Program Highlights
Internships
Work with your professors to find the right internship for you! Our Nordic studies faculty members have connections locally and overseas. Get paid to intern at the internationally renowned Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, located right here in Decorah.
Study Abroad
Faculty members will connect you with a number of exciting study-abroad programs across the Nordic region. These programs allow you to improve your Norwegian speaking skills, explore the region, and experience its cultures.
Scholarships
Through the Wigeland/American-Scandinavian Foundation Scholarship, you could spend one semester or a full academic year studying in Scandinavia.
What You’ll Learn
Whether you major or minor in Nordic studies, you will learn global citizenship. A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the wider world and their place in it. You will be better able to confidently lead, make decisions, solve problems, think critically, communicate ideas effectively, and work well with others. These skills are essential to have no matter the career path you choose.
As a Nordic Studies Major You Will:
- Be required to spend a minimum of one semester of study in a Nordic country. You will develop language skills at the intermediate-high proficiency level, as defined by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language.
- Use intercultural knowledge and skills to connect more fully with people from the Nordic region.
- Deeply understand the practices and perspectives of Nordic cultures and reflect upon your own.
- Analyze the cultural differences and diversity within the Nordic region.
As a Nordic Studies Minor You Will:
- Be encouraged to spend a semester of study in a Nordic country. You will develop language skills at the intermediate-low proficiency level, as defined by ACTFL.
- Employ intercultural knowledge and skills to connect more fully with people from the Nordic region.
- Demonstrate understanding of the practices and perspectives of Nordic cultures and reflect upon your own.


Careers and Outcomes
The language skills you will gain as a Nordic Studies student can complement virtually any career you choose. Following graduation, recent modern language and Nordic studies majors find success in jobs across a variety of organizations.
Employers
- Norway House
- Borton Overseas Travel
- Pulpit Rock Brewing Company
- Luther College
- Luprino Foods
- C.H. Robinson
Career Fields
- Law
- Social work
- Bilingual education
- Management
- Accounting
- Tourism
- Government (customs, intelligence work, diplomatic service)
Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies
The Richard L. and Judith A. Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies honors Luther College’s legacy as the first college in the United States founded by Norwegian immigrants. Its mission is to make connections with today’s Nordic region.
The center’s work focuses on creating meaningful internships and opportunities, establishing travel grants for faculty and staff, bringing scholars to campus who understand life and issues in the Nordic region, and overseeing the Peace Scholars Program. The Tomson Family Endowed Chair in Norwegian Language and Modern Nordic Culture explores and enhances the connections between Luther and the contemporary Nordic region.
Luther’s Nordic studies program supports rich partnerships with our Center for Ethics and Public Engagement, Center for Sustainable Communities, and Center for Global Learning.