Art Studies, M.A.

A formal prerequisite for the master’s program in Art Studies is a first university degree qualifying you for professional work from a degree program where your primary/core subject was art history/art studies and encompassed at least 60 credit points (LP).

The master’s program in Art Studies is taught in German. If you are applying with a foreign school-leaving certificate, you must provide proof of German skills at a specific level. This is a prerequisite for admission.

You must also provide proof of the following language skills:

•   a modern Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Finno-Ugrian or Turkish foreign language at CEFR level B1

and

•   an additional Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Finno-Ugrian, or Turkish foreign language at CEFR level B2

or

•   Latin skills equivalent to the Latinum.

You are not required to provide proof of your skills in the second language until enrollment.

As some of the professional literature and courses are offered in English, English skills are useful. However, this is not a condition for admission to studies.

The Art Studies master’s program consists of a compulsory (42 credit points), compulsory elective (42 credit points), and elective component (15 credit points). Within the compulsory elective component, you can choose between two specializations, art technology or museum studies. Students complete the program by writing a master’s thesis (30 credit points).

There is a proposed course schedule for the degree program. It contains examples of when to take certain modules and is a recommendation for how to complete the degree program within the standard period of study of four semesters. While this proposed course schedule is ideal on paper, it is not mandatory. It is simply an example of how to successfully schedule and shape your studies. You can find the course schedule in the study and examination regulations.

Study and examination regulations:

• Kunstwissenschaft und Kunsttechnologie M.A. 2014 mit Änderungssatzung 2021(pdf, 1 MB)

The master’s degree program consists of modules which combine curriculum content on a specific topic and often include various study and teaching formats such as seminars, lectures, excursions, and practical projects. Students are required to earn a specific number of credit points and complete certain coursework and assessments in each module.

You can find a module list which offers a current overview of all the modules in TU Berlin’s module transfer system (MTS). In the MTS you have an overview of which modules are mandatory for your degree program and which are elective. Detailed module descriptions provide information on the content, learning outcomes, participation requirements, workload, assessment methods, and much more. The module catalogue is based on the study and exam regulations. The most current version of these regulations applies to new students.

In the Master's program, you can include internships outside the university with a minimum duration of 5 weeks full-time in the elective module (MA- KUWI 7a). For further information, please refer to this information sheet.

The degree program is designed to enable you to incorporate a stay abroad into your studies while remaining within the standard period of study. The study abroad officer in the faculty will assist you with selecting a university and creating a course schedule.

The Master's degree program in Art Studies provides you with practical competence and scientific reflection skills in an interdisciplinary and research-oriented manner. If you choose the focus on art science/art technology, you will acquire comprehensive knowledge of the material and art-technological prerequisites of the spatial and visual arts and their influence on the design of historical and modern living environments (applied arts, architecture, visual arts, design). Against the background of diverse current threats to cultural heritage, you will have knowledge of methods and techniques of conservation, restoration and preservation. If you have chosen to major in art history/museum studies, you will gain more in-depth expertise in the preservation of cultural heritage through museums. You will also have expertise in the theoretical and historical analysis of the functions of museums and be familiar with the core tasks of collecting, exhibiting and communicating material heritage. Through the cooperation with the National Museums in Berlin, you will be enabled to approach the different tasks and responsibilities of museum work in a practice-oriented manner and to actively participate in shaping them.

As a graduate of the Master's program in Art History, you will find a wide range of occupational fields related to art history. Typical fields of work are:

• in the museum field, which involves collecting, managing and researching art on behalf of the public and making works of art accessible to a broad public through exhibition and publication,
• in the exhibition business at art associations and art fairs in the field of mediation, especially with regard to current art trends,
• in the art trade and auction business
• in research and teaching at universities, academies, and art schools
• in the preservation of historical monuments, for example in the fields of inventory, documentation and public relations.

In recent years, journalistic professions, fields of activity in the art trade as well as professions outside of public institutions, for example as a freelance exhibition curator, collection manager or cultural manager in the fields of tourism, business and industry, have also gained in importance. Furthermore, with the Master's degree in Art Studies you are qualified for a doctorate and thus an academic career.

Guidance and choosing the right degree program: Academic Advising Service

Questions about the degree program: Course Guidance

General questions: Student Info Services

Application and enrollment: Office of Student Affairs - Graduate Admissions

Recognition of previously acquired credits: Examination Board

Brochure about the Master's program