Best Masters of Arts (M.A) in Netherlands 2019

With roots in philosophy, history and discourse analysis, the two-year Research Master's in Media Studies explores pertinent theoretical approaches to the study of media in contemporary culture.

The two-year Media Studies Research Master's programme offers an interdisciplinary, humanities-oriented approach to media. It considers media as cultural discourses and practices, technological infrastructures, as well as powerful political-economic actors.

With roots in philosophy, history, and literary studies, as well as science and technology studies, sociology, and political science, this discipline has developed pertinent theoretical approaches to the study of media in contemporary culture. The programme teaches students to engage with crucial theoretical concepts and current issues and to develop their own research practices culminating in the Research Master's thesis.... [-]

In the Master’s in Latin American Studies, you will study social transformations in Latin America from geographic, historical, economic, cultural, social, political and ecological perspectives. You will design your own research plan, do fieldwork in this exciting region and become a critical academic.

The Master’s in Latin American Studies offers a research-driven programme with an international focus. You will investigate social transformations in the region from a multidisciplinary and social-science perspective. The programme provides you with critical knowledge, academic skills and in-depth understanding of the academic literature. You are trained to become an autonomous researcher with all the research tools at your disposal to go on fieldwork in Latin America and investigate new phenomena in the area.... [-]

The Dual Master's programme Archival and Information Studies focus on Archival Studies, treating contemporary archival theory and practice, training archivists in the science and craft of record-keeping, and providing insight into the archives of the past and future.

The computational turn has fundamentally changed the way people and institutions produce, use, collect, share, and keep information. Data is the vital fuel for a growing number of applications in daily life and has become a fundamental human resource, similar to food, energy or transportation. The result is a fragmentation and personalisation of data-creation and data-use.

What are the implications of these developments for information management and record-keeping? How can we keep relevant information accessible in time? How does the data-driven culture transform societal values such as transparency and privacy? And how do we keep the archives of the past connected to the needs of the present? These questions are central to the Dual Master in Archival Studies.... [-]

Europe's cultural history is characterised by religious exchange, adaptations and conflict within a global context. In this Master's programme, you will explore past and present religious diversities within and beyond their European contexts.

In the Master’s in Religious Diversity in Europe, you will study the religious field from a historical as well as a social scientific perspective. Taking the present day situation as a point of departure, you will reflect on religion’s multiple entanglements in history, culture, society and the individual. As such, the programme offers exciting opportunities to students who enjoy studying religious texts, traditions and practices, and theoretical issues related to religious diversity in Europe.... [-]

The two-year Research Master's programme Philosophy familiarises you with one or more sub-areas of philosophy. You can choose to specialise in philosophical tradition in context, critical cultural theory, philosophy and public affairs, and logic and language.

The Research Master's programme Philosophy familiarises students with one or more sub-areas of philosophy, and offers an excellent opportunity to students who are interested in pursuing a PhD in Philosophy. The programme covers a wide range of topics and perspectives, and has a strong international focus. Both Anglo-Saxon and European philosophy are studied. Students can choose to specialise in one of the following areas:... [-]

The Master's in Literature, Culture and Society draws on the fields of literature, cultural studies and intellectual history, and provides you with the knowledge and skills necessary to specialise in a major European literature in its broader intercultural contexts.

For centuries, literature has played – and continues to play – an important role in our understanding of how society is continuously being shaped and re-shaped. Literature is often associated with intellectual training and skills, Bildung, and (global) citizenship. In this programme, you are encouraged to creatively explore the field of European literature and culture in a broad sense. We address the role these pieces of literature play in increasingly globalised and transcultural contexts. Europe, in this sense, is not just a designated continent, but rather a specific lens on a set of global relations.... [-]

In the Master’s in Literature and Education, you will study foreign language and literature learning from an acquisitional, pragmatic and educational perspective, while specialising in one of seven major European languages or language families.

The Master's programme Literature and Education offers a unique, interdisciplinary approach to the study of language and literature learning. Drawing from research and practice, you will take courses in both linguistics and literature. The linguistic strand of the programme focuses on language use, language variation and (foreign) language learning and teaching, while the literary strand zeroes in on the practical and conceptual ties between literature and education, addressing questions such as: How does one ‘teach’ literature? What is it that literature teaches us? And what is the relationship between literature and social development and change?... [-]

The Master's in Islam in the Modern World offers you an in-depth interdisciplinary academic framework to engage with topics and debates concerning Islam and modernity, both in Europe and the Muslim world.

