Master

Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education

The master's programme in Arts and Culture focuses on culture in the making. Culture can refer to the products of intellectual and artistic creativity, such as scholarly and literary texts or works of art. It also indicates the cultural practices that shape the everyday life of people, and is expressed in their individual tastes and forms of associating with one another. Finally, culture is at the heart of the processes through which people explicate and contest ethical, aesthetic, and political meanings and values.

The specialisation Arts and Heritage, Policy, Management and Education, which you can choose to follow in English or Dutch, examines the concepts of ‘arts’ and ‘heritage’ as expressions of both past and present culture. You will develop insights into how the meanings, values and usages of art and heritage have transformed throughout modern history. You will also develop the knowledge and skills set needed to critically assess and contribute to the accessibility, diversity, authenticity and sustainability of current and future arts and heritage practices. You will investigate current challenges and opportunities in the field of arts and heritage suchs as decolonialism, the changing role of experts and expert knowledge, public participation, financialisation and digitalisation from an interdisciplinarity approach.

Instead of choosing the English taught specialisation Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education, it is also possible to choose the Dutch specialisation Kunst en Erfgoed where you follow several courses in Dutch and write your essays and master’s thesis in Dutch. In the programme Kunst en Erfgoed, the Dutch context is emphasized and placed within a larger international framework. For more information on the Dutch specialisation, please check the specialisation website.

Other specialisations in this master's programme:

Fast facts

1-year, full-time master's programme, taught in Dutch or English
Specialise by selecting elective courses, a project or internship
Truly international: students from 16 nationalities
Selective admission, starts in September
Weekly: 8-10 hrs classes, 30-32 hrs independent study/group work
You will get an MA in Arts and Culture with a specialisation in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education

Want to know more about this programme? Request a brochure

Liliana Marques, Student Ambassador Arts and Heritage 2024-2025

Why Liliana decided to choose this programme:
“So, it's a bit of a crazy story. After my bachelor's, I was pretty set on staying in Lisbon. I knew that I wanted to do this specific master's programme. But suddenly they just closed down the master's completely without any explanation. And I had no plan B. And so I started researching and the first master that showed up was this one! It combines everything that I love. It has art and literature. And it is very contemporary, not just studying classical literature. Moreover, it is about understanding how art affects our world and the power it has to change everything.”

Where does she see herself in five years:
“Right now, my dream job would be to work at a publishing house. However, the most important thing to me is to constantly be challenged and to feel like I'm growing.”

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“My programme is about understanding how art affects our world and the power it has to change everything.”

UM and FASoS Campus Tour

At FASoS, we offer our prospective students the opportunity to join a campus tour on 7 May 2025. During this campus tour, one of our student ambassadors will show you our faculty, inner city and all important UM buildings. Are you not able to come one of the aforementioned dates? Don't worry! We also offer campus tours during our Open Days, Experience Days and Introduction Days.

Online Campus Tour

Are you not able to come from abroad for a campus tour? We also offer a virtual campus tour! Check it out through the interactive video on the left.

Kickstart your career at our Master's Open Day

Experience Maastricht University: find out more about one of the most international universities in Europe, immerse yourself in your programme of choice, and explore our beautiful city. The next Master’s Open Day is on Saturday 15 November 2025.

Q&A sessions

We regularly offer Instagram Live Q&A sessions for students who are interested in our master's programmes. Our student ambassadors will answer all your questions about the programme of your choice and studying in Maastricht. For more information and registration, take a look at our Master events page.

Pre-master's programme

If you do not satisfy the admission requirements of this Master's programme you may be able to enrol in a Pre-master's course year. Check out the Pre-master information and learn more about the programme, the courses and the requirements.

Arts & Culture Pre-master

UM is the 10th best Young University in the world

Times Higher Education 2024 Young Universities Ranking

Student testimonials

I would like arts institutions to be more inclusive. It’s my dream to contribute to that, hopefully through research in a PhD position.

Alejandra Murillo Sosa

With Problem-Based Learning you get used to a daily workload, which is preparing you for your working life later on.

Zoë Rivas Zanello

Eventually I want to go back to Lithuania to make an impact there in the fields of Arts, Culture and Heritage. The country needs people like me.

Silvija Burbaite

Maastricht University was the perfect option, since it does not solely focus on academic side but also takes the practices into account. I was super delighted to have been accepted!

Honey Kraiwee

I’m very happy with the program because it helped me to discover new methodologies and fields related to arts and culture which I never had the chance to explore before.

Gabriel Noguera Vich