Profile of the program
The BA in Scandinavian Languages and Cultures encompasses the study of the language, the literature and the culture of the Scandinavian countries, with the history and social developments of the Scandinavian language area also being included. The emphasis lies on Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Special attention is paid to linguistic, literary and cultural similarities and dissimilarities within Scandinavia.
Programme structure
Students of Scandinavian Languages and Cultures choose one language as their main language; this can be Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. Because the Scandinavian languages are not taught at secondary school, several modules in the first and second academic year are reserved for acquiring and practising the chosen language. In addition to main language acquisition and grammar, all first-year students follow general modules in Scandinavian linguistics, literature and culture. The history of Scandinavia will also be studied and attention paid to Old Icelandic and to the development of Scandinavian languages from a historical perspective. Students will also learn the general skills necessary for their studies, such as academic writing skills and computer skills. Those students who successfully pass their first-year exams will receive a propedeutic certificate. This means that they have acquired a thorough basic knowledge of their chosen main language, i.e. that they understand the grammar, have an active vocabulary of about 4000 words, can speak and understand simple Danish, Norwegian or Swedish and can easily read and understand written texts of medium difficulty. After the propedeutic phase, most of the lectures will be given in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish.
The second academic year is spent on broadening and deepening the knowledge of and insight into the language, literature and culture of the country of the main language. Students are also introduced to general theories of contemporary linguistics and literature. The translation of texts will be covered during the language acquisition modules.
In the third year there will be further deepening and specialization in courses and research seminars with a linguistic or literary character, possibly also with a cultural-historical component. Attention will also be paid to the acquisition of a passive knowledge of the two other Scandinavian main languages. The course is rounded off with a BA thesis on a theme related to with one of the research seminars.
Another interesting feature of our department are the good connections to several Scandinavian Universities
. To our students we reccommend to spend at least one semester of the second or the third year of study at one of our partner universities in Scandinavia.
Courses for exchange students
The department of Scandinavian Languages and Cultures does not offer courses in English. On the other hand courses and seminars are given in a Scandinavian language, except courses in the first year of study (the propedeutic year), which are given in Dutch.
All courses are open to exchange students who have the required level of language skills in English and at least one Scandinavian Language. Exchange students may only be admitted after consultation with the student adviser or the lecturer of the course/seminar.
