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Dual Master
Vergelijk
Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image (Media Studies)

Study programme

The Dual Master's programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image provides students with the knowledge and skills needed for archiving and curating audiovisual media within different types of organisations. A maximum of 16 students will be selected per year. Through lectures, seminars and workshops, you will become acquainted with a wide range of concepts, principles, practices and techniques.

Programme structure

The dual Master’s programme comprises 90 ECTS credits:

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Archives and Archiving
    6

    This course familiarises students with key archival theories and paradigms, concepts and academic debates. Different archival traditions will be discussed, and within them the aims, positions, functions, and power of institutions and counter-practices, including but not limited to audiovisual archives.

  • Conservation and Restoration for Audiovisual Media
    6

    During this course, students become acquainted with and are invited to conceptualise technical, ecological, ethical, political, and historical issues regarding conservation and restoration of collections of film, broadcast materials, and media art in the light of historical and environmental sustainability.

  • Preservation and Access
    6

    This course focuses on institutional strategies and technological infrastructures for preserving and making accessible analogue and digital collections. Attention is paid to workflow, organisational frameworks, copyright, and metadata management, which attest to fundamental (theoretical) questions and competing ideologies and traditions.

  • Programming and Curating Audiovisual Media
    6

    Different definitions of programming and curating will be applied to examine presentation approaches, how programmers and curators select materials, draw relations between them and their social-historical contexts, and, by doing so, participate in processes of knowledge production and value creation.

  • Case Study Project Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image
    6

    In a four-week workshop hosted by our partners, students work in teams on a case study relevant to the institutions. This may involve aspects of preservation, cataloguing, restoration, digitisation, and presentation. Students present their resulting plans to an expert group.

  • Free-choice electives
    12

    In semester 2, dedicated to specialisation, electives enable students to combine interests, or to fuel the parallel thesis project. In addition to the programme's own elective "This is Film! Film Heritage in Practice", organised in cooporation with Eye Filmmusuem, about 100 electives are offered by the Graduate School of Humanties.

  • Master's Thesis Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image
    18

    Students conduct research and write their thesis (17,000-23,000 words), supervised by a staff member, about a subject relevant to the programme, informed by previous courses. Academic skills are trained in an accompanying workshop, which also offers room for peer feedback.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Internship Seminar Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image
    6

    The internship seminar guides students to design a workplan and conduct research, and eventually to develop a Project Proposal: a follow-up plan based on insights gained during the internship. The seminar also offers room for peer feedback.

  • Internship Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image
    24

    Students conduct an internship at an institution dedicated to archiving and/or presenting audiovisual media (archive, museum, festival etc.), in the Netherlands or abroad. The internship includes research on a topic relevant to the institution. Students present their findings at an internship symposium.

Compulsory course
Elective
UvA Course Catalogue: Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image
  • Electives

    In semester 2, students can choose from electives offered by the Graduate School of Humanities, e.g., “Archival Activism”, “Documentary Imagination,” and “Co-Creation and Critical Curating.” But the programme also offers its own course: “This is Film! Film Heritage in Practice”, organised in collaboration with Eye Filmmuseum. It delves into current debates on film preservation, digitization and presentation, through recent projects. Students discuss them with experts involved, whom they introduce to Eye’s audience. Additionally, they help preparing the Eye International Conference.

  • Internship

    In semester 3, students do an internship, which includes practice-based research, focused on, e.g., identification of audiovisual media; storage of (analogue/digital) films; media art conservation, film restoration; cataloguing, managing metadata/linked data; (online) curating; (festival) programming, educational presentation, et cetera. The programme offers internships at Eye Filmmuseum, Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision, and LI-MA, and helps to find internships at other parties within its network, e.g., IFFR and IDFA, and various institutions abroad.

    Students taking a dual Master's programme may in some cases be eligible for a reimbursement. 

  • Special events and extracurriculars

    Students will have access to select screenings, talks or other events at the programme’s main partner institutions, including certain short-term extra-curricular projects (e.g., the annual Nitrate Control week, to assess materials in Eye’s nitrate vaults). Additionally, the programme offers a number of (extracurricular) excursions.

    Related to the programme is the local Student Chapter of AMIA, the Association of Moving Image Archivists (the largest international professional association of its kind). They organise extracurricular events, promote the activities of AV archivists among fellow-students and liaise with professionals across the world. 

    For more information about the Student Chapter’s activities, consult:

  • Partners

    The programme closely collaborates with renowned media institutions, especially Eye Filmmuseum (the Netherlands’ centre for film culture), the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (national broadcast and media archive and museum), and LI-MA (platform for media art).

    The programme also collaborates with the Dual Master's in Archival and Information Studies, through two shared core courses, meaning that you will have access to the shared expertise of both programmes while also enjoying track-specific, small-scale, specialist teaching.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • How many students does this programme have?

    There are 16 students in the programme per year. In this way we can have seminars, group discusions, visits and projects, and accommodate internships.

  • How many classes per week will I have on campus?

    Per week, there are usually two or three classes, each of three hours, on different days. Sometimes there are day-long workshops or excursions. In January, students work full-time on a case study at an institution. The internship requires presence at an institution for four days a week.

  • Can I do the programme part-time?

    No, you can’t (except for medical reasons). Keep in mind that it is an intensive programme, with a lot of reading, individual assignments and group work, and extra-curricular activities. As it turns out, students are not able to have other engagements for more than one day a week.

  • Does the programme include practical training?

    Semester 1 and 2 are ‘practice oriented’, but of an academic nature. This means that problems in the field are being examined and conceptualised. The Internship in semester 3 is practice-based, which also includes research and academic reflection. The programme does not offer hands-on training, although there might be such possibilities through extra-curricular activities.

  • Where do the students come from?

    Students come from various countries, with about half of them from the EU.

  • I don’t have a BA in Media Studies. Am I eligible?

    You need a bachelor's degree in the Humanities or Social Sciences, with (the equivalent of) one year of training in media theory and/or media history, including e.g. film studies and art history related to audiovisual media. Relevant work experience (e.g. in archives or festivals) may sometimes count as well. Alternatively, you can opt for a pre-master’s.

  • I have worked in the field for years, but I want to gain theoretical knowledge that I’m still missing. Am I a good fit?

    In principle, you are. We have students from different disciplinary backgrounds. Many have already done another MA before (e.g. in History or Literary Studies), or worked as professionals for several years. This programme helps to deepen your understanding of the field. Graduates may also opt for PhD research afterwards.