History

VID Specialized University emerged on January 1, 2016, from the merger between four Norwegian institutions: Diakonhjemmet University College, Haraldsplass Deaconess University College, Betanien University College and School of Mission and Theology.

Betanien University College, Bergen

Betanien started a separate nursing school in Kalfaret on October 1, 1923. Originally, the school offered basic training for nurses, but later expanded with advanced nursing programmes such as geriatric care, oncology nursing and national paramedic-training for ambulance staff.

Diakonhjemmet University College, Oslo and Sandnes

A short history of Diakonhjemmet from 1890: The founders of Diakonhjemmet were eager to see a renaissance of what they defined as the most beautiful trait of the primitive church: Diakonia, the church’s outreach to people in need.

Diakonova University College

Diakonova Diaconal Foundation was established in 1916 with the aim of educating nurses for working within the local parishes. To achieve this target a dedicated education for nurses and a hospital were established in Oslo. The parish nurses became the forerunners for the public health nurse service and home nursing.

Haraldsplass Deaconess University College, Bergen

In 1871, Cathinka Guldberg sent two deaconesses to Bergen. Two years later, in 1873, they establish a Deaconess home as a station under the Deaconess House in Christiania, and on May 1, 1918, the first student, Anna Bysheim, started her training at Bergen Deaconess Home.

School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger

School of Mission and Theology was established in 1843 and is the third oldest institution of higher education in Norway, after the Norwegian Defence University College (1750) and the University of Oslo (1811).