
"The Viking Program," which was the first, was based on an exchange of young students mainly from the University of Wisconsin and universities in the five Nordic countries. It was funded for ten years by Brittingham funds, once trusted to the University of Wisconsin by the father of Thomas E. Brittingham Jr. Over the course of ten years, 62 students were selected and they were named "Tom's Vikings." Before the ten years had passed, Thomas E. Brittingham died, but the program was continued by his wife Peg and his eldest son Thomas E. Brittingham III. Now his youngest son, Baird C. Brittingham, together with the son of Thomas III, Scott Brittingham and the rest of the family carry on the great work through the Brittingham Foundation. After the first year "The Vikings" formed the Viking Organization to ensure a continuation of the friendship and relations with the Brittingham family, the University of Wisconsin and the many supporters of Tom's original visions. In order to ensure that Tom's ideas would not be forgotten, the "Vikings" decided to continue developing the scholarship program by inviting the University of Wisconsin to select students for a scholarship to the Oslo Summer School. This initiative was named "The Reverse Vikings" and constituted a new chapter in the Brittingham Scholarship Program.
The subsequent ten programs, "The Internationals,", "The Reverse Vikings," "The Kubly/Bunn Scholarship," "The Wisconsin Viking Scholarship," "The Madison Viking Scholarship," and the "Thomas E. And Margaret C. Brittingham Scholarship", "The Brittingham Ehrnrooth Viking Scholarship", "The Madison Ehrnrooth Viking Scholarship", "The WAA Viking Scholarship" and "The Madison CBS Viking Scholarship" have been and are still funded by Brittingham and University of Wisconsin funds as well as by the members of the B.V.O. and several other private donors. The funds that are actively available to the ongoing programs amount to some $500,000 (USD).