MA in Curatorial Studies
Groningen, Netherlands
MA
DURATION
12 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Aug 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,695 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Dutch students | next start date: 01 September 2027 next deadline: 15 August 2027
** EU/EEA | non-EU/EEA: 19900
Fast-track counseling
By contacting the school, you'll get access to free priority counselling for any study and application questions.
Key Summary
Curatorial Studies is integrated into the one-year MA track Art History and forms a practice-oriented component of the programme.
Within this master's track, a selected group of students has the opportunity, after the first semester, to complete a four-month curatorial internship in collaboration with museums, galleries, and other cultural institutions. The internship is designed to develop professional skills and experience in exhibition-making and institutional work.
Please note that it is not possible to apply separately for Curatorial Studies. Applicants must apply to the MA Art History track (MA Arts & Culture) and can express their interest in the curatorial track during the course of their studies.
Our programme offers a placement in a museum in the Netherlands or abroad. The knowledge and experience acquired during the internship significantly strengthen a student's chances of obtaining a curatorial position.
The programme offers a unique combination of rigorous art-historical academic training and practical experience. The director of the Groninger Museum teaches a course in our program and we work closely with other museums. Our programme also includes an excursion abroad and a wide range of on-site visits to collections and arts/cultural institutions throughout the Netherlands.
Job prospects
The experience you gain and the network you cast during an internship, improves your position in the job market. Therefore, you are more qualified than other students of the Master's track Art History for a future in curatorial studies. Our attention to your individual interests, the rigorous courses, and the internship, prepare you for a career as museum curator or educator. Our programme also caters to the profession of the independent curator.
Job examples
- Employee of an institution that focuses on art and culture
- Museum curator
- Museum educator
- Independent curator
Year 1
The master-track in Art History has three specializations: Early Modern Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, and Curatorial Studies. Students specialize in one of these three tracks.
All students take the course Art History Now, which offers the fundamental theoretical and methodological preparation for the Master-thesis. Students take the remainder of their coursework from our course list.
Courses
- Art History Now: Theory, Method, Historiography (10 EC)
- Material Religion + Museums and Religion (10 EC, optional)
- Objects: Collecting and Conserving (10 EC)
- Practices: Curating and Creating (10 EC, optional)
- Excursion (5 EC)
- Master Thesis (20 EC)
- Tutorial (5 EC)
- Museum Placement (30 EC)
Curriculum
The first semester consists of one required course, Art History Now, and two courses that complement the student's specialization.
All students go on an excursion abroad in the second semester.
Programme options
Master's Placement (specialization)