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Name of the Masters programme
Curating Arts and Culture
Institution
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Curating Art and Cultures at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Learn the academic and the practical skills to become a curator
Are you ready to investigate museum displays from multiple perspectives? Are you keen to intern at a museum, directly contributing to curating exhibitions yourself? And are you looking to become a curator of the future?
The Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures is a unique, two-year programme offered jointly by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and leading museums and cultural institutions in the Netherlands. Taking place in both the lecture hall and the exhibition space, this interdisciplinary Master’s programme prepares you for a career as a professional curator by strengthening your disciplinary and theoretical foundations, and equipping you with the research skills and practical experience needed to achieve your ambitions.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Curating Art and Cultures
Dive into your career as a curator-in-training
The Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures responds to the growing demand for academically-trained curatorial professionals with excellent interdisciplinary and theoretical backgrounds. You will learn to engage with crucial theoretical concepts and contemporary issues surrounding the collection, curation and display of art objects and cultural artefacts. You will also deepen your own disciplinary knowledge and develop your research skills, culminating in a Master's thesis.
For example, you will investigate current and past museum displays and exhibitions, from the perspective of recent insights into museum and curatorial studies. You will also carry out fieldwork through excursions to museums in the Netherlands and abroad, and discuss topical issues with curators, museum directors or exhibition-makers. Moreover, you will undertake a research paper that will culminate in a presentation for your peers and supervisors.
Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to work as a curator-in-training during a year-long internship at one of the programme’s partnering museums or cultural institutions. During the internship, you will receive hands-on training in all aspects of professional museum practice, from research for publications to organising exhibitions. The placement covers the five major areas in the working life of a curator. You’ll directly contribute to the creation of exhibitions, participate in staff meetings and project teams at the museum, carry out research into (and registration of) objects from the collection, make courier trips, and represent the museum in contacts with artists, scholars, visitors and the public. In short, this is your chance to dive headfirst into the many aspects of the curatorial profession.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Curating Art and Cultures
As a graduate of the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures programme, you will have gained both the academic knowledge and the practical work experience to become a curator of the future.
You will have learned not only about museum and curatorial studies, but also developed your own field of specialisation. You will have had direct, hands-on, professional experience as a curator-in-training, working for a whole year in one of the leading museums in the Netherlands – in areas such as organisation and policy, registration and reporting of research results, art handling, restoration and conservation, representation and communication, and production of an exhibition.
You will also have critical, reflective and communication skills that will stand you in good stead for a curatorial career at museums of art, ethnography, design and history, galleries and exhibition spaces or any other cultural institution where research into objects and cultures is central.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Curating Art and Cultures
I have a Dutch university level (WO) bachelor’s degree (VU bachelor's degree, VU premaster or bachelor's degree at another university)
The Dual Master’s programme in Curating Art and Cultures is open for application to students with a Bachelor’s degree from VU Amsterdam, UvA or an equivalent, recognised degree from another university in:
- Art History
- Media, Kunst, Design en Architectuur (Media, Art, Design and Architecture)
- Cultural Studies
- History
The level of the Bachelor’s diploma from a foreign higher education institution must be equal to three years of Dutch university education (to be judged by the Examinations Board).
Grade average
If you wish to apply for a Dual Master's in Curating Art and Cultures, you are expected to have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least:
- 7.0 (Dutch educational system)
- B/3.3 (American system)
- 2.1 (an upper second class degree in the British system)
- C (ECTS-system)
Please note that admission will not be granted solely on the basis of sufficient grade point average.
Language requirements
The internship at a Netherlands-based museum or cultural institution is an integral component of the programme. Students applying for the programme should be able to demonstrate at least a passive understanding of Dutch before the start of the internship.There will only be a few full English-language internships available.
Due to the limited number of internship placements, applicants must first undergo a two-round selection procedure before being admitted.
Selection Procedure
The Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures is a competitive and professional programme that includes a year-long curatorial internship. Due to the limited number of internship placements, applicants must first undergo a two-round selection procedure before being admitted. During the process, the selections committee scrutinises the content of an applicant’s Bachelor’s programme, their study results and motivation letter, as well as social skills.
In the first round of the selection procedure, a student’s application will be evaluated by a selection committee comprising the programme coordinators from VU Amsterdam and the UvA, as well as additional academic staff. Applicants who have reached the second round will be asked to write an opinion piece regarding one of the participating museums or cultural institutions. Applicants progressing through to the final round will be invited for an interview with the coordinators and curators. Students will be informed of the final application decision by May 15th.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Overview of Masters programmes - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Institution
Location: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
Niederlande
Nord Holland
| T | +31 20 59 89898 | |
| E | international@vu.nl |
Facts about the Masters programme
Location
Amsterdam
Field of study
Fine Arts & Music, Humanities
Degree
Master of Arts
Language
Dutch, English
Start
winter semester - September
Application deadline
Type of study
Full-time
Duration of study: 2 years
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 16630 EUR / year
Facts about the Masters programme
Location
Amsterdam
Field of study
Fine Arts & Music, Humanities
Degree
Master of Arts
Language
Dutch, English
Start
winter semester - September
Application deadline
Type of study
Full-time
Duration of study: 2 years
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 16630 EUR / year