A new Scandinavian Studies minor has been approved for the University of Massachusetts German and Scandinavian Studies program.

“[Scandinavia] is a great place that people need to know about,” said professor Sherril Harbison, a Scandinavian Studies professor and Undergraduate Advisor, who says the minor will add to overall German and Scandinavian Studies program.

According to Harbison, students had expressed interest in a Scandinavian Studies minor in the past, completing the requirements of the program as it exists today, but were unable to graduate with a minor at the time because the program did not exist.

Today, “a handful” of students have already expressed their interest in the new minor, according to Harbison.

The German and Scandinavian Studies program is the only program in the Northeast to offer classes in four Nordic languages, including Swedish, Finnish, Old Norse and Norwegian, through the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages.

The new minor is expected to add to this department. Harvard University is the only college in the northeastern United States to offer a similar program to the Scandinavian Studies minor.

The program will consist of 15 credits and includes four required classes and one additional class within the department; it is designed to parallel the German Studies minor already in existence and is expected to incorporate Scandinavian language and literature with culture, including history, political science, art history and sociology.

“There are people who come to these classes from other departments,” said Harbison, who believes the program will bring additional students and courses into the department.

Students interested in the minor can contact professor Harbison at [email protected].

Elizabeth Hawley can be reached at [email protected].