Scandinavian Studies
Welcome to Scandinavian Studies
The BYU Scandinavian Studies program is an interdisciplinary academic program teaching the cultures and languages of the Nordic region: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The BYU Scandinavian Studies Program offers language courses, a minor, academic internships, Language Certificates, and more. Students taking language classes enjoy a communication-based curriculum and learn real-world skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. The Scandinavian language program is proficiency-oriented and teaches language through culture. Questions about Scandinavian language courses can be directed to one of the Language Coordinators.
Students who take classes in the minor develop a deeper cultural understanding plus analytic and writing skills that complement any major. They benefit from small class sizes, engaging topics, and even the availability of scholarship money. Questions about the program can be directed to Dr. Nate Kramer, the program coordinator for Scandinavian Studies.
• Language classes include Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish from beginning to advanced, plus beginning to intermediate Icelandic. You can also read more about our Scandinavian Studies courses at the link.
• The BYU Language Certificate provides official recognition of your language proficiency in Swedish. Requires Scand 320*, and 330* and 340 in your language of specialty, plus an OPI test. See link for additional information. (For the 2024-2025 school year, we are unable to offer Language Certificates in Danish, Finnish or Norwegian. Contact the Center for Language Studies for more information.)
• Language Challenge Exams: Students taking a Scandinavian language 330* course (202 in the case of Icelandic) can take the Challenge Exam to receive up to 16 graded credit hours for 101, 102, 201, and 211R (conversation). Please see link for more information.
• Minor in Scandinavian Studies by taking engaging and enriching courses that delve deeper into language, literature, history, culture and more. If you do a minor, you are one Oral Proficiency Interview away from receiving a Language Certificate (see above). It is also possible to have Scandinavian Studies as an area of emphasis within the majors of European Studies, Interdisciplinary Humanities or Comparative Literature.
• Bjarnason Travel Scholarship: Apply for the travel scholarship to help fund your studies in Scandinavia.
*Scand 320 was formerly Scand 430. The 330 language courses were formerly called 321. If you have taken Scand 430 or a language 321, it will still count and you don't need the new 320 or 330. Questions? Contact Maren Mecham or Tracy Brousseau at the Center for Language Studies.
