MA in Museum Studies

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Read an interview all about the new program!

The two-year master’s degree in Museum Studies is a unique cooperation between Central European University and the Wien Museum, providing students with rigorous academic training in historical studies combined with practical, hands-on museum experience. It combines opportunities for experiential learning at Europe’s leading museums with both foundational coursework in the history and theory of museums, and the multidisciplinary study of the past. The program provides students with the skills, experience, and professional knowledge needed in today’s museum. This English-language program will prepare students for a wide range of careers in museums and memory institutions across the world.

Candidates from any country can apply for CEU financial aid in this MA program. The application deadline for this program including financial aid is 4 February 2025. Learn more about how to fund your studies here.

Click here for the program handbook!

Learning at the Museum

All students will take courses taught by staff of the Wien Museum, with a focus on practical work in museums today. Students will learn about every aspect of museum operations, from curatorial research, to creating educational programs, to marketing and fundraising. The courses are structured around hands-on projects and independent museum work, providing students with valuable skills for their future museum careers. Courses include:

Principles of Museum Curation

Principles of Museum Education

Principles of Museum Communication 

Independent Museum Work

Career Planning

Learning at the University

The program combines practical training with CEU’s student experience, offering research driven and public-facing university education to a new generation of museum workers. Students study the history and theory of museums and other memory institutions and pursue two years of elective coursework from the Department‘s interdisciplinary curriculum in historical studies, ranging from late antiquity to the present. Students can specialize in any period of history, focus on specific regions, or deepen their understanding of particular topics in the study of the past and their expressions in art, scholarship, and public discourse. They develop expertise in the field of their own interest, working closely with expert faculty to apply this knowledge in the museum world and engage different audiences. Courses include:

History of Collecting

Museum Critique

Words Into Images: Archives and Memory

Historical Studies Electives (browse courses in our fields)

Working at the Museum

Students will undertake two internships during the course of the degree program. In the first year, students will do an internship at a Viennese museum, working in various departments, offering insight into the everyday work of the museum. In the second year, students will take part in an intensive internship at a museum of their choosing where they will work on a capstone project for the degree.

The program cooperates with partners in Vienna's and the wider region's rich museum scene. Students have the opportunity to apply for internships at:

Albertina| Albertina Modern

Architekturzentrum Wien

Belvedere

Carnuntum

DÖW – Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance

Foto Arsenal Wien

Freud Museum

HGM – Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

Jüdisches Museum

Kunstforum Wien

Kunsthalle Wien

Kunsthaus Wien

KHM – Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Künstlerhaus

Landesmuseum Niederösterreich

Leopold Museum

MAK – Museum of Applied Arts

Mumok – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien

Museum am Dom St. Pölten

NHM - Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

Philieas

QWien - Center for Queer History

Stadtmuseum St. Pölten

Technisches Museum Wien

Vera and Donald Blinken OSA Archivum Budapest

Volkskunde Museum

Welt Museum

ZOOM Children’s Museum

Program Entry Requirements

In addition to meeting the general CEU admissions requirements, applicants must provide:

CV

Contact details of two referees

Proof of English proficiency

Statement of Purpose 

The Statement of Purpose (500-750 words) should explain your interest in the Museum Studies program, demonstrate your motivation for a professional career in the museum world, and provide further details on:

• ideas for an individual museum project
• internship interests
• previous experience in museum work (if any, not required)
• research areas you see particularly relevant to your interests

Contact: Eleonora Crola