SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES FACT SHEET

• The Department of Scandinavian Studies was established by an act of the Washington State Legislature in 1909.
   
• The Department offers the largest Scandinavian Studies program in North America.
   
• The Department’s Baltic Studies program is the only such program in the U.S. and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019.
   
• The Department’s Finnish Program celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020.
   
• The Department's Danish Program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025.
   
• Endowed professorships have been established in Baltic and Danish Studies and endowed chairs have been established in Norwegian and Swedish Studies.

Students may earn a BA with a major in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish or Scandinavian Area Studies. Graduate students may earn an MA degree in Scandinavian Languages and Literature or Scandinavian Area Studies. A PhD is available with an emphasis in Scandinavian languages and literature. The Baltic Studies program offers courses in the languages and cultures of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Average class sizes within the department are relatively small and students have easy access to the faculty.

Study abroad programs are offered in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries for full-year, one-quarter, or September-only terms. Faculty-led UW study abroad courses are also occasionally offered.

Graduates from the department have gone on to successful careers in a wide range of occupations, including teaching, government service, business, and industry. Information about past alumni can be found at https://scandinavian.washington.edu/alumni-profiles.

Students

Autumn 2025

• 30 Undergraduate majors
• 35 Undergraduate minors
• 4 Master of Arts students
• 10 PhD students

Degrees Awarded

2024 - 2025

• 10 Bachelor of Arts degrees
• 3 Master of Arts degrees
• 2 Doctor of Philosophy degrees
• 22 Departmental minors

Major Student Awards

since 2020

• Alvord Fellowship in the Humanities
• American Association of University Women
• American-Scandinavian Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
• Birgit Baldwin Fellowship
• Fulbright Fellowship
• Joff Hanauer Fellowship in the Humanities
• Kielland-Løvdal Fellowship
• Nadia Christensen Scholar in Nordic Studies
• Phi Beta Kappa
• SASS Aurora Borealis Prize

Autumn 2025

• 2 Professors
• 3 Associate Professors
• 1 Assistant Professor
• 1 Associate Teaching Professor
• 1 Assistant Teaching Professor
• 4 Visiting Lecturers
• 7 Emeriti Professors

Faculty awards and leadership roles include:

• 6 American-Scandinavian Foundation Grants
• 1 Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
• 1 Knight of the Order of the Lion of Finland
• 1 Knight of the Order of Merit to Lithuania
• 1 Member of the UW College of Arts and Sciences Elected Faculty Council
• 3 Presidents of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
• 1 Fellow of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies
• 1 Fellow of the University of Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies

Faculty research includes the comprehensive study of Scandinavian and Baltic literature, history, politics, and culture. Current research projects include rhetoric and critical theory in Norwegian literature, perception of Vikings in history, the plays of August Strindberg, the roles of small states in international relations, globalization and identity construction in Finland, and Baltic folklore, song, and identity.

Strong interdisciplinary ties with other departments include Cinema & Media Studies; Drama; History; Global Literary Studies; Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies; and the Jackson School of International Studies.

Areas of Scholarship

• Old Norse-Icelandic Literature
• Nordic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
• Scandinavian Cinema
• Scandinavian and Baltic Folklore
• Scandinavian Politics and Society
• Scandinavian History
• Scandinavian-American History and Culture
• Scandinavian writers: Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen, and Henrik Ibsen.
• Baltic Studies
• Sexuality and Society
• Scandinavian Welfare State

Department faculty serve regularly as facilitators, speakers, and area specialists for community organizations and groups, including ethnic venues throughout the Baltic and Scandinavian communities of the Northwest such as the National Nordic Museum.

Chairs and Professorships

• Barbro Osher Endowed Chair in Swedish Studies
• Georg & Nina Pedersen Endowed Professorship in Danish Studies
• Kazickas Family Endowed Professorship in Baltic Studies
• Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies

Department Fellowships & Scholarships

The Department awards meritorious students support from the following funds:

• Alf Kristian Aulie-Simrad Endowed Fund
• Synnove Lien Fielding Endowed Fund
• Nadia Christensen Endowment
• Ann-Marie & Gunnar Gavel Endowment
• Leslie Grove Memorial Fund
• Gertrude Holdal Endowment
• Kalevala Endowed Fund
• Bernice Kellogg Endowed Fund
• Kielland-Løvdal Fellowship
• Langins Endowed Fund
• Terje Leiren Endowed Fund
• Martin & Ruth Metzon Fund in Honor of Sven Rossel
• John Phillip and Tashia Morgridge Endowed Fund for Scandinavian Studies
• Scott Nelskog Memorial Fund
• Paul O. Nielsen Educational Endowment Fund
• Norwegian American Community Fund
• Peterson Family Endowed Fund
• Raisys/Liffick Endowed Fund
• Scandinavian Exchange Fund
• Kathe & Ragnar Steene Endowed Fund
• SWEA Endowment
• Tetri Endowed Fund
• Totoraitis/Roberts Endowed Fund
• Edwin Vickner Endowed Fund
• Dr. Werner & Mrs. Margit Weingarten Fund

Department of Scandinavian Studies
Box 353420
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 543-0645
scandinavian.washington.edu

last update: December 2025