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Dual Master
Vergelijk
Curating Art and Cultures (Heritage Studies)

Study programme

The Master's programme Curating Art and Cultures sees the museum as an institution and a repository of objects with both a history and a life in the present and teaches you the skills needed to become a curator or a researcher.

Curating and Research in one programme

Students choose one of two unique specialisations: Curating Art and Cultures or Arts of the Netherlands. The first specialisation focuses on curatorial theory and practice, while the second highlights research into Dutch art in a global context.

Specialisation Curating Art and Cultures

With its multi-disciplinary approach, Curating Art and Cultures both develops your theoretical knowledge and provides you with the opportunity to work as a curator-in-training during the one-year curatorial internship at one of the programme’s partner museums or cultural institutions. You will take part in collection acquisition, registration, management, art handling and display, and exhibition production. In short, this is your chance to dive headfirst into the many aspects of the curatorial profession.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Collecting, Curating and Display I
    6

    This course delves into recent theories of collecting, curating, and displaying art and cultural artifacts through four main themes. It aims to bridge historical and contemporary perspectives, preparing you for curatorial internships and the core module on Curatorial Practices in the Contemporary World by offering theoretical and historical grounding.

  • Collecting, Curating and Display II
    6

    This course builds further on the principles of Collecting, Curating and Display 1.

  • Free-choice electives
    18

    You have the opportunity to delve deeper into your field of interest by following electives in a range of disciplines, including art history, history, cultural history, archaeology, anthropology, and cultural or media studies.

  • Curatorial Practices in the Contemporary World I
    6

    This course researches contemporary curatorial practice, addressing collection policies, research, restoration ethics, and educational aspects. Through visits to diverse institutions and close engagement with key texts, you will reflect on your learning experiences during the internship.

  • Curating Art and Cultures Internship
    60

    The internship starts in the 2nd semester of year 1 and ends in year 2. The concrete content of the internship is dependent on the nature, goal and programme of the museum or institution and the department where you are placed. In each museum or institution the following aspects that are pertinent to the tasks of a curator will be addressed: organization and policy; research into and registration of collections, databases and/or archives; art handling; representation and communication; and the preparation realization of an exhibition or display.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Curatorial Practices in the Contemporary World II
    6

    This course calls attention to the significance of research into (the history of) exhibitions or museum presentations as a vital practice for curators and ultimately as a vital ingredient for a strong exhibition culture. Each student is invited to choose a case study from the museum or institution where they follow their internship and investigate it on the basis of archives and possibly oral knowledge of museum personnel, or others involved. The course is designed to guide the research process by means of literature study, discussions on methodology, excursions to museum archives, and guest lectures by exhibition researchers.

  • Curating Art and Cultures Internship
    60

    The internship starts in the 2nd semester of year 1 and ends in year 2. The concrete content of the internship is dependent on the nature, goal and programme of the museum or institution and the department where you are placed. In each museum or institution the following aspects that are pertinent to the tasks of a curator will be addressed: organization and policy; research into and registration of collections, databases and/or archives; art handling; representation and communication; and the preparation realization of an exhibition or display.

  • Curating Art and Cultures Master Thesis
    18

    In order to complete the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures programme, you will devise a thesis project that demonstrates your ability to independently conduct, organise, present and defend your own academic research. The Master's thesis reports on research carried out under the supervision of an academic staff member who is involved in the programme and who specialises in your disciplinary field of interest. The subject of the thesis must be mutually agreed upon by the student and the academic adviser. The subject of your thesis is a topic that pertains to one of the programme’s various disciplines and may correspond to a project from your curatorial or research internship.

Compulsory course
Elective
UvA Course Catalogue: Specialisation Curating Art and Cultures

Specialisation Arts of the Netherlands

Arts of the Netherlands takes a historical and object-oriented approach and aims to teach students how to carry out cutting-edge research on Netherlandish art in an international context. Students will develop academic research methods both in the classroom and during a seven-month internship. This provides unmatched opportunities for examining and investigating the physical objects of our studies and for exploring the academic approach to art-historical research within the museum. The programme is committed to the study of painting, prints, drawings, sculpture and applied arts. 

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Collecting, Curating and Display I
    6

    This course delves into recent theories of collecting, curating, and displaying art and cultural artifacts through four main themes. It aims to bridge historical and contemporary perspectives, preparing you for curatorial internships and the core module on Curatorial Practices in the Contemporary World by offering theoretical and historical grounding.

  • The Netherlandish Tradition: Albrecht Dürer in the Low Countries
    6

    This course aims to comprehensively grasp Albrecht Dürer's journey to the Netherlands, analyzing its significance for regional arts and utilizing it as a significant art historical resource. It explores diverse perspectives on artists' travels, drawing from Dürer's detailed accounts and contemporary texts by figures such as Antonio de Beatis and Thomas More, shedding light on real and imagined journeys of the era.

  • Collecting, Curating and Display II
    6

    This course builds further on the principles of Collecting, Curating and Display 1.

  • Love in the Italian Renaissance
    6

    This course delves into Italian Renaissance ideals of love, gender, and power, shaping art's expression, especially through the human form. It studies Netherlandish artists' integration of these ideals after crossing the Alps, enriching Italian art. By analyzing themes and artists, you will explore Italian art within a global context, challenging assumptions and gaining fresh perspectives.

  • Arts of the Netherlands Tutorial 1
    6

    The objectives of the course are to develop advanced research skills independently. Through tutorials, you will engage in intensive seminars focusing on literature, archive investigation, or participation in existing research projects, under the guidance of specialized tutors. These tutorials aim to strengthen your research abilities, whether through extensive reading, analysis of primary sources, or active involvement in ongoing research endeavors aligned with their interests.