The Master's in Islam in the Modern World provides advanced knowledge in the field of Islamic studies and insight into contemporary issues related to Islam. The programme offers a unique preparation for engaging with debates and policies concerning the processes defining the place of Muslims and Islam in modern societies and is embedded in a broad range of research projects related to Islam in Europe, the historical tradition, reformism and modernity, as well as the history of Orientalism.... [-]

The innovative interdisciplinary two-year Research Master's programme Heritage, Memory Studies and Archaeology explores the ways in which we deal with tangible and intangible remnants and narratives of the past, as well as the remaking of the past into heritage, memory and material culture in the present.

The two-year Research Master's programme in Heritage, Memory and Archaeology trains you to think critically about how human societies have dealt with the past in pre-modern times, as well as the diverse and conflicting ways in which the past is interpreted and put to use in the world today.

Whether you choose to specialise in ‘Heritage and Memory Studies’, or in ‘Archaeology and Material Culture’, this innovative programme offers a unique combination of scientific traditions and will give you a strong theoretical and conceptual foundation in Heritage and Memory Studies or Archaeology and Material Culture and the intersections between these fields.... [-]

With a Bachelor’s in French, you can continue your studies of the language, literature and culture of the French-speaking world through one of the following Master’s degree programmes.

The Graduate School of Humanities offers several one-year Master’s during which you can specialise in French as a track within the programme. Each approaching French with a unique focus – whether its literature, linguistics, education or culture – these Master’s allow you to tailor the programme to your interests.

In this Linguistics programme, you explore language from a (socio)linguistic and pragmatic perspective while developing the knowledge and skills to analyse French within its unique social context.... [-]

With a Bachelor’s in English, you can continue your studies of the language, literature and culture of the English-speaking world through one of the following Master ’s degree programmes.

The Graduate School of Humanities offers several one-year Master’s in which you can study English as a track within the programme. Each approaching English with a unique focus – whether it's literature, linguistics, education or culture – these Master’s allow you to tailor the programme to your interests.

This Literary Studies programme explores the history and theory of English literature and studies its relationship with other media while engaging key issues of intellectual concern in society, politics and culture.... [-]

This selective 18-month Master's combines rigorous academic coursework in discourse analysis and argumentation theory with an internship to develop your communication skills in the Netherlands or abroad.

The Master's in Discourse and Communication Studies provides students with a solid theoretical and methodological foundation for understanding the way language is used for informative and argumentative purposes. You will learn how to analyse verbal communication in prevalent genres from the political, the legal, the health and the academic domain.

The programme offers insight into the verbal communication in a range of practical settings, including parliamentary debate, political speeches, legal decisions, legislative debates, drug advertisements, doctor-to-patient consultation, mediation, negotiations and academic research papers, and allows you to specialise in one type of genre. You are trained in analysing and evaluating the discourse in these genres using insights from discourse analysis, argumentation theory, rhetoric, genre theory and stylistics.... [-]

Curating Art and Cultures is a unique, professional Master's designed to train the curators of the future. The programme is offered jointly by the UvA, the VU University and leading museums in the Netherlands.

Taking place in both the lecture hall and the exhibition space, the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures responds to the growing demand for academically-grounded curatorial professionals with excellent (inter)disciplinary and theoretical backgrounds. The programme teaches you to engage with crucial theoretical concepts and contemporary issues regarding the collection and display of art objects and cultural artefacts. It also encourages you to deepen your disciplinary knowledge and develop your research skills.... [-]

In this Research Master’s programme, you will develop a thorough understanding of the ways in which language is used as a means of convincing others, studying argumentation and rhetoric in a range of communicative contexts.

The Research Master’s programme Argumentation, Rhetoric, and Communication focuses on the study of argumentation and rhetoric in a range of communicative contexts, including politics, law, healthcare and science. You will:

In the one-year Master's programme in Archival and Information Studies, you will concentrate on Information Studies, and develop the skills, competencies and understandings necessary to become an Information Specialist in today's dynamic digital world.

Information, data, media and digitality have become ubiquitous features of our social, economic and political lives. All the world is connected and media and computational technologies have already converged into a small device we carry around in our pockets. News is sampled rather than broadcast. We converse through snippets of information shared via junk radio bands to a global clique. This digital hyper-archive of information is not only a resource to be accessed and consulted, but, as never before, the constituent data for new questions, new enquiries and new intrusions into our social and political lives. The methods of the previous age, methods of representation and fixed association, no longer apply to this new, dynamic, digital information world.... [-]