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Archival Sciences (MA)

Archiv-Dokumente in einem Karton

After completing the degree programme, you will be able to take on an archival management position. They have competences in archive management and in project management in the archival specialist tasks, in particular preservation, digital long-term archiving, marketing and public relations, and reflect archival sciences findings in relation to their own professional practice. They are able to systematically and goal-orientedly record and manage archival tasks under changing professional and social requirements.

In cooperation with your fellow students, you will develop versatile interdisciplinary, professional and social skills. You can expect a constant comparison between theory and professional practice.

The master's programme in archival science is a scientific higher education programme in the sense of the TVÖD or TV-L and qualifies you for the higher archival service in public archives as a salaried employee. The provisions of the career regulations of the Federal Government and the Länder apply to civil servants.

If you have a subject-related education and work in an archive, the distance education in archives as a certificate course with the possibility of being classified in the bachelor's programme could be interesting for you.

Degree:
Master of Arts
Type:
Distance learning program (part-time)
Advanced Master's program
Course language:
German
Standard study period:
6 semesters part-time (start: winter semester of an odd-numbered calendar year)
Start of study:
Winter semester
Application deadline:
22/05 – 30/06/ in odd-numbered calendar years (admission restricted)
Admission requirements:
Successfully completed university studies, at least 12 months of professional experience in an archival institution, proof of work in an archival institution during the course of studies.
Credits:
120 ECTS credits
Module Manuals & Regulations
Profile

With the Potsdam model into the higher archives service

Eine Archiv-Studentin begutachtet ein historisches Foto

The degree programme in archival sciences is the only degree programme in Germany that offers you an additional archival qualification at a high level in three years. Complementing the "classic" internal archival training in Germany, it is characterised by the "Potsdam model" of an integrative information science degree with a high proportion of scientific and information technology skills.

Within a semester there are two lectures of three days each (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). We use the e-learning platform "Moodle" for optimal support of our students. In the first semesters, a predefined timetable with compulsory modules makes it easier for you as a professional to get started. From the 4th semester onwards, you can specialise with compulsory elective modules. You finish your studies with a master's thesis and its defence.

Is this degree programme right for me?

Do you enjoy the exciting work in the archives and want to expand your knowledge with this additional professional qualification for the higher archival service? To be able to start the master's programme, you need to have successfully completed your studies at a university in a non-archival bachelor's degree programme of at least six semesters or in a diplom or magister degree programme of at least eight semesters comprising at least 180 ECTS credit points. The requirements also include 12 months of professional experience to the extent of a usual full-time job, a current job in an archival institution that covers the range of tasks and topics of relevant practical archival work, as well as proof of a study-related job in an archival institution of at least 15 hours per week at the time of admission to the programme. The study achievements represent a high workload in addition to the professional activity, which should be taken into account when choosing a course of study.

Contact

The colleagues at the student counselling service provide information to prospective students, first-year students, parents, teachers and students on all general questions about the degree programme. If you have specific questions or concerns about the part-time master's programme in archival sciences, please contact the student counselling service.

Subject Counselling Service

Staff member for further education and distance learning in the field of Archival Studies

Project Management

Professor of Archival Science
Project Manager Graduate Distance Learning Archive
Project Manager of the Degree Programme Archival Science (MA)
Project Manager of the Further Education Programme "Archive im Informationszeitalter"

These degree programmes might also interest you

More courses
Department Degree programme Teaching language Start of study Application deadline
Archival Sciences (MA) German Winter semester
22/05 – 30/06/ in odd-numbered calendar years (admission restricted)
Digital Data Management (MA) German Summer semester
Note: No enrolment for summer semester 2024
Career prospects

Career prospects

Upon completion of the master's programme in archival sciences, you can take on the tasks of an academic archivist and thus an archival management position.

Possible areas of application

  • Archives of the Federation, the Länder and the municipalities
  • Parliamentary archives

These degree programmes might also interest you

More courses
Department Degree programme Teaching language Start of study Application deadline
Archival Sciences (MA) German Winter semester
22/05 – 30/06/ in odd-numbered calendar years (admission restricted)
Digital Data Management (MA) German Summer semester
Note: No enrolment for summer semester 2024
Study Content

Course of studies

The master's programme starts every two years – in the odd-numbered years. Within a semester, there are two attendance dates of three days each. These attendance days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The standard period of study for the part-time degree programme in archival science is six semesters and concludes with a Master of Arts (M. A.). The programme consists of basic compulsory modules, subject-specific compulsory and elective modules and is completed with the writing of a Master's thesis and its defence.

Semester 1  3

Basic studies, compulsory modules

Semester 4 Compulsory elective modules, subject-specific specialisation
Semester 5  6 Compulsory modules, Master's thesis and colloquium

Study Content

In the currently valid module handbooks, study and examination regulations and statutes of the information sciences department you will find the module overview, a detailed description of the modules and study contents, the study plan as well as the statutes for the implementation of the selection procedure for the degree programme in archival sciences.

The degree programme is currently in the re-accreditation process. The course content is therefore subject to change.

Teaching formats

In the Master's programme in archival sciences, we work with different teaching formats. Since it is a part-time degree programme, there is a division between attendance dates, work in Moodle and self-study.