  • Looking at Dutch Art 1600-1700
    6

    This course begins by examining individual encounters with paintings, using the artwork itself as primary research material. It explores the physical characteristics and pictorial content while considering seventeenth-century critical standards and the roots of connoisseurship. Through museum visits, studio tours, and auctions, you will engage with diverse object-oriented resources to deepen your understanding of paintings.

  • Looking at Netherlandish Sculpture 1400-1800
    6

    This seminar explores the socio-religious and political aspects of sculpture in the Low Countries from 1400 to 1800, within an international context. Despite the setbacks of post-Iconoclasm and Reformation, significant sculptural works emerged, highlighting themes such as Gothic altarpieces, sculptor migration, Dutch-Italian marble trade, and republican patronage. Object-based learning, including visits to the Rijksmuseum, enriches the study.

  • Free-choice electives
    12

    You have the opportunity to delve deeper into your field of interest by following electives in a range of disciplines, including art history, history, cultural history, archaeology, anthropology, and cultural or media studies.

  • Arts of the Netherlands Tutorial 2
    6

    The objectives of the course are to develop advanced research skills independently. Through tutorials, you will engage in intensive seminars focusing on literature, archive investigation, or participation in existing research projects, under the guidance of specialized tutors. These tutorials aim to strengthen your research abilities, whether through extensive reading, analysis of primary sources, or active involvement in ongoing research endeavors aligned with their interests.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Curatorial Practices in the Contemporary World II
    6

    This course calls attention to the significance of research into (the history of) exhibitions or museum presentations as a vital practice for curators and ultimately as a vital ingredient for a strong exhibition culture. Each student is invited to choose a case study from the museum or institution where they follow their internship and investigate it on the basis of archives and possibly oral knowledge of museum personnel, or others involved. The course is designed to guide the research process by means of literature study, discussions on methodology, excursions to museum archives, and guest lectures by exhibition researchers.

  • Arts of the Netherlands Research Internship
    30

    During the internship you will apply the skills and interests that you acquired in the first year of the programme in a museum or cultural institution to experience how the dynamics of an institute influences their work.

  • Arts of the Netherlands Thesis Project
    6

    The Thesis Project accompanies the writing of the master's thesis, focusing on three objectives: deepening theoretical and methodological understanding, addressing challenges in translating research into a successful thesis, and fostering public academic scholarship.

  • Master's Thesis Arts of the Netherlands
    18

    In order to complete the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures programme, you will devise a thesis project that demonstrates your ability to independently conduct, organise, present and defend your own academic research. The Master's thesis reports on research carried out under the supervision of an academic staff member who is involved in the programme and who specialises in your disciplinary field of interest. The subject of the thesis must be mutually agreed upon by the student and the academic adviser. The subject of your thesis is a topic that pertains to one of the programme’s various disciplines and may correspond to a project from your curatorial or research internship.

Compulsory course
Elective
UvA Course Catalogue: Specialisation Arts of the Netherlands
Femke Valkhoff
There is sufficient freedom of choice to specialise in the subject that you find most interesting during your study, research and internship. Femke Valkhoff, student Arts of the Netherlands Read the interview
Further on MA Curating Art and Cultures
  • Internship

    The internship forms the core of the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures.

    Curating Art and Cultures

    Starting in the second semester of the first year, you will commence a year-long work placement at one of the programme’s partner museums or cultural institutions. During this internship, unique among curatorial and museum studies programmes around the world, you will receive hands-on training in all aspects of professional museum practice, from research for publications to organising exhibitions. Under the supervision of curatorial professionals, you will gain first-hand experience of the roles and responsibilities of the curator today, including presentation and exhibition making, registration and documentation, art handling, restoration and conservation, research and communication, and acquisition policy. 

    Arts of the Netherlands

    Starting in September of the second year, you will commence an internship of approximately seven to eight months in a museum or research institute. Together with your supervisor, you will formulate a research project that fits within the framework of the institution and your own disciplinary interests. Contact with original objects and reflection on research methods are seminal aspects of the internship. However, you will also gain insight into the day-to-day business of the museum or research institute, and may be asked to assist with other museum/research work. 

    Partner institutions

    The Master's programme has strong connections with the professional field. Partner institutions where you can do your internship include: 

    • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

    • Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam 

    • Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 

    • Jewish Cultural Quarter, Amsterdam 

    • ING Huygens Instituut, Amsterdam 

    • CoBrA Museum, Amsterdam/Amstelveen 

    • Museum of World Cultures, Amsterdam/Leiden 

    • Amsterdam Museum 

    • Centraal Museum Utrecht 

    • Museum Het Catharijne Convent, Utrecht 

    • Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague 

    • Kunstmuseum Arnhem 

    • Mauritshuis, The Hague 

    • The Royal Library, The Hague 

    • RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague 

    • Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo 

    • Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven 

    • Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem 

    • Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam 

    • Textielmuseum, Tilburg 


    Allowance

    Students taking a dual Master's programme may in some cases be eligible for a reimbursement. 

  • Excursion

    The programme also includes excursions abroad, for example to Berlin or Florence, which will bring students into contact with museums, objects and curatorial and research practices outside of the Netherlands.

  • Transferring to a Research Master

    Students who show exceptional promise during a regular or professional programme are encouraged to continue their studies in a Research Master's programme. Once students are admitted to the Research Master's, they can transfer credits earned during their previous course of study towards their Research Master's degree. The Examinations Board determines which courses qualify for transfer.

Museums and art spaces are fascinating workplaces. They are core to many functions in society, from personal self-actualisation to social critique. For all of these, solid research habits are required. Dr Rachel Esner
Frequently Asked Questions