The Graduate Program in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington is now accepting applications for its MA and PhD programs for the 2026/27 academic year. If you are interested, mark your calendars as the deadline for applications is January 5, 2026.
The UW Scandinavian Studies graduate degrees aim to equip students with the necessary skills for diverse career paths in teaching, research, and various professional fields that value critical thinking and language proficiencies. The Department has a strongly interdisciplinary approach with faculty members working in Scandinavian languages and literatures, along with Arctic studies, Baltic studies, cinema and film studies, comparative literature, ecocriticism, folklore and mythology, history, gender studies, Indigenous studies, language pedagogy, literary criticism, medieval studies, memory studies, performance studies, and translation studies. Our faculty offer Nordic language expertise with instruction in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Old Icelandic, and Swedish as well as the Baltic languages. We collaborate with several UW programs where our graduate students may simultaneously earn Graduate Certificates in areas such as American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, Disability Studies, Feminist Studies, Law and Society Studies, Second and Foreign Language Teaching, or Textual and Digital Studies.
UW Scandinavian Studies is among only three graduate-degree granting programs in North America. Our graduate faculty members are leading scholars in the field internationally and the department regularly hosts visiting lecturers from the Nordic region. Students in our MA and PhD degree programs pursue a wide range of research interests and work collaboratively with our faculty and affiliated faculty on the UW campus and in the Nordic countries. We have a strong track record of successful graduates with excellent placements in academic positions. Our graduates also move into successful careers in government, libraries and museums, publishing, public service, teaching and translation services.
For more details about our graduate programs, application procedures, and the faculty’s areas of expertise, please visit the UW Scandinavian Studies website: https://scandinavian.washington.edu. These pages: Admissions, MA Degree , PhD Degree, FAQ, and Our Grads should answer your initial questions. If you have additional questions or wish to arrange a meeting, please reach out to Professor Olivia Gunn, Graduate Program Coordinator (ogunn@uw.edu) and/or Professor Marianne Stecher-Hansen, Department Chair (marianne@uw.edu).
We encourage all prospective applicants!