 Following his studies at Wittenberg College, the New School for Social Research in New York City, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Oslo, he graduated with a master's degree in sociology at the University of Wisconsin in 1949 and a mag.art (PhD) degree in sociology at the University of Oslo in 1952.From 1952 to 1963, he was a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Social Research.He was then appointed as Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Oslo.