Why this programme?
The specialisation in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education examines the concepts of ‘heritage’ and ‘art’ as expressions of both past and present culture. You will develop insights into these key concepts and how their meaning has changed throughout history. You will evaluate and debate issues related to policy, appreciation, interpretation, use, conservation, education and management. The programme will also teach you academic skills and professional skills in the practical organisation and development of artistic projects in the context of cultural management.
English or Dutch?
This one-year programme is also offered in Dutch: Kunst en Erfgoed. The Dutch programme and the English programme have a large number of common activities for both tracks.
In this video our teaching staff and one of our students talk about the content of the programme
This video gives you a short impression of the specialisation Arts & Heritage
What will you learn?
You will study the time, place and group-dependent definitions of art and heritage, and you will learn how these differences translate into distinctive cultural practices. In doing so, you develop the capacity to apply different approaches towards the interpretation, management and dissemination of art and heritage within a range of private and public, established and grass-root organisations. By working across the traditional boundaries that separate academic and professional disciplines and institutions, you learn to build bridges between the reflexive and theoretical work of arts and heritage studies, and the work of arts and heritage practitioners. The specialisation has an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation, building on insights and methods from (art) history, sociology of the arts, cultural economics, cultural management, memory studies, and critical museum and heritage studies.
International classroom
From day one of this programme, you will be challenged with differing viewpoints and experiences as you interact with staff and students from all over the world. Most of the students in this programme in the academic year 2020/2021 came from outside the Netherlands and represented on average 16 different nationalities. Such diversity creates an international atmosphere that is strengthened by the international orientation of the programme. To further increase your international profile, you can choose to do an internship or complete a project abroad during the second semester.
Teaching staff
Problem-Based Learning
As with many Maastricht University programmes, this programme is taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In tutorial groups of 12 to 15 students, you will seek solutions to concrete ‘problems’ taken from situations involving current issues in arts and heritage. Instructors act as facilitators, giving help as it is needed. This allows you to develop the independence and problem-solving skills that you will need in the field, such as the ability to:
- Evaluate and structure information
- Present your viewpoint
- Work in an international team
- Conduct and chair discussions
- Negotiate
- Formulate a working plan to deal with a problem at hand
Seminars & guest lectures
You will also participate in seminars and guest lectures, in which experts discuss their knowledge of specific facts, concepts and theories as well as their experiences in professional practice.
Professional skills
You will not only develop expertise in theory, but will also receive training in professional skills such as:
- Cultural policy analysis and evaluation
- Cultural management
- Arts marketing
- Presentation
- Arts and museum education
Site visits & study trips
Trips to art institutions, heritage sites, museums and government agencies will enable you to widen your experience with professional practice and to apply what you have learned in the Arts and Heritage curriculum. Maastricht is ideally located for study trips in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.
Customise your programme
The programme has a broad set-up while giving you the freedom to personalise your programme and to develop your full potential. Firstly, by familiarising yourself with the interdisciplinary field of arts and heritage. Secondly, by choosing whether you want to do an internship or an in-depth elective with a practical project. For the electives, you will specialise in one of the following three fields:
• Arts & Audiences
• Cultural Industries & Social Change
• Heritage & Society
The teaching staff has strong ties in the arts and cultural sector, both in the Netherlands and abroad, which offers you a wide variety of project and internship opportunities. Many students choose to conduct an internship in the Netherlands or abroad.
Once you have finished the programme, you will have both a theoretical and practical background in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education. You will have gained professional skills and academic research experience through our integrated skills trainings. In this programme, you are offered guest lectures, seminars, fieldtrips.
Internship organisations
Students have, amongst others, done internships at:
- Guggenheim Museum, New York
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Paris
- Sotheby’s, Melbourne
- TEFAF, The European Fine art Fair, Maastricht/Amsterdam/New York
You can choose to do a regular internship or an extra-curricular internship, and you will learn how to build up your own professional network throughout the programme.
Internships Arts and Heritage
Leïla Gérard studied the master's programme Arts and Culture with a specialisation in Arts and Heritage. During her study programme, Leïla undertook a 10-week long internship at Kimball Jenkins, a nonprofit cultural community center in Concord, New Hampshire, United States.
PREMIUM honours programme
PREMIUM is our Honours programme for high-performing master’s students. If selected, you will work in an interdisciplinary team on a project for a real client from the public or private sector (e.g. Cisco, DHL, EcoAct). Along with guidance from a project mentor, you will receive individual coaching focused on your personal and professional development. You will also attend several workshops and events designed to cultivate valuable knowledge and skills, as well as build a network that provides you with the best preparation possible for the job market.
Are you up for the PREMIUM challenge?
Programme highlights
The specialisation in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education is unique because it:
- Establishes effective links between theory and practice
- Allows you to customise your own programme
- Is truly international: 35 students in the 2022/23 programme, with 16 different nationalities
- Has very engaged academic staff
- Is highly valued by students when it comes to the quality of teaching
- Offers a unique, small-scale, interactive and international learning environment
- Applies the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) educational method, in small groups with a maximum of 15 students
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