Master's Thesis Maps Educational Opportunities and Barriers in Circumpolar Health
A new master's thesis developed as part of the UArctic Thematic Network on Health and Well-being in the Arctic project "Strengthening Arctic Health Networks through Partnerships and Mentorship" and conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Public Health in Greenland at the University of Southern Denmark maps health-related higher education opportunities across the Circumpolar North.
Master's thesis and article by Kaarthiga Muhunthan and Prasanya Jeyasritharan, Aarhus University. The thesis was supervised by Christine Ingemann.
In recent years, there has been increasing attention on the circumpolar region, especially in relation to climate change and geopolitics. However, despite this attention, less focus has been placed on the people who actually live and work in the region, and on the social conditions that shape their futures. In this context, health education is central, because it improves health outcomes and builds local capacity. Yet no comprehensive overview exists of what health-related higher education opportunities are available across the region or whether they serve the people who need them most.
To address this gap, two public health graduates from Aarhus University examined what educational opportunities actually exist for students and early-career researchers working in circumpolar health through their master's thesis. The thesis was conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Public Health in Greenland at the University of Southern Denmark, and combined a systematic mapping of 115 health-related educational programs across Alaska, Inuit Nunangat, Nordic Sápmi, and Kalaallit Nunaat with nine in-depth interviews with PhD students and early-career researchers based across the Circumpolar North.
The project was developed as part of the UArctic Thematic Network project "Strengthening Arctic Health Networks through Partnerships and Mentorship", and the findings are intended to directly inform the ongoing work of the UArctic Thematic Network on Health and Well-being in the Arctic.
An unequal landscape across the region
The findings reveal significant geographic inequality. Nordic Sápmi, and Finland in particular, accounts for the vast majority of available programs, while Kalaallit Nunaat has only two and Inuit Nunangat only four. Most programs are offered at the master's level, leaving PhD students and early-career researchers with very limited options.
Perhaps most strikingly, access to opportunities rarely happens through formal channels. As one participant described it: "I can't imagine somebody googling and knowing about this without someone telling them." Across all nine interviews, word of mouth and personal networks emerged as the primary gateway to educational and mentorship opportunities, creating significant barriers for those who are new to the field or lack established connections.
Knowledge systems and mentorship
The project also found that Indigenous knowledge systems remain insufficiently integrated into existing programs. Of the 115 programs identified and based on the available online course descriptions, 90 relied exclusively on Western knowledge systems. Interview participants described Indigenous perspectives as frequently treated as an afterthought rather than a genuine foundation for learning.
Mentorship was another consistent gap. Despite being strongly requested by participants at all career stages, formalized mentorship was rarely available as part of existing programs. Participants described feeling academically isolated and lacking the long-term career guidance they needed to navigate the field.
A starting point, not a final answer
The project suggests that access to circumpolar health education for master’s and PhD students, as well as early-career researchers, is shaped not only by whether opportunities exist, but also by geography, informal networks, financial resources, and the extent to which Indigenous knowledge is represented within educational programs.
Based on the findings, the project points to several areas that warrant further attention. These include greater formalization of mentorship across career stages and a more meaningful integration of Indigenous knowledge systems into circumpolar health education programs.
However, one finding stood out across all nine interviews: every participant expressed a need for a centralized overview of the educational and mentorship opportunities that already exist across the Circumpolar North. Many described discovering relevant opportunities only late in their academic journeys, not because the opportunities did not exist, but because there was no clear or accessible way to find them. Developing such a platform may therefore be one of the most immediate and impactful next steps toward improving access to circumpolar health education.