Membership in The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is election based. The Academy has Norwegian and foreign members.

Foreign members residing permanently in Norway also count as Norwegian members.

The members are divided into two divisions:

The Natural Sciences Division

•  Group 1 Mathematics
• Group 2 Physics (including Astronomy and Geophysics)
• Group 3 Geological sciences
• Group 4 Chemistry
• Group 5 Biology
• Group 6 Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Group 7 Medical sciences
• Group 8 Technological sciences

The Humanities and Social Sciences Division

• Group 1 History
• Group 2 Culture and Aesthetics (including Archeology, Anthropology and Art History)
• Group 3 Philosophy and Psychology
• Group 4 Literary studies
• Group 5 Philology and Linguistics
• Group 6 Law
• Group 7 Social sciences (including Sociology, Political Science and Economics)
• Group 8 History of Religion and Theology

The Natural Sciences Division may have up to 140 Norwegian and 100 foreign members under the age of 70. The Humanities and Social Sciences Division may have up to 120 Norwegian and 60 foreign members under the age of 70.

The two divisions are subdivided into groups based on fields or disciplines.

A seat becomes available when a member passes away or turns 70 years of age. Members who have passed the 70 year age limit remain full members and keep the right to vote. 

The Academy may also have up to ten honorary members, who are exempt from the class- and group division.

The membership numbers of the Academy are as follows in March 2026:

The Natural Sciences Division:

• Norwegian members: 283
• Foreign members: 259

The Humanities and Social Sciences Division:

• Norwegian members: 259
• Foreign members: 146

The Natural Sciences Division 2026
New Norwegian members:

Bilde

Nina Holden, Courant Institute, New York, USA
Knut Jørgen Måløy, University of Oslo
Jostein Bakke, Universitetet of Bergen
Henrik Hovland Svensen, Universitetet of Oslo
De Chen, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Inger Elisabeth Måren, Universitetet of Bergen
Lucy Robertson, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Espen Andre Haavardsholm, Universitetet of Oslo
Karl-Johan Malmberg, Universitetet of  Oslo
Balpreet Sing Ahluwalia, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Bilde

The Humanities and Social Sciences Division 2026
New Norwegian members

Henrik Daae Zachrisson, Universitetet of Oslo
Lars Tjelta Westlye, Universitetet of Oslo
Elisabeth Oxfeldt, Universitetet of Oslo
Jørgen Magnus Sejersted, Universitetet of Bergen
Ingrid Lossius Falkum, Universitetet of Oslo
Sveinung Sandberg, Universitetet of Oslo
Christina Voigt, Universitetet of Oslo
Siri Gloppen, Universitetet of Bergen
Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, Universitetet of Oslo
Karen O’Brien, Universitetet of Oslo

Bilde

New foreign members in both divisions:
The Natural Sciences Division: Lynn Nadel, University of Arizona, USA
The Humanities and Social Sciences Division: Józef Bátora, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia