Study programme

The MA programme in Cultural History and Heritage comprises one year (60 EC). An academic year consists of two semesters, each comprising two blocks. 

Curriculum

In the first study period, you will fill your cultural-historical toolbox with theories, methods and forms of presentation. In the second study period you will choose three tutorials from a selection of around 10 themes; during the tutorial, you will step into your lecturer's research practice and be introduced to the state of the art in cultural-historical research on a specific topic. In study periods 3 and 4, you will put your knowledge into practice during your graduation project. Check the study schedule (PDF) for more information. 

Study period 1 | Compulsory courses

• 'Understanding Culture' offers an in-depth overview of the key theories in cultural history and provides you with the tools to contextualise cultural history and identify the theoretical perspectives that you will use throughout the rest of your MA programme.
• The 'Public History' course takes you beyond the ivory tower to explore how academic historians can collaborate with citizens and professionals from other cultural institutions to present the past.
• 'Sources and Methods' is an introduction to the key methods of cultural history and how to apply them to primary sources. You will learn, for example, about discourse analysis, digital hermeneutics, visual analysis and the study of material culture.

Study period 2 | Tutorials

In study period 2, you choose three tutorials. Tutorials are small-scale seminars (max. 12 students) in which you will conduct your own research within the expertise of the tutorial lecturers. You can choose from around ten tutorials (of which half are offered in English, the others in Dutch), covering topics such as intangible heritage and identity, popular culture and citizenship, digital culture, and postcolonial memory culture. In one of the three tutorials, you will begin preparing for your graduation project, which will be related to the topic of one of the tutorials. 

Study period 3 and 4 

The second part of your year is dedicated to your graduation project. Between February and June, you will work within your host institution and gain valuable work experience. During this period, you will carry out your graduation project, which focuses on a problem or task at the host institution, in close collaboration with the institution and an experienced academic supervisor from our staff.

Part-time and language

Part-time students take the same courses as full-time students. They spread their programme over two years instead of one. At the start of the academic year, we discuss with each student what the best schedule is for them. Our programme offers a Dutch-taught and an English-taught track. The modules for both tracks are the same; only the language differs.

Examples of graduation projects

• Sexuality and Religion in the updated collection of the Museum Catharijneconvent (Pauline Balke)
• Benchmark study about a digital depot for Centraal Museum Utrecht (Joana Baptista Alhinha)
• Short film ‘Dance your History’ for Reframing HERstory Art Foundation (Drew Ardon)

Educational methods 

• seminars (30%)
• group work (30%)
• self-study (40%)

We use a variety of teaching methods: seminars, group work, self-study, and practical activities such as field trips. The teaching is always interactive: students, together with their lecturers, are responsible for the success of the lectures. In principle, all lectures are ‘screen-free’ and offline. The programme is structured in such a way that students are expected to spend an average of 40 hours per week on their studies, including lectures and field trips.

Collaboration with social partners

Our students have collaborated with leading cultural and historical institutions such as the Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Studio Louter, and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. 

Thesis awards

Students who pursue a degree in Cultural History and Heritage are intrinsically motivated and this shows in their study results. Our graduates are regularly awarded prizes for writing excellent theses.

• Myrthe Knip (alumna cohort 2024-2025) won the Dr. Albert van der Zeijdenscriptieprijs 2025 for her thesis Wat je meeneemt als je alles moet achterlaten. De betekenis van Syrisch culinair erfgoed in herinneringen en migratie-ervaringen van Syrische Nederlanders.  
• Celine Oldenhage (alumna cohort 2022-2023) won two thesis awards for her thesis Uit de zekerheid des doods en onzekere uure vandien: Graven en begraven worden in de Amsterdamse kerken na 1578. First, she won the 2022-2023 VNK Thesis Award and a year later the 2024 Uitgeverij Verloren/Johan de Witt thesis award.
• Louisa Niesen (alumna 2020-2021) won the 2021 Faculty Thesis Award for her thesis Modern Women? On Practices and Experiences of "Modernity" in the Everyday Lives of Female White-Collar Employees in the Weimar Republic. Read Louisa's testimonial.

Examinations

• active participation in seminars 
• oral presentations (in and outside the lecture hall)
• writing assignments
• audio and video reports

Our assessment methods reflect the diversity of our programme. In the first semester, we primarily assess students through writing assignments and presentations. The graduation project is assessed on the basis of the final product developed and an academic research report.