Heritage and Museum Studies (MA)

About the programme

Programme in Heritage and Museum Studies

The track in Heritage and Museum Studies will train you to become a professional in the heritage and museum field, with a thorough understanding of the social, political, cultural, and environmental debates that influence the field.

The track is composed of a general course in Archaeological Epistemology, a core course, a focus course, an elective, and of course a thesis. The core course provides a foundation in your track, while the focus course allows you to develop your knowledge of a specific topic in Heritage and Museum Studies in greater depth in the form of a small-scale seminar (max. 25 students).

This all comes together in your thesis or graduation project, when you will apply what you have learned to a research topic or practical question arising from work in the field. 

Programme structure

Courses

For Heritage and Museum Studies, the core course provides you with a strong basis in methods and approaches in heritage research and museum research, focusing on how to design your research and select appropriate methods, but also consider ethical principles in research practice.

In the focus courses, you can choose to do a deep dive into the role of archaeology and heritage in contemporary society, including ethics, community involvement, and management or you can opt to focus on the role, function and purpose of museums and collections in contemporary society.

As an elective, you can pick one of the other focus courses (depending on capacity), do an internship, or select one of the electives on offer at our Faculty such as Maritime Archaeology or Archeologie en Erfgoed van Nederland.

Thesis in Heritage and Museum Studies

In your thesis or graduation project, you will bring together what you have learned by independently designing and carrying out a research project linked to your chosen focus within the track.

Through a matching procedure that considers your preferences and available supervision capacity, you will be assigned to a supervisor to support your research. Together, you will develop a project that combines your interests with their expertise and ongoing research.

Please note that supervisors or topics of thesis projects are dependent on expertise and availability.

Marian Leech

Master's student

'I enjoyed the great diversity of specializations within my faculty. I worked alongside students with backgrounds in osteology, heritage management, ceramic analysis, and ancient DNA, and grew from their insights. I also benefited from my internship at Leiden’s Research Center for Material Culture, the flagship research institute within the collective of ethnographic museums in the Netherlands.'

Elke van der Heijden

Master's student

'The programme in Heritage and Museum Studies offers a variety of courses. Some take a more theoretical approach, such as Critical Museology. Others are more focused on the practical field, such as the course Archaeological Site Management. Since I would like to continue in the field of heritage management after graduation, I specifically liked this course since it gave an insight in the field through writing a management plan for a specific site.'

Lorna Dale Charles

Alumna

'The master's programme at Leiden was enjoyable because I had the opportunity to learn from engaged professors and scholars who are experts in their fields, and there are opportunities to explore and examine the theoretical with the practical in all courses. The master's programme allowed me to understand the need to preserve one's past for future generation. For this reason, I fully appreciate the essential role of museums in society.'