Curriculum

The Professional Master's programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image provides students with the knowledge and skills to archive audiovisual material (film, video, digital media) in an institutional context and to present such work to an audience.

The first year of this programme focuses on the history and theory of media, as well as on the historical and contemporary practices of programming and archiving. In the second year, students put their new knowledge into practice with a 10 to 14-week period of work experience. The combination of in-depth theoretical knowledge and practice-based learning makes the Professional Master's programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image unique in Europe.

Programme outline

The Professional Master's programme in the Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image yields 90 ECTS: 60 credits for core courses, 10 credits for a Master's thesis and 20 credits for an internship.

The specific number of credits a student is required to obtain through coursework is determined by the admissions committee and is based on the student's previous qualifications. Fulfilment of all the requirements will take at least one-and-a-half years. In exceptional circumstances, the course requirements may be completed in one year.

Most courses are open exclusively to students of the Professional Master's programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image, and are taught in groups of no more than 15 students.

Students can use the facilities of the Film Museum and the Institute for Sound and Vision. These two national archives are also in charge of some of the academic modules. The programme also maintains contacts with the film archives in Bologna and Dublin, the Film Museum in Düsseldorf and universities in New York, London, Berlin, Udine, Gorizia, Bergen, Oslo and Trontheim.

Detailed course information

For detailed course descriptions, follow the link below to the UvA Course Catalogue.

Internship

In the third and last semester, students take part in an internship project at an institute in the field of audiovisual archiving and presentation, either in the Netherlands or abroad.

Thesis

The Master's thesis reports on research carried out by the student under the supervision of two academic staff members involved in the programme. The subject of the thesis must be mutually agreed upon by the student and the academic adviser(s). The final text should be approximately 10,000 words. The thesis must be developed in close collaboration with one or more institutes in the field of audiovisual media archiving and presentation. Students present their theses at a joint symposium.

For more information on Faculty thesis guidelines, please see the link below.

Degree requirements

Students who successfully complete this programme receive a Master's degree in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image and the title Master of Arts (MA).

Credit transfer

Students who show exceptional promise during a Regular or Professional Master's programme are encouraged to continue their studies in a Research Master's programme. Once students are admitted to the Research Master's programme, they can transfer credits earned during their previous course of study towards their Research Master's degree. The examination committee determines which courses qualify for transfer.