IUCP Permafrost Courses

Welcome to IPA's IPY Education Initiative, where we present available courses within permafrost and periglacial geomorphology. 

The International University Courses on Permafrost (IUCP) contains an overview of existing and new courses on permafrost and periglacial geomorphology within science and engineering disciplines, 2007 to 2009.

Please enjoy the service. If you have comments, or if you wish to submit other permafrost courses for integration in the database, please contact: IPA@unis.no.

Click here to proceed to the searchable map.

Click here to go to the IPY homepage.

Worldwide, only very few dedicated permafrost courses exist at university level today, and mostly at Russian universities. This significantly limits the education and development of new permafrost researchers. Therefore, the International Permafrost Association ( IPA ) has developed an overview of International University Courses on Permafrost (IUCP), as part of its participation in the IPY. An important component of the IPA legacy to the IPY is “to foster the development of the next generation of permafrost researchers”. This polar-related educational program covers cross-cutting activities of the four core IPY- IPA endorsed cluster projects that constitute the IPY Permafrost Programme: Permafrost Observatory Project:

• A Contribution to the Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP ; Project 50)
• Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Permafrost, Periglacial and Soil Environments (ANTPAS; Project 33)
• Arctic Circumpolar Coastal Observatory Network (ACCO-Net; Project 90)
• Carbon Pools in Permafrost Regions (CAPP; Project 373)

Click here to see IPY cluster map.  Click here to download high-resolution IPY cluster map (jpg; 5.4 MB).

The IUCP collects information about existing and new IPY permafrost courses worldwide, to encourage a broad international student participation in the existing courses. All courses dealing with permafrost and periglacial geomorphology within the science and engineering disciplines and organized in 2007 to 2009 in both hemispheres qualify for IUCP. Some courses are exclusively field-based and take place in various polar and alpine regions, offering students a unique opportunity to gather field experience. Other courses are theoretical and classroom-based or include only limited time in the field. The use of web resource and search tools allow easy access to course contents. The IUCP course numbers by countries as by February 2007 is: Argentina (1), Belgium (2), Canada (30), China (11), Denmark (1), France (2), Japan (14), Mongolia (1), Netherlands (5), New Zealand (1), Norway (21), Romania (1), Russia (6), Sweden (5), Switzerland (7), UK (7), USA (23); i.e. a total of 139 courses organized in 18 countries.

Click here to see map showing countries organizing IPY permafrost courses.

All course levels are taken into account, from undergraduate to doctorate level . Click here to see the distribution of courses by country and by level:

Several IPA field courses are currently under active development, e.g. the International University Course on High Arctic Permafrost Landscape Dynamics in Svalbard, Peary Land and Ellesmere Island (In SPE: EoI 24).

Click here to see the location of the InSPE field course.

Russian universities are organizing seven field courses starting in summer 2007 as part of their contributions to the IPY (http://www.permafrostcourses.org); these courses will be university accredited and will take place in various permafrost regions of Russia: Western Yamal, Southern Taimyr , the Tyumen region, Mount Elbrus in the Central Caucasus , Khakassia, Yamburg, and the Southern and Central Yakutia. An international, pre-conference workshop for teachers and students and several short courses are under consideration at the University of Alaska for June 2008 as part of the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP).

Click here to see map showing the location of Russian field courses.