The university campus in Breivika is situated approximately 3 kilometres north of the Tromsø town centre. The Administration building and the Nordlys Planetarium constitute the entrance way to the campus for those arriving from the south. These buildings border a grassy plateau, which is encircled by a forested, undulating terrain. The Nordlys Planetarium lies to the east of the entrance way - easily visible from the thoroughfare street that is used by Tromsø's public transportation - Hansine Hansensveg. The Administration building is transversely situated in relation to the street. Looking at the campus from the south, only the Administration building can be seen. However looking at the campus from the north, the entire campus comes into view. One sees the Administration building at the upper end, acting as a southern boundary.

These two buildings have different functions. The Administration building houses primarily offices for the university's management and administrative departments. Before the new Theoretical Subjects building was opened in 2004, the Administration building also housed a canteen and student offices. The Nordlys Planetarium was erected as a public planetarium. It had a functioning program that demanded a number of different requirements from the building. Today however, the planetarium is no longer in operation. The building was overtaken by the Northern Norwegian Science Centre.