Students must meet the following admission requirements : 1. Academic requirements Your previous education needs to be deemed equivalent to at least a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree ( wetenschappelijk onderwijs, WO ) obtained at a research university (nominal duration 3 years). Please find more information about your admissibility with a non-Dutch degree here . 2. Programme specific requirements The Master's programme in Curating Art and Cultures is open for application to students with a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university in: Art History, Cultural Studies, History, and VU Bachelor Media, Kunst, Design en Architectuur (MKDA), or an equivalent humanities Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of one full semester (30EC) in one of these disciplines, or the history of design or fashion (e.g. a minor). For the specialisation Curating Art and Cultures we recommend in addition that you have followed courses in museum or curatorial studies (6 EC), and/or to have done a relevant internship (minimum of 3 EC). The program is not open to those with a higher vocational/professional degree or from a university of applied sciences (Dutch ‘HBO’), including art and technical academies , a degree from a faculty of social sciences (e.g. Sociology, Anthropology), or those with management or business degrees (e.g. in culture or heritage management). Grade average If you wish to apply for a Dual Master's in Curating Art and Cultures, you are expected to have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least: 7.0 (Dutch educational system) B/3.3 (American system) 2.1 (an upper second class degree in the British system) C (ECTS-system) If the bachelor’s degree has not yet been completed by the application deadline, the required GPA must be demonstrated based on courses taken to date. Please note that admission will not be granted solely on the basis of sufficient grade point average. Selection Procedure The Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures is a competitive and professional programme that includes a year-long curatorial internship. Due to the limited number of internship placements, applicants must first undergo a two-round selection procedure before being admitted. During the process, the selections committee scrutinises the content of an applicant’s Bachelor’s programme, their study results and motivation letter, as well as social skills. In the first round of the selection procedure, a student’s application will be evaluated by a selection committee comprising the programme coordinators from VU Amsterdam and the UvA, as well as additional academic staff. Applicants who have reached the second round will be asked to write an opinion piece regarding one of the participating museums or cultural institutions. Applicants progressing through to the final round will be invited for an interview with the coordinators and curators. Students will be informed of the final application decision by May 15th . The deadline of application to the program Curating Art and Cultures is 15 March . 3. English-language proficiency requirements Dutch language requirements The internship at a Netherlands-based museum or cultural institution is an integral component of the programme. Non-native students are recommended take a Dutch course during the first six months of the programme and in order to obtain an A1 or A2 certificate before commencing the internship. English language requirements The internship at a Netherlands-based museum or cultural institution is an integral component of the programme. Non-native students are recommended take a Dutch course during the first six months of the programme and in order to obtain an A1 or A2 certificate before commencing the internship. Please note that there are a limited number of English-only internships. You will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency. You can find an overview of relevant information to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page . The internship at a Netherlands-based museum or cultural institution is an integral component of the programme. Non-native students (English-only speakers) are recommended take a Dutch course during the first six months of the programme and in order to obtain an A1 or A2 certificate before commencing the internship. Please note that there are a limited number of English-only internships.
All students seeking admission to an international Bachelor’s or Master’s programme with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee. Only after you have paid this fee will we be able to start the evaluation of your application file. If you are applying for more than one programme, you will only need to pay the application fee once. Your application fee payment is valid for two years. Information on how to apply with an international university degree and deadlines can be found here . For more information, international students may also contact the International Student Advisor via the online form .
You will spend half of the programme taking core courses related to curating and collecting, as well as elective courses in your field of interest, such as art history, cultural history or design. The other half of the programme provides you with the unique opportunity to do an internship at one of our partner institutions, spending an entire year under the supervision of a curator and contributing first-hand to several projects in the museum.