University degree in numismatics now 25
By Michael Brady
If you are interested in coins, history and a university education,
you can combine the three at the University of Oslo, Norway, the world's
only university to offer a Master's Degree in numismatics. This past
September, the University celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first
numismatics degree awarded, to Jon H. Nordbø, then 28 years
old, fittingly with a lecture and exhibition at the University Coin
Cabinet.
The event commemorated Nordbø's place in numismatic history
as the first to hold a degree in the subject and the first to have
visited all coin cabinets in Europe. And it was in part made possible
by his dedication to his chosen profession. He died in 1988, and willed
the establishment of a fund to support the expenses of an annual guest
lecture on antique coins, to be given at the Norwegian Numismatic
Society.
The numismatics program at the University, as well as the Nordbø
Fund lectures, have attracted a spectrum of international authorities
in numismatics, including Michel Amandre, director of the French National
Coin Cabinet and Dr. Michael Metcaf, Director of the Coin Cabinet
at Oxford.
Though young relative to other major European universities (it was
founded in 1811), the University of Oslo is large and growing, with
about a quarter of the total Norwegian college and university enrollment
of more than 80,000 students. The four-year program of numismatic
studies is organized in the Institute for Archeology, Art History
and Numismatics, part of the faculty of History, and is under the
leadership of Professor Kolbjørn Skaare and Associate Professor
Katalin Biró-Sey. The faculty of History brings in experts
from abroad, so many lectures are held in English. Students from other
European countries may apply for admission to the University on an
equal footing with Norwegians, under the provisions of EU and EEA
agreements. Students from outside Europe may also apply for admission,
as the University has numerous exchange programs. For further details,
contact the Institute for Archeology, Art History and Numismatics
of the University of Oslo, Fredriksgate 3, N-0164 Oslo, Norway.
