Program Overview
Campus Bø is located in the heart of Norway in a region where both traditional culture (art, music and folklore) and modern industry thrive, has developed the Scandinavian Studies in Telemark program to help promote intellectual and cultural understanding among nations.  The Scandinavian Studies program is open to students of all majors who have completed at least one year of college with a 3.0 GPA.  No prior study of Norwegian is required. Students interested in studying cultural identity and the environment from the perspective of ecophilosophy and the history and development of outdoor free-activities (exercise) might find this program particularly interesting.

Academics
The academic component will present aspects of Norwegian culture as separate topics. Courses are taught by faculty of USN and will include lecture, discussion, field work, group work, research projects and oral and written presentations. Evaluation will be based on student participation, presentations and written final exams.  Students will take a minimum of four courses during the semester. The required core courses are “Telemark I: Regional Identity” (fall) and “Telemark II" (spring). Both include a number of study trips in Telemark. The other three courses can be selected from additional courses taught in English, including Ecophilosophy, The Individual, Environs and Society (Friluftsliv), Emigration/Immigration: Midwestern Texts, Modern Norwegian Literature: Film and Fiction and An Introduction to Norwegian History for International Students. All courses are not offered every semester. The courses taught in English are at the upper-division undergraduate level. In addition to the courses taught in English, students may elect to take a course at various levels in Norwegian. Independent study is also an option.  Students studying off-campus in the fall can bring up to 4.5 credits back to campus; students studying off-campus in the spring with interim can bring up to 5.5 credits back to campus.

Student Life
Through coursework and extracurricular activities, students will gain a deeper understanding of Telemark and of Norway and will be stimulated to develop critical thinking skills and to become responsible and knowledgeable citizens of the world. Students engage in intercultural experiences through class sessions, guided field trips, campus activities, dorm life and community interaction. Students will have the opportunity to experience the broad range of art, music, literature, folklore and outdoor recreation that typify Telemark culture.  For more information about student life, click here. 

Accommodations/Housing
Students will live with Norwegian and other international students in single rooms with shared baths and kitchens in the student dormitories on the USN Bø campus in the town of Bø in Telemark, about 180 km from Oslo (approximately one and a half hours by train). Students will cook their own food in shared kitchens.

NORWAY: ECTS GRADE CONVERSION