Volda University College

Volda University College (Norwegian: Høgskulen i Volda or HVO) is one of the no-tuition state institutions in the system of higher education in Norway. It is located in Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.^[1]

History

HVO was established on 1 August 1994, when the Møre og Romsdal regional college and the Volda Teachers College were merged. HVO has a long tradition in Volda dating back to a teachers' training college which was first established here in 1895. The current rector is Odd Helge Mjellem Tonheim (2025), in 2024 the university has approximately 4 600 students and 350 employees (2020).

HVO is divided into four faculties: the Faculty of Humanities and Education, the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, the Faculty of Social Sciences and History, and the Faculty of Media and Journalism. There are a total of 6 Master's degree programmes, 30 undergraduate study programmes, and about 300 courses offered.

HVO is host of the annual Norwegian Documentary Film Festival (since 1997, a.k.a. DOKFILM),^[2] the Animation Volda Festival (since 2007),^[3] and a social environment centered on the campus' large Rokken concert venue and the Rokken Café (both opened 2005).^[4]

In the 2010 feature film Trollhunter, the main characters are said to be students at HVO.