  • Seminars
  • Exercises
  • Projects

Compulsory modules

  • Information and Society
  • Methods of archival science
  • Archival typology and history
  • Archive Management
  • Records Management
  • Cataloguing in archives
  • Archival technology
  • Archival law/freedom of information legislation
  • Historical education and public relations
  • Ancillary historical sciences
  • Administrative History
  • Digital Archives
  • Digital long-term archiving
  • Project Management

Electives

  • Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
  • Database archiving
  • Meta description languages
  • Organisational development and management techniques
  • Editing techniques
  • History project

Forms of examination

  • Term papers
  • Practical final papers
  • Written examinations
  • Presentations

 

Thesis

  • Writing a Master's thesis and defending it

Study content by semester

  • Information and Society
  • Methods of archival science
  • Archival typology and history
  • Archive management

  • Records Management
  • Indexing in archives
  • Archival Technology
  • Archival law/Freedom of information laws

  • Historical education and public relations
  • Historical auxiliary sciences

  • Administrative history
  • digital archives
  • ICT technologies (compulsory elective module)
  • Database archiving (compulsory elective module)
  • Meta-description languages (compulsory elective module)
  • Organisational development and management techniques (compulsory elective module)
  • Edition techniques (compulsory elective module)
  • History project (compulsory elective module)

  • Digital long-term archiving
  • Project management

  • Master thesis
Application & Contact

Dates & requirements for your application

The most important deadlines, dates and admission requirements for the part-time Master's programme in archival sciences are compiled here. You can find out which steps you need to take for a successful application in the next section.

Please note: The semester fee and fees of 1,200 euros per semester apply.

Dates

  • by 30 June (in odd-numbered calendar years): Submit online application

Access requirements

  • Successfully completed university studies (at least 180 ECTS credits) in a non-archival bachelor's degree programme of at least six semesters or in a diploma or magister degree programme of at least eight semesters.
  • at least 12 months of professional experience in an archival institution to the extent of a full-time job covering the range of tasks and topics of relevant, practical archival work
  • Proof of work accompanying studies in an archival institution at the time of admission, contractually secured for the following 24 months (at least 15 h/week)

This is how you apply!

In the following, we explain which aspects you should pay attention to from the online application to enrolment (registration).

The application for the winter semester takes place in odd-numbered calendar years from 22 May to 30 June online in the MyCampus university portal of the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Documents to be submitted

When applying online, the following documents must be submitted as PDF files in the application portal:

  • University degree certificate(s), including Master's and doctoral degrees
  • Letter of motivation (up to 3 pages), in which in particular the motivation to study should be explained in a differentiated manner and placed in the context of the applicant's career to date as well as career prospects
  • Curriculum vitae in tabular form
  • Proof of previous practical work relevant to the degree programme, stating the exact amount of work done per week
  • Proof of access to archival work by the supervising institution
  • Proof of professional activity in the archives of at least 15 hours per week during the course of study.

Selection procedure

Admission to the Master's programme is decided by a selection committee appointed by the department on the basis of the study and examination regulations and the currently valid statutes for the implementation of the university selection procedure for the Master's programme in archival sciences. The following are used as selection criteria

  • the final grade of the first university degree (40 %),
  • the type of professional activity (30 %),
  • the length of previous professional experience (20 %),
  • the type of first university degree and other university degrees obtained (5 %),
  • a letter of motivation (5 %).

Applicants who meet the admission requirements take part in the procedure for awarding the 30 study places. In the allocation procedure, the following are deducted in advance from the number of places to be awarded

  • all applicants who could not accept an earlier admission due to service and all applicants who belong to the national squad of a national sports association of the German Olympic Sports Confederation,
  • 11 % for applicants with a foreign higher education entrance qualification,
  • 3 % for applicants who are to be considered on the basis of hardship.

The remaining places are allocated 90% according to the result of the aptitude test and 10% according to waiting time.

Admission

Following the university selection procedure, applicants with an appropriately high ranking will receive a time-limited offer of admission in the MyCampus university portal, which must be actively accepted.

Once you have accepted the offer of admission, you will find your notification of admission in the MyCampus university portal. If you do not accept the offer of admission by the deadline, the ranking list will continue to be processed and the place will be reallocated.

You have accepted the offer of admission and received your letter of admission? Then you have the option of submitting an enrolment application for the winter semester in the MyCampus university portal of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdams.

Once you have submitted your online application for enrolment, please submit the printed and signed application together with all required documents in paper form by the deadline. The day of the enrolment deadline is decisive for the submission of the documents, whereby the date of receipt by post at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam is decisive.

Documents to be submitted

  • University entrance qualification
  • If applicable, further documents according to the enrolment application form.

Do you have questions about the enrolment process at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam? We have compiled frequently asked questions and answers regarding enrolment and admission.

Further information

The following links provide you, and especially international applicants, with further information on the topics of application and enrolment at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

International applicants

You would like to apply for studies from the first or a higher semester and have acquired your school-leaving qualification and/or university degree abroad? Then you can have degrees and achievements acquired abroad recognised and study with us.

Application information for internationals

Application & Enrolment Procedure

The application and study service provides information and advice on general questions regarding the application process, admission and enrolment at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, application for a higher semester, but also on topics such as compensation for disadvantages, part-time studies, waiting semesters and hardship applications.

Application & Enrolment University of Applied Sciences Potsdam

Contact & Services

The student counselling service provides information and advice on general questions about studying as well as on topics such as choosing a degree programme, application, enrolment and study organisation.

For subject-specific questions on module contents, credit transfer, examinations or specialisations in the part-time Master's programme in Archival Studies, the subject counselling service is the right place to go.

Subject Counselling Service

Staff member for further education and distance learning in the field of Archival Studies

Project management

Professor of Archival Science
Project Manager Graduate Distance Learning Archive
Project Manager of the Degree Programme Archival Science (MA)
Project Manager of the Further Education Programme "Archive im Informationszeitalter"

Student Financing

Room 3.02a

Family Affairs Commissioner

Room 026

Office hours

Tue and Thu 9.30 am – 1.30 pm

Commissioner for University Employees with Impairment

Room 201

Office hours

by arrangement

Contact persons departmetn of student affairs