Master in History of Art and Museum Studies

Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) and the Ecole du Louvre offer a professional Master degree in the «History of art and museum studies », at the new Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi campus on Al Reem Island. The collaboration between these two prestigious French institutions is unprecedented.

The city of Abu Dhabi alone is preparing to open not less than seven new museums, including the Louvre. In the coming years, qualified staff, trained in the fields of history of arts and in the various professions related to museum management, will be necessary to uphold the scientific and intellectual quality of these institutions. It is in this specific context and with a view to responding to these requirements, that this professional Master programme was designed.

It is part of the development of PSUAD, the sole higher education institution offering an undergraduate programme in the history of art and archaeology in the Gulf region since 2006. To offer a first-class education, PSUAD has decided to enlarge the scope of its know-how through a partnership with the scientific teams of the Ecole du Louvre and the future Louvre Abu Dhabi.

A high-level comprehensive education

The theoretical part of the “history of art and museum studies” professional Master curriculum, as is the case today for the BA programme, will be ensured by visiting professors from the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at the Paris Sorbonne University, while curators, restorers and specialised professors from the Ecole du Louvre will be in charge of specific content and professional lectures. Occasionally, renowned personalities from the art world will share their knowledge and competencies with students, within a comprehensive rethinking process of the 21st-century museum.

A 12-week-internship programme in the last semester of the second year, in the major French national museums, with few exceptions, will complete the course, as decided, steered and followed-up by a scientific committee, to enable students to acquire the necessary skills for a successful professional transition.

Two specialisation options

According to individual students’ projects, two specialisation options will be offered. The first option, Artwork management and Preventive Conservation, will be open for students who wish to be in direct contact with works of art, be involved in their protection, exhibition, promotion and produce a set of scientific tools around them. The second option, Cultural Mediation, is intended for students interested in the interaction between the mass and the works of art.

More broadly, this second track will include all the professions related to museums’ communication with audiences, but also with the media. The two options will enable students to apply for positions immediately after graduation.

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