The Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington was established in 1909 by a special act of the Washington State Legislature. During its history, the Department has grown from a one-person institution to comprise a teaching staff of twelve full-time faculty in Scandinavian and Baltic Studies. Adjunct faculty whose appointments are in other Departments make their expertise available in a variety of courses with considerable Scandinavian content. Affiliate faculty, likewise, occasionally teach and serve as valuable resources to our students. With a total enrollment of approximately 37,000 students at the University of Washington, the Department enrolls 2,000 undergraduates annually in its many courses.

2007 Department Fact Sheet [400k PDF]	Spring 2007 Newsletter [1.5 MB PDF] Summer 2006 Newsletter [1.0 MB PDF]

The Scandinavian Department began offering an M.A. program in 1948 and has offered a Ph.D. program since 1967. Graduates from the Department have established careers in business, the professions and education. Graduate seminars are offered in Scandinavian literary genres, medieval literature, mythology, folklore, drama, film, politics, history, Old Icelandic and linguistics. On the undergraduate level, the Department offers majors in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Scandinavian Area Studies as well as minors in Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, and Scandinavian Area Studies.

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University-Community Partnership Case Study
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Fiscal Information (fiscal year ending June 30, 2007)

State support and tuition: $756,804
Endowment income: $115,404
Private gifts: $1,122,192
Endowment value: $3,770,233

A Brief History of the Department

The University of Washington
Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the Pacific Coast and one of the foremost institutions of higher education in the nation, richly combining its research, instructional and public service missions. The primary mission of the University of Washington is the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge. The University preserves knowledge through its libraries and collections, its courses, and the scholarship of its faculty. It advances new knowledge through many forms of research, inquiry, and discussion; and disseminates it through the classroom, the labratory, scholarly exchanges, creative practice, international education, and public service.

The UW is located on 703 acres in Seattle's northeast residential area, a beautiful setting on the shore of Lake Washington and Portage Bay. The combination of this spectacular setting with buildings in both neo-Gothic and modern styles give the campus a distinctive character. Instruction and research at the University of Washington are supported by a library system housing more than five million volumes. Its media center, four theaters, concert hall, art gallery and museum provide cultural stimulation and entertainment throughout the year. One of the most beautiful places on campus is the Grieg Garden. Dedicated in 1990, it contains a complex range of plant diversity, featuring European Birch to commemorate Seattle's connection to its sister city of Bergen, Norway. The centerpeice of Grieg Garden, a bronze bust of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), was erected in 1917 by the Scandinavian Societies of the Northwest and Alaska. The bust was sculptured by F. H. Frolich and rests on a marble base designed by Carl Gould.

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