1. Book and Digital
Media Studies
Master of Arts programme
Humanities in Leiden
The Faculty of Humanities is an international
centre for study of the world’s languages, cultures
and nations, covering nearly all continents, and time
periods. Leiden University (founded in 1575) is one
of Europe’s leading international research-intensive
universities. This prominent position gives our
graduates an advantage when applying for positions
within or outside the academic world. Both the
University and the Faculty rank consistently high in
international rankings.
Resulting from over 400 years of collecting, Leiden
University Library features one of Europe’s largest
book and manuscript collections. Leiden is in close
proximity to other key Dutch heritage institutions
to which students of Book and Digital Media
Studies have free access.
Leiden has all the facilities of a large city, but its
historical core is small, and it is dominated by a
thriving culture of learning and student life, which
makes it a great place to study.
Degree MA in Media Studies
Duration 1 year
Language English
Coordinator of Studies
Jurjen Donkers
j.donkers@hum.leidenuniv.nl
+31 (0)71 527 41 53
Find us on en.unileidenmasters.nl
and Facebook (Book and Digital Media)
Studying new media
technologies is exciting because
the digital revolution allows us
to understand our past and
traditional book culture.
“
Anna, MA student 2014-2015
”
In this MA, I developed a
strong conceptual
understanding of how we
shape the media we use.
Alex, MA student 2014-2015
”
“

2. Book and Digital
Media Studies
An international MA degree about the world of the book, reading, and the
circulation of text in manuscript, printed, and digital form.
Book and Digital Media Studies (BDMS) is
an engaged, international, one-year master’s
programme, open to students from all
humanities-oriented disciplines. It covers a
broad range of topics related to reading and
the circulation of text in manuscript,
printed, and digital form. With partners in
the national and international book trade,
museums, and libraries, the programme is
closely tied to the world of the book.
BDMS is invested in teaching and learning
both offline and online, featuring both
hands-on learning in Leiden University
Library and collaboration with such
affiliated digital heritage institutions as
Europeana and the Royal National Library
of the Netherlands.
Book and Digital Media Studies’ well-
rounded core curriculum introduces
students to the history of the written word,
and theories of publishing and textual
media, including in digital form. The MA
features a broad range of electives.
The programme
BDMS focuses on the dynamic process of
the transmission of knowledge and
information through manuscript, print,
and digital text. You study both the
historical development – from Gutenberg
to Google – and the modern practice of
textual communication within its societal
and technological contexts.
The MA programme is divided into two
semesters of 30 European Credits (EC)
each. In the first semester, students take
mandatory core curriculum courses (20
EC), supplemented with two electives (10
EC). In the second semester, students
choose two out of four specialization
courses (10 EC) and write their MA thesis
based on this specialization (20 EC).
Students are encouraged to put their
knowledge and skills into practice:
through hands-on study of medieval and
early-printed books, in using
programming languages such as XML and
Perl, or in engaging in round table
discussions with publishers. The
programme has strong relationships with
heritage institutions as well as major
publishers, such as Brill and Elsevier.
Students are offered opportunities for
internships in addition to the MA
curriculum.
Why choose this MA?
This MA is English-speaking, ranks
among the highest-scoring programmes
in the humanities for finding
employment, and fosters a strong sense of
community among its participating
students.
Off-campus activities are undertaken
frequently, for example visits to the
Frankfurt Book Fair and the Antwerp
Museum Plantin-Moretus. Students can
take the opportunity to join the editorial
board of the MA’s yearbook, TXT.
Erik Kwakkel teaches medieval book history and is interested in the
interrelationship between handwritten, printed, and digital text. His
research highlights the relationship between form and function in
medieval books. He is an active blogger and tweets daily about the book
before print.
Fleur Praal’s research focuses on academic publishing in the digital
age, specifically in the Humanities. She lectures in the specialization
of academic publishing on recent developments, tutors digital
technologies, and co-ordinates the MA courses in the National
Library of the Netherlands.
Close contact with
publishers and libraries
gave me a realistic view on
job opportunities that exist
in these fields. ”
Katharina, MA student 2014-2015
“