. I focus on the interactions between vertical and lateral carbon fluxes, using high-frequency monitoring techniques and process-based ecosystem models. I am particularly interested in the role of winter periods and extreme events in shaping these dynamics and influencing the sink-source functioning of wetlands.
Email: karoliina.sarkela@oulu.fi
I am currently doing my PhD at Wageningen University. To put it straight, I am a mashup of a soil biologist and microbial ecologist. My research focuses around understanding how plants, microbes and nutrients (primarily nitrogen and carbon) interact. Here at Wageningen my PhD projects generally investigate the rhizosphere and how we can use the plant triggered microbial mechanisms found in crop rhizosphere soil to enhance crop complementarity. While this primarily has been researched in terms of grass-legume combinations, I am interested in investigating what other mechanisms are out there, including the potential beneficial effects of priming.
Email: n7vonjustice@gmail.com
From the Arctic to the tropics, I am currently working as a PhD student at Lund University, deeply engaged in the project “Confronting the climate – water – biodiversity interactions: How rural communities can choose to become sustainable.” My research is focused on the dynamic interplay between climate, water resources, and biodiversity, particularly in rural and dispersed communities residing in tropical dry areas. With a keen interest in understanding the intricate connections between these elements, my work delves into the complexities of groundwater resources, which serve as vital common pool resources (CPR) and are increasingly at risk of overexploitation. This overexploitation poses a significant threat to the delivery of essential “ecosystem services” upon which communities rely.
Email: kimberly.montanez@ekh.lu.se
After graduating from the EnCHiL programme with a thesis on the microphysical and optical properties of aerosols in the High Arctic, Ellie worked in applied meteorology and R&D at Vaisala, Helsinki, and is now an atmospheric data scientist at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis in Oxford, working with archival and curation of earth observation datasets and long-term climate records.
Email: ellie@fisher-people.com
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5204-7615
Steinunn Helgadóttir
Currently working as a science communicator for ON Power and Carbfix, educating general visitors, students, and professionals on geothermal energy and CCS methods. Also working as a leader for university students participating in the Green Program, an educational program focused on renewable energy innovation and sustainability in Iceland.
Email: steinunnhelgad12@gmail.com
I am pursuing a PhD in the Atmospheric Interactions group at the University of Helsinki. My work focuses on chemical transport modeling, particularly on biogenic volatile organic compound emissions in the boreal forest and their effect on climate
Email: manuel.bettineschi@helsinki.fi
PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Artist. María Rún‘s work is in constant dialogue with contemporary concerns and addresses issues as feminism, climate change and the relationship between man and nature.
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Q & A
Q: How many approximately follow the programme every year and how many students in every city (Helsinki, Lund or Iceland)?
A: In practice, due to housing issues at the Agricultural University of Iceland and infrastructure limitations in Greenland, we have been aiming for maximum of only 20 students per year, 7/7/6 starting in each country. During the first years of the program we deliberately started with smaller student groups (<12 students), but from 2023 we are aiming for 20 students.
Q: Is it possible to do a thesis at a non-partner university? Where have students typically do their thesis projects?
A: Most students have so far submitted their thesis projects at the Lund University or University of Helsinki, and some at the Agricultural University of Iceland (the degree-awarding institutions). Within EnCHiL students can also submit their thesis at Aarhus University in Denmark , Estonian University of Life Sciences and University of Oulu in Finland (associated EnCHiL universities).
Students can do (and have done) a research project in connection to other universities, but their theses course would then be registered at UH, LU or AUI, and the responsible researcher would become an external supervisor in the thesis course.
Q: What jobs have EnCHiL alumni pursue?
A: EnCHiL alumni are either doing their PhD at top universities or working in environmental-related positions.
Q: Does EnCHiL offer scholarships for (international) students?
A: We do not have a scholarship program, but all Enchil students receive funding (e.g. from Erasmus) for their compulsory mobility periods (first spring semester for University of Helsinki (UH) and Lund University (LU) students travelling to Iceland, or AUI students travelling to UH or LU in the second fall semester). Also, Enchil covers the expenses of students going to a course in Greenland. Finally, Enchil covers the student’s health insurances during these periods. So, in a way, all Enchil students have a sort of Scholarship.
Q: Can EnCHiL studies include an internship period?
A: Lund, Helsinki and AUI allow students to do up to 10 ECTS as internship courses.
Q: I would like to know more details about the sponsorship of travel and accommodation costs during my study period. Are all accommodation costs in the whole two years of study covered?
A: No, but, EnCHiL students can apply to an Erasmus grant through their home (start) university, to cover some expenses during their study abroad mobilities (1 – 2 terms) in which they are not at their home (start) universities. Erasmus grants are at the moment 540 EUR/month in Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and 490 Euro/month in Estonia. A study period abroad can last a minimum of 2 months (or 1 academic term or trimester) and a maximum of 12 months.
Additionally, travel funds for mobilities from Iceland to EU countries are available for each study mobility (360 – 530 EUR).
Academic Strengths and Research Exellence
The EnCHiL consortium is formed by three main partners and four associated partners. The academic strengths and research excellence of the main partners (Agricultural University of Iceland, University of Helsinki and Lund University) provide a very strong technical and scientific foundation, as well as a unique Arctic experience that will deepen the students’ understanding and knowledge about high latitudes, as well……..
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Agricultural Univ of Iceland
Lund University
University of Helsinki
The Programme is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers
