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Arts and Culture: Comparative Arts and Media Studies – (M.A.)
VU University Amsterdam
Faculty of Arts
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| Application Deadline: | 1st of April international students, 1st of June Dutch students | ||
| Annual Tuition Fee: | ≈ € 1,713 - ≈ € 10,500 (non-EEA) | ||
| Location: | Amsterdam / Netherlands / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 12 months | Start Date: | September |
| Educational Form: |
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| Education Variants: |
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| Credits (ECTS): | 60 | ||
| Languages: | English | ||
Location of VU University Amsterdam
The Master’s programme Arts & Culture, specialization Comparative Arts and Media Studies focuses on intermedialities in relation to the visual arts, cinema, literature, television and digital media. Intermedialities are crossovers and interrelations between the arts and the media, but also within and between various media. These have been intensified with the arrival of digital media and the “hypermedium” that arises from the on-screen interplay of words, images, and sounds and through the convergence of cinema, television, radio, journalism, e-books, and photography on the web.
A career in research, audio-visual heritage, policy and administration
The specialization Comparative Arts and Media Studies is an internationally oriented course that has close links to real-life practice. In addition to gaining expertise in theoretical and historical research, you will be able to look forward to a career in the fields of education and communication, digital archiving of cultural heritage, or cultural policy and administration. Employers include museums, theatres, cinemas, foundations and private institutions.
Postgraduate studieds
A degree in Comparative Arts and Media Studies qualifies you to carry out independent scholarly research. Students who have performed exceptionally during their Master’s studies may wish to apply to the Research Master’s in Visual Arts, Media and Architecture.
Critical and engaged
Completing the Master’s programme in Comparative Arts and Media Studies means you will have gained a sharp eye (and ear) for all kinds of media and art products, and you will also be able to situate these in their various contexts. Moreover, you will be able to indicate the different interrelationships between arts and media thanks to your thorough training in approaches to scientific comparison. You will have a solid grasp of the cultural landscape and you will be able to think, speak and write about relevant topics at a highly advanced level.
Contents
Core courses
The programme is built around four main courses: Reading Concepts of Intermediality, Cross-Media Storytelling, Crossmedial Exhibitions, and The Art of Comparison: The Cinematic City.
The first semester consists of two introductory courses on core theoretical frameworks of intermediality studies:
Reading Concepts of Intermediality
will help you to come to grips with the major concepts used in contemporary debates on the synergy between the arts and the media, such as intermediality, intertextuality, and (re)mediation. This course also involves a close reading of installations, art works, texts, sites and sights.
Crossmedia Storytelling
focuses on the different ways in which stories are told across media (including film, television, comics and games) as modes of niche-marketing and creative consumption. You will look at narratological issues and at the contexts of production and consumption.
In the second semester you will get acquainted with intermedialities in present-day practice. You will analyse crossmedial exhibitions and approach the city as an intermedial phenomenon.
Crossmedial Exhibitionsdeals with processes of intermediality in present-day practices of curatorship, sponsoring, policy-making, designing and criticism. Examples of exhibitions that we have looked at in the past include The Art of Fashion (Museum Boijmans, 2009) and Illusions of Reality (Van Gogh Museum, 2010).
The Art of Comparison: the Cinematic Citycompares media and architecture from a historical perspective. You will focus on the European city as a material, experienced and visualized place.
Deepen your individual schope with electives or internships
You can customize your programme by selecting subjects from a broad range of interdisciplinary electives in the fields of visual arts, architecture, literature or history. For example:
- Literature Visualized (sem. 1, 6 ects)
- Visual Art and the American Poet (sem. 1, 6 ects)
- Fiction and Film (sem. 1, 6 ects)
- Renaissance literature and visual culture (sem. 1, 6 ects)
- Literature and Society (sem. 1, 6 ects)
- The Gothic Gaze (sem. 2, 6 ects)
- Screenwriting (sem. 2, 6 ects)
- Creative City (sem. 1, 9 ects)
- Art Criticism [Kunstkritiek 1800-heden] (sem. 2, 9, in Dutch)
Or you can choose an internship with a research dimension if you would prefer to gain practical experience in the field of media and arts. For more information, please see the Internships page on our website.
Thesis (18 EC)
The programme culminates in the Master’s thesis, which gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your research skills, your competence as a critic, and your ability to systematically gather, select and interpret information and to argue a case in an independent, objective and responsible manner. Your thesis plan is due on February and you give a public presentation of your thesis in May.
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test if you come from a non-English speaking country.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
More informationRequirements
Admission to the Master's programme of Comparative Arts and Media Studies: Intermedialities is possible with a Bachelor's degree in art, film, television, digital media or (visual) cultural studies. If you have an academic Bachelor in the Humanities (history, journalism, communication studies, comparative literature) a solid background with a minimum of 30 credits is required in either art, film, television, digital media or (visual) cultural studies. Students with a theoretical interest are particularly welcome. The master Comparative Arts and Media Studies: Intermedialities starts in September and takes one year.
Students who have successfully completed an applied BA (HBO) in art, film, television, digital media, or (visual) cultural studies, will take a Comparative Arts and Media Studies pre-Master’s of no more than sixty credits. The exact combination of modules is put together by the examination board on the basis of the previous qualifications of the student. Beware that the pre-Master’s will be mostly in Dutch and is not accessible for international students. Those with an applied MA (HBO-MA) in art, film, television, digital media or (visual) cultural studies have to submit their application to the Examination Board for assessment.
It is possible to enter the Master’s programme with an academic Bachelor in other areas of the Humanities, but only if you have a minimum of three years of work or research experience on an academic level in the field of visual culture. For the purpose of assessment various documents should be handed in, such as a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, qualifying diplomas/certificates, a list of publications, etc. The assessment process may include an interview.
International students and students with a foreign Bachelor/Master degree
The departmental Examination Board will decide upon your admission after having officially reviewed and evaluated your diplomas/degrees. Diplomas unknown by the board will be assessed by the master coordinator in cooperation with the NUFFIC.
Admission
For general admission requirements, please check the information on the main VU website. The Master’s Comparative Arts and Media Studies is designed for students with an academic Bachelor in either art, film, tv, digital media or (visual) cultural studies. You may also be accepted if you have an academic Bachelor in other disciplines of the Humanities (history, journalism, communication studies, comparative literature), with a major or specialization in art, film, television, digital media or visual culture (equal to a minimum of 30 ECTS).
You must always present official test results proving your proficiency in English. Only students who have completed a full high school or bachelor’s degree in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia may be exempted. We require a TOEFL score (score 580 paper based, score 237 computer based or score 92 internet based) or an IELTS score (score 6.5).
Deadline for international students
The deadline for international students differs from Dutch students. You need to have applied and provided all documents before April 1st.
Dutch Students
After having obtained the Examination Board's permission to start the Master's programme, you must register with the student administration of VU University Amsterdam before the 1st of Juneby filling in a registration form. The master Comparative Arts and Media Studies: Intermedialities starts in September.
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| IELTS Band: | 6.5 |
| Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): | Grade C (Score: 60) |
| TOEFL Paper-based: | 580 |
| TOEFL Computer-based: | 237 |
| TOEFL Internet-based: | 92 |
Accreditation
Accredited by: croho in: Netherlands
Funding details
Scholarships
International students may apply for various kinds of funding. Some possibilities are:
- VU Fellowship Programme
- Direct Loan Programme (US students)
- Netherlands Fellowship Programme
- STUNED Scholarship Programme
- Huygens Scholarship Programme
- Libertas Support Fund
- Other scholarship possibilities
Contact
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