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 Practice

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)

Many of our students choose to do an internship during their study. Internships are a great way to gain invaluable first-hand experience in your area of interest before you decide to make it a career. In recent years students from the Art of the Contemporary World programme have been doing internships at the following organisations:

• Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
• Museum Volkenkunde/Nationaal Museum voor Wereldculturen
• Haags Gemeentemuseum
• Museum De Lakenhal Leiden
• Prince Claus Fund
• Waag Society
• V2
• Het nieuwe Instituut
• Museum Voorlinden
• BAK Basis voor actueel kunst Utrecht
• Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunst Amsterdam/Prix de Rome
• Galleries in Leiden, Den Haag and Amsterdam
• Netherlands Embassies abroad

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
• Material Aspects of Authenticity: Curatorial and public engagement with reproductions at the Victoria and Albert Museum London
• King Solomon's Magical Instruments: Material Culture in the History of Solomonic Magic
• Toward a Trauma-Informed Museum Practice: A Proposed Tool for Museum Professionals to Navigate Discussing 'Difficult History'

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