Museum Studies (MA)
About the programme
The specialisations Art History and Museum Studies both engage in critical perspectives and in current practices and the development of a professional network. The specialisation Museum Studies focuses on the art museum and places it in an artistic, cultural, social and political context. Our courses, taught by art historians and museum experts, reflect on the latest academic debates and the latest insights from the working field.
The programme contains two advanced courses giving you a grounding in both art history and museology:
- Our first Core Course lets you reflect critically on the role of collections and institutions while offering theories of interpretation and strategies for engaging with artworks.
- Our second Core Course teaches you to think and write about the current practices in art exhibition from a transhistorical and global perspective.
You will also be given the opportunity to specialize in a particular research area by choosing from a wide range of optional modules dedicated to specific periods and topics such as: fine and decorative arts, heritage studies, anthropology, memory studies, ethics, new media and the digital humanities.
Museum Studies programme structure
Semester 1
Core Course I (10 EC)
Critical Perspectives in Art History and Museum Studies
2 Thematic Electives (2 x 10 EC)
Semester 2
Core Course II (10 EC)
Art History and Curatorial Practice
Thesis (20 EC)
Semester 2
Core Course II (10 EC)
Art History and Curatorial Practic
2 Thematic Electives (2 x 10 EC)
Semester 1
Core Course I (10 EC)
Critical Perspectives in Art History and Museum Studies
Thesis (20 EC)
These are just a few examples of thesis subjects in past years:
- Evaluating the web accessibility of the British Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland
- Curating a culture of complexity; What impact do the geopolitical contexts of Europe and Turkey have on the curatorial practices surrounding their displays of religious Islamic art and objects?
- Symmetry, ornament and lifelike animals. Images in naturalia collection books
- Manchester Art Gallery's 2018 Artist Takeover: A Curatorial Case Study
- Narrating Artemisia Gentileschi: Re-discovering and Re-framing the Artist in Literature and Exhibitions
- The Future of Artistic Institutions: Attitudes towards a Communal Shift; Ruangrupa case study
- Funding the future: Museums and declining governmental funding
- The ethics of using (living) animals in western contemporary art and exhibitions
- Displaying the disruptive: Dutch Punk and the art institute
- Picking up the Pieces. Confronting heritage trauma in the post-conflict national museums of Syria and Iraq
Throughout the master’s programme in Arts and Culture you will be able to take advantage of Leiden’s proximity to a network of major museums, collections, libraries and research schools, accessing a range of unique texts and works of art. These include:
- The National Museum for Ethnology
- The Museum for the History of Science
- The National Museum of Antiquities
- The Rijksmuseum
- Museum Beelden aan zee in Scheveningen
- Leiden University Library with its many special collections of prints, drawings and photography
- Museum Voorlinden
- Seminars
- Master classes
- Excursions
- Self-study
- Internship options
- Class presentations
- Course assignments
- Portfolios
- Midterm and term papers
- Thesis
Detailed programme
For a detailed programme, see the Online Prospectus. Please note that this guide applies to the current academic year, which means that the curriculum for next year will differ.
Admission and Application
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