The two-year Media Studies Research MA 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 Master's thesis.
Closely connected with the one-year Master's in Media Studies, the Research Master's allows students to specialise in Film Studies, Television and Cross-Media Studies, New Media and Digital Culture, or Archival and Information Studies. In addition, the programme gives students ample opportunity to develop their own customised programme by taking electives, master classes, summer and winter schools, and, most prominently, tutorials, which are taught in small groups and are focused on specific areas of research.
Research Master's students are encouraged to profit from Amsterdam’s pioneering art and media scene, with its many festivals, exhibitions and installations, as well as conferences, lectures, and workshops.