Do you want to be well prepared for a career in the world of the Visual Arts? The Master Program in Art History and Curatorial Studies offers all the knowledge and expertise that you need.
The MA Art History & Curatorial Studies is a vibrant master programme that attracts students from all over the globe. It teaches students to become intellectually thorough, socially engaged, and professionally successful art historians.
The programme combines a rigorous, research driven curriculum with hands-on experience in curatorial practice, working closely together with stakeholders in museums, galleries, alternative art spaces, and heritage institutions. It offers courses on early modern , modern and contemporary art, while also highlighting transhistorical and transcultural means. The program includes courses on artistic research in collaboration with the art academy, and explores contemporary conservation issues with a view to eco-critical approaches in art history. All students will go on an excursion to a major European city (Berlin, Paris, Rome or Venice). Next to the MA thesis, small scale research tutorials allow students to work with individual professors, developing and strengthening their professional profile. On top of the programme, students can participate in summer schools, Erasmus exchange modules, and research activities, such as workshops and conferences offered by the faculty’s research institutes.
Our international staff includes experts in medieval, early modern, and modern & contemporary art, Chinese, South-American, and African heritage and museum studies, artistic research, and visual & material culture. All course modules are taught in close contact with museums, curators, artists and other professionals in the field and involve on-site elements.
With completing the one-year Master’s track students obtain an internationally well perceived degree and springboard for future careers. Students particularly interested in research and an academic career, may apply for the Research Master Program after the first semester (upon consultation with the supervisors). Students particularly interested in curatorial practices may pursue a six months internship after the completion of all coursework and the thesis. The curatorial internship is subject to a selection after the first semester of the MA track . Higher than average scores and strong collaborative skills are a requirement for the internship.
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.
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. Specific qualifications are required for Curatorial Studies.
| Semesters | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoursesCourse Catalog > | 1a | 1b | 2a | 2b | 3a | 3b |
| Art History Now: Theory, Method, Historiography (10 EC) | ||||||
| Collections & Artefacts (10 EC, optional) | ||||||
| Media, Materials, Makers: Art and/as Research (10 EC, optional) | ||||||
| Museums: The Making-of (10 EC, optional) | ||||||
| Excursion (5 EC) | ||||||
| Master Thesis (20 EC) | ||||||
| Tutorial (5 EC) | ||||||
| Museum Placement (30 EC) | ||||||
The first semester consists of one required course, Art History Now, and two courses that complement the student's specialization. In the second semester, the Early Modern and Modern and Contemporary Art students write a thesis of 15 EC and complete a placement of 10 EC. The Curatorial students write a thesis of 20 EC and follow a tutorial of 5 EC. These students conclude their studies in the third semester with a placement of 30 EC.
All students go on an excursion abroad in the second semester.
| Programme options |
|---|
| Master's Placement (specialization) This Master's track includes an optional work placement for which you are awarded ECTS credit points. It is your responsibility to find a placement yourself, but the Office for Student Affairs can offer help with this where necessary. |
All students have the option to study abroad.
| Study programme | Organization | Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Art History | University of Groningen | No additional requirements |
| Study programme | Organization | Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Art History | All Research universities | No additional requirements |
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| previous education |
Students with a Bachelor's degree in Art History and Arts. Culture and Media (incl. Visual Art programme) are directly admissible to this Master's track. University of Groningen students with a BA in:
with a Faculty Minor (30 ECTS) in History in Art, Architecture and Landscape are also eligible for admission to this Master's track only via the Admission Board. Professionals and students with a background in a related field are welcome to apply to the track. The Admission Board will assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific track requirements, and will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies. |
| language test |
Additional requirements English: A VWO diploma or a subject certificate for VWO English (mark 6 or higher), minimum requirement of TOEFL iBT 90 (with a minimum of 21 on all items), or IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 6 on all items). Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a minimum score of 180. |
| other admission requirements |
Selection for the Curatorial Programme takes place at the end of the first semester among students of the master's track in Art History. For more information contact Joost Keizer (joost.keizer rug.nl) |
Please use this step-by-step guide for more information regarding your eligibility and your specific application procedure.
After you complete your application, the Admissions Board will assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific programme requirements, and will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies.
The Admissions Board will then determine whether:
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 15 August 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| previous education |
Students with a Bachelor's degree in Art History and Arts. Culture and Media (incl. Visual Art programme) are directly admissible to this Master's track. University of Groningen students with a BA in:
with a Faculty Minor (30 ECTS) in History in Art, Architecture and Landscape are also eligible for admission to this Master's track only via the Admission Board. Professionals and students with a background in a related field are welcome to apply to the track. The Admission Board will assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific track requirements, and will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies. |
| language test |
Additional requirements English: A VWO diploma or a subject certificate for VWO English (mark 6 or higher), minimum requirement of TOEFL iBT 90 (with a minimum of 21 on all items), or IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 6 on all items). Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a minimum score of 180. |
| other admission requirements |
Selection for the Curatorial Programme takes place at the end of the first semester among students of the master's track in Art History. For more information contact Joost Keizer (joost.keizer rug.nl) |
Please use this step-by-step guide for more information regarding your eligibility and your specific application procedure.
After you complete your application, the Admissions Board will assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific programme requirements, and will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies.
