These are the documents required to accompany your application.

Statement of purpose OR Personal statement

Please submit a one–two-page statement about your interest in the program at the University Centre of the Westfjords. Specifically, your statement should clearly address the following:

  • How has your background (educational and other) prepared you for the master’s program? NB: if your bachelor’s degree was not in a field directly related to the program you are applying for, please explain how other experiences you have had (e.g. professional, volunteer, extracurricular, etc.) have prepared you for the master’s program.
  • Why does the program appeal to you?
  • What do you want to do in the future and how will this master’s degree help contribute to your plans?

This statement is a key part of the admission process and will help UW contextualize an applicant’s motivations and suitability. In some cases, UW might also ask applicants for an interview to expand upon their application materials.

CV/résumé

A complete and up-to-date CV (PDF) in English.

Official university transcript(s)

Please submit a detailed record of your higher education up to the present, including programs of study taken and grades achieved. If you have not yet completed your undergraduate degree, you should provide an official interim transcript detailing grades achieved to date.

We accept scanned documents initially for admission assessment, which can be uploaded to the application portal, but original copies or certified eletronic copies must be submitted to receive an unconditional offer.

Official original documents may be posted to the University Centre of the Westfjords, Suðurgata 12, 400 Ísafjörður, Iceland.

Other electronic copies must be sent from the issuing institution’s official institutional email account and must belong to a person or office that is responsible for issuing official educational documents, for example: registrar’s office, controller of examinations, graduation department etc.

If you'd like to share an official transcript using an electronic system, register the email address applications@uw.is and choose the longest possible time for the document to be available. We will then add your transcript to the application you have submitted.

We reserve the right to request additional information and/or the original paper documents. If a document/ statement is not in English a translation may be required. Please be advised that documentation requirements might differ between countries.

Certification of English Language proficiency

All international applicants whose native language is not English, are required to provide proof of English proficiency in the form of e.g. TOEFL (ibt), IELTS (Academic), Cambridge English (CAE or CPE), PTE Academic (online) test demonstrating sufficient English skills on CEFR level C1 (equivalent to TOEFL 95 and IELTS 7-7,5). Your scores from the English tests may not be older than two years by the time you apply.

Please upload a scanned copy of the original English language test certificate. If you do not have test results at the time of applying, you should submit your application without these scores and send them to us separately once available.

Language certificate waiver

It is anticipated that applicants from Iceland, Scandinavia and the English-speaking countries possess adequate skills in the language. The requirement to provide English proficiency scores may be waived if you have successfully completed, or are currently completing, a full-time program at an accredited higher education institution where the medium of instruction and assessment is entirely in English.

Exemption from submitting an English language test is at the discretion of the Admissions Team.

Scanned copy of passport

A copy of your passport (pdf or jpg) is required by the application portal. A scanned copy of the main page of your passport (the page with the photo) is enough. If you do not have a passport, then provide a scanned copy of your national identity card or equivalent document in your country.

Two references

Please select two referees who can provide an informed view of your academic or professional ability and suitability for your chosen program of study. References must be sent directly by the referring person via email to applications@uw.is.

Referees may write a personal letter of evaluation or complete this reference form.

Note: References uploaded to the application portal or sent by the applicant are not accepted.