Art History

Ready for a professional blend of Art History, Museum and Curatorial studies? Do you love research? Fancy a 5-month internship? Our research Master's programme immerses you in innovative approaches to the history of art and related digital methods, curatorial and conservation questions and ecological and transcultural challenges. We work in close connection with art and heritage institutes and museums. You will become part of an international community of students and teachers, committed and passionate about art.

A broad range for you to explore

Art History in Utrecht focuses on art, architecture and cultural heritage from the Middle Ages to the present by way of close engagement with artworks as well as dialogue with artists, curators and other cultural makers.

Together, we will focus on conservation issues, curating, transcultural dialogue, heritage and ecological challenges and (inter)disciplinary research. You will discuss art, exhibitions with artists, experts and other art professionals. You will learn about digital preservation, art and virtual reality and get to work in our Artlab. In Brussels, we visit artists' museums. Learn about diversity in the museum world, the materials of both older and contemporary art and the challenges they pose as well as the post-colonial realities of art and exhibition making.

Why this programme in Utrecht?

Your interest, your career

You are invited to develop and pursue your own interests in scholarly work, long-term internships, tutorials, and electives. We have students doing internships in Canada, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and many more countries. Our program trains students to become independent researchers who can develop their own research project in a chosen field of expertise. Our  Research MA Thesis offers proof of that ability: the thesis takes the form of an article written for a specific academic journal and is supervised by experienced researchers from our faculty. We guide and help in your first steps to an art-, curatorial- or museum career, a PhD-research and/or other professional commitments in the cultural-, research- or educational sector.

Be part of our Artlab

Our Artlab is a hub where students, researchers and scholars from the humanities and the sciences come together to research, teach, discover and engage with art, cultural heritage, and its historical techniques and materials. Special attention goes to the practical and theoretical expertise of artists, artisans, conservators and architects. Link: https://artlab.sites.uu.nl/

Our academic staff

Utrecht allows you to benefit from the expertise of teachers and researchers across a wide spatial and historical range of material and visual culture, including the Heritage Lab, the Descartes Centre for the History of Science and the Humanities, the Institute for Cultural Enquiry, the Centre for Early Modern Studies and Centre for Medieval Studies. Teaching is frequently hands-on and on-site: courses connect to ongoing academic projects and curatorial projects. 

After graduation

You will gain expertise with regard to objects of art and material culture that prepares you for a career in academia, museums, contemporary art institutions (galleries etc.), auction houses, and other heritage institutions. This includes the practicalities of research design and publishing.

The skills I obtained in Utrecht, such as setting up your own research projects, investigating primary and secondary sources, and conveying your findings in a comprehensive way, are all skills I still profit from daily.