The Admissions Board will then determine whether:
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 15 August 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
| Nationality | Year | Fee | Programme form |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 2530 | full-time |
| non-EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 18700 | full-time |
Practical information for:
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.
Conducting research in the field of Art History is one of the most wonderful challenges you can face as a Master's student. In nearly all art history related jobs, research is an important aspect of your work, whether you are a curator in a print room or a policy officer at a municipality, employers will call upon your research skills and critical thinking. During your Master's, you will learn what art historical research entails, how you can conduct it yourself, and how you can apply these skills to the benefit of society. The field of research is extensive, including, analyzing and interpreting works of art, focusing on the technique of the artist and material properties of the artwork, the museological and social context -in other words, the art world-, theoretical approaches and archival research. Ideally, your research alligns with our staff's specializations, but this does not have to be the case. Our staff members will be able to teach and supervize you because of their great research background. Additionally, our staff members have numerous international contacts in a range of fields, therefore it would be possible to study to conduct reasearch abroad, as the curriculum also permits.
The most important research you will conduct during your studies is your Master's thesis, which will be written in collaboration with the museum where you follow the internship. This could enable you to research the methodology and techniques used in the creation of certain artworks. In addition, the museum will grant you access to source materials that are not or barely readily available. You have the opportunity to take a look at depots and to collect information that is not (yet) available to the public. I would also be possible to research the museum itself, for example by evaluating their exhibition policies.
Aanvankelijk wilde ik geschiedenis studeren, maar mijn keuze is gevallen op Kunstgeschiedenis. Dat is immers het mooiste deel van de geschiedenis. Ik wilde me niet specialiseren, want juist het bestuderen van nieuwe onderwerpen is interessant. Er zijn mensen die zich twintig jaar met van Gogh kunnen bezighouden, maar dat zal ik nooit begrijpen.
Het werd me al snel duidelijk dat ik een baan zocht in de museumwereld. In het begin van zo'n carrière moet je overal voor openstaan. Zo kwam ik terecht in Lübeck, als Conservator-in-opleiding. Maar daarna wordt het pas spannend. Bij het zoeken naar een vaste baan heb ik overal en nergens gesolliciteerd. Uiteindelijk ben ik aangenomen in Regensburg.
Na een jaar of drie stuitte ik op de vacature voor Hoofd Presentatie bij het Van Gogh Museum. Daar werd ik aangenomen, na in totaal 10 uur aan gesprekken en een intensieve taalcursus van twee weken. Met mijn ervaring als leidinggevende kon ik solliciteren voor de functie van directeur van het Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Keulen, een museum waar het op dat moment niet zo goed mee ging. Dat is heel mooi, want als je directeur wordt in zo'n museum, dan doe je het al snel beter.
Werken in het Groninger Museum wilde ik vooral graag vanwege de brede collectie. Toen de vorige directeur van het museum wegging, besloot ik meteen te solliciteren. En hier zit ik dan.
Na mijn bachelor Kunstgeschiedenis heb ik gekozen voor de specialisatie Conservatorenopleiding. Inmiddels werk ik bij het Groninger Museum als Stichting Beringer Hazewinkel conservator in opleiding en word ik de komende twee jaar klaargestoomd voor het vak.
Ik maak deel uit van het conservatorenteam van het Groninger Museum en werk van concept tot realisatie aan tentoonstellingen, doe onderzoek naar de collectie en schrijf mee aan publicaties. Zo heb ik bijvoorbeeld in de afgelopen maanden meegewerkt met de tentoonstelling H.N. Werkman (1882-1945): Leven & Werk. Hiervoor heb ik in samenwerking met de gastconservator van deze tentoonstelling het concept verder uitgewerkt, bruiklenen aangevraagd en alles rondom de logistiek en opbouw van de tentoonstelling geregeld. Ik waardeer met name de veelzijdigheid in mijn werk. De ene dag ben je op zaal bezig met de opbouw van een tentoonstelling, de volgende dag ben je bezig met onderzoek naar de collectie.’
De mogelijkheid om door middel van een stage ervaring in het werkveld op te doen, is één van de voornaamste redenen dat ik de Conservatorenopleiding koos. Deze unieke specialisatie is er namelijk op gericht dat je uiteindelijk museumconservator wordt.
Eén van de leukste onderdelen van het programma vind ik de georganiseerde excursie naar Rome, waar het begrip musealisering in brede zin van toepassing is. Samen met mijn studiegenoten verbleef ik in het Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome, en we bezochten elke ochtend onder begeleiding van onze docent musea, kerken en grafmonumenten. Deze bestudeerden we uitvoerig aan de hand van de colleges die ik voor het onderzoekscollege voorafgaand aan de excursie volgde. In de middag was er ruimte om te werken aan ons eigen onderzoek in de bibliotheek.
Tijdens het vak Toepassing en Overdracht koos ik ervoor om mij te verdiepen in het Groeningemuseum in Brugge. Door museumbezoek en gesprekken met de museumconservator leerde ik meer over de beweegredenen achter de presentatie van de kunstwerken in dit museum.
Ik koos voor Groningen vanwege de fijne sfeer op de opleiding en omdat de master aan de RUG hoog aangeschreven staat. Daarnaast biedt het programma voldoende keuzevrijheid en is er veel ruimte om onderzoek te doen in onderwerpen die jij interessant vindt.
Are you interested in a research oriented career? Take a look at our Research Master Programmes in the field of Arts and Culture.
