Arts, Literature and Media (research) (MA)
This interdisciplinary research master offers the best of three worlds (arts, literature and media) through a programme of well-designed courses, combining theoretical and historical training with free space for specialisation.
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Why study Arts, Literature and Media in Leiden?
You take two collective courses which will train you to position yourself and your research in a multi-disciplinary field and will learn you to make your work speak so that it has a chance of being funded or published. Then you choose between two historically defined lines that work with different definitions of media:
- In the medieval and early modern line, art and literature work through media. Here, medium is the means by which art and literature are made (such as the medium of language, print, theatre, paint, etching, andsoforth).
- In the contemporary line, from the 19th century until the present, art and literature get accompanied by media such as cinema, games, or social media.
Free specialisation space
The free specialisation space offers you the possibility of deepening your disciplinary interests in medieval, early modern, or contemporary studies. Whether you have an art history, media studies, or Dutch, English, Italian, French, German, or Spanish literary studies background, the programme provides 60 ECTs in courses and research for your specialization. All you need is a love for doing research.
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A both coherent and flexible programme
Your research connects to the medieval/early modern line or the contemporary line. In both you take two obligatory thematic courses that combine interdisciplinary and historically marked research with medium-specificity. Because you have also taken the two collective courses, this leaves you with more than half of the programme as a matter of choice. You need to select two courses provided by the national research schools which organise specific fields of research: medieval studies, art history, literary studies, media studies, cultural analysis. Finally, three courses that are specific to your research and can be chosen from the Leiden master programme or other universities.
Admission and Application
Do you want to find out if you are eligible for this Master's Programme?
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Future prospects
The programme provides the basis for writing your research master's thesis that forms the starting point for either a path in the academy or elsewhere. The programme aims to prepare you well for both. During your studies you will acquire a valuable range of specific and transferable skills and knowledge, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, historical, contemporary and theoretical.
Find out more about the career prospects
In which sector do students find jobs?
- 40 Research
- 17 Education
- 8 Government and semi-government
- 8 Publishing and book industry
- 3 Communication
- 3 Culture, sports and recreation
- 21 Miscellaneous
The graph above is based on alumni data from the research programmes of the Faculty of Humanities 2016-2020.
Arts, Literature and Media (research) degree
Arts, Literature and Media (research) at Leiden University is an accredited degree programme. After successful completion of this programme, you will receive a research master’s degree in Literary Studies and the title Master of Arts (MA).