Archiving the everyday

The computational turn has fundamentally changed the way people and institutions produce, use, collect, share, and store information. Data is the vital fuel for a growing number of applications in daily life and has become a fundamental human resource, similar to food, energy or transportation. The result is a fragmentation and personalisation of data creation and data use.

What are the implications of these developments for information management and recordkeeping? How can we make sure relevant information remains accessible throughout time? How does our data-driven culture transform societal values such as transparency and privacy? And how do we keep the archives of the past connected to the needs of the present? How do we design more inclusive archival infrastructures which give a voice to underrepresented groups in the past and the present? These questions are central to the Dual Master's in Archival and Information Studies.

Why study Archival and Information Studies in Amsterdam?

• The Archival and Information Studies programme is unique in the world, due to its combination of in-depth study of critical issues and practice-based learning, its international orientation, and its broad outlook.
• You will have the chance to study different types of recordkeeping from the moment information is created with a strong focus on archival infrastructures, records-management, preservation, use, re-use, legal issues.
• The programme collaborates with a range of national, regional and local organisations with an international focus.
• Through an internship the programme offers you the unique opportunity to develop your practical experience in one of these organisations, for example, at the National Archives of the Netherlands, The Hague; International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam; The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum; The Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam; or national & local government agencies. This internship allows you to get acquainted with the practices and challenges of recordkeeping and archiving in the 21st century, and apply the specialist knowledge and theoretical reflection of your coursework to a professional context. 
• From the academic year of 2020-21 onwards, the programme will collaborate closely with the Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image programme (also part of the dual Master’s in Media Studies cluster), meaning you will have access to the shared expertise of both programmes while also enjoying track-specific, small-scale, specialist teaching.
• By following this collaborative programme, you will be prepared for a professional career in a number of related areas such as, for instance, recordkeeping, collection management, preservation, or presentation. You will become familiar with the present-day reality of different types of archival institutions, which are increasingly concerned with comparable issues of access, use and sustainability.

Student profile

As a student in the Master’s programme in Archival and Information Studies you are expected to have the following knowledge, insight and skills:

• You are interested in the ways in which institutions, communities and individuals engage with their (archival) historical past, present and future through practices of appraising, collecting, preserving and curating.
• You are able to conduct a research project independently, formulate clear and functional research questions, collect relevant primary and secondary sources, and analyse them from a well-defined perspective. You have previously written at least a BA thesis, or conducted a capstone project with a considerable written component.
• You know how to construct a coherent argument, building on prior research in the field, and credit your sources in (academically) agreed-upon ways. 

Degree certificate

Archival and Information Studies is a programme of the accredited Master's degree programme Media Studies. Upon successful completion of this programme you will receive a legally accredited Master's degree in Media Studies and the title Master of Arts (MA).

With an additional 30 ECTS in the field of history, law or public administration, students can obtain the Archivistiek A certificate which is required for some positions in the Netherlands.