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Information Sciences Department

Specialist for Media and Information Services

Archive Specialisation

Shape your successful career in the archives sector with our part-time basic qualification programme. The further training programme provides people, who work in archives without a specialist qualification, knowledge and skills that are equivalent to training as a specialist in media and information services (FaMI), specialising in archives. Next course starts in 2026.

Period:
March 2026 – December 2028
Status:
New dates on request
Format:
Seminar
Degree:
Certificate of attendance
Requirements:

Vocational training qualification, a job in the archive sector during the basic archive qualification period

Educational leave:

Recognised in Brandenburg and Berlin

  • Prof. Dr. Michael Scholz

    The in-service training programme will give you the skills you need for a successful career in archiving. With in-depth knowledge and practical skills, we will equip you in just two years to become a trained specialist in media and information services, specialising in archives – a worthwhile investment in your future.

    Prof. Dr. Michael Scholz
    Scientific management
  • Sabine Stropp

    We offer prospects to colleagues in archives without specialised archival training. The "basic qualification" programme is a first step towards archival training.

    Sabine Stropp
    Project management

At a glance

Over the course of two years, there are a total of five four-day face-to-face sessions at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (from Wednesday to Saturday). On these dates, the lecturers introduce the respective subject matter, impart basic knowledge for independent processing of the teaching materials, offer practical exercises and consultations. In addition, a total of 12 online events are held on two days each (Friday and Saturday) and tasks are set for self-study.

After completing the basic qualification, it is possible to take a final examination in accordance with Section 45 (2) of the Vocational Training Act (external examination) in the training occupation of media and information services specialist, specialising in archives at the Brandenburg State Academy for Public Administration, State Examination Office for Administrative Careers. Alternatively, it is possible to obtain a certificate.

Focal points

Overview of profession-specific basics

  • Subject-specific basics
  • Obtaining media and information
  • Cataloguing media and information
  • Storage and technical processing/storage
  • Providing and communicating media and information
  • Public relations and archive management
  • Business and social studies

Working method

  • Theoretical and practice-orientated inputs
  • Work on case studies and participants' topics
  • Plenary discussions, small group work, exercises, presentations

Target groups

Employees in archives or archive-like institutions without professional qualifications. The entry requirement is a job in an archive or an archive-like institution.

Topics

  • Status, legal form, organisation and tasks of the institutions
  • History and development of the media
  • Legal foundations
  • Organisational principles and systems

  • Archive and copyright law
  • Constitutional and administrative history
  • Writing and file studies
  • Forms of archive records

  • Recording (record-keeping office, records management)
  • Evaluation (evaluation models)
  • Transfer (transfer from the authority or from the interim archive to the final archive, cassation)
  • Acquisition of collections and bequests

  • Organisation (formation of holdings, internal organisation of holdings)
  • Cataloguing (subject and serial files, masses of uniform documents)
  • Finding aids

  • Archive technology (building and equipping archives)
  • Preventive conservation measures
  • Emergency planning

  • Presentation of holdings
  • Right of use (archive laws, right to charge fees and other rights of access)
  • Organisation of use
  • Information and research resources

  • Management process (overview)
  • Project management
  • Public relations (exhibition and event work)

  • Economic order and information society
  • Vocational training
  • Fundamentals of labour and social law
  • Social studies

Dates & Times

The training programme takes place over five days (Wednesday to Saturday) at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. Two-day online events supplement the programme on Friday and Saturday.

The seminar times are both on campus and online from 09:00 to 17:00.

The following table shows the expected time required for each module of training. In addition, online consultations with a total of 64 hours are held.

ModuleHours totalface-to-faceonline eventsself-study
Module 1: Occupational basics in general24888
Module 2: Subject-specific basics5681632
Module 3: Records management, evaluation and transfer72242424
Module 4: Developing136961624
Module 5: Conservation328168
Module 6: Use and presentation328168
Module 7: Archive management24888
Module 8: Economic and social studies48 2424

News

Blick auf den Tisch in der Archivwerkstatt
Weiterbildung

Press release

Neues Weiterbildungsangebot: Fachangestellte*r für Medien- und Informationsdienste – Fachrichtung Archiv

Im März 2024 startet die berufsbegleitende Qualifizierung zum/zur Fachangestellten für Medien- und Informationsdienste (FaMI), Fachrichtung Archiv an der Zentralen Einrichtung Weiterbildung (ZEW) der Fachhochschule Potsdam. Während des Online-Infoabends am 23.11.2023 werden Programm und Inhalte der…

Die Fernweiterbildung Archiv präsentiert vier berufsbegleitende sowie berufsqualifizierende Weiterbildungsangebote für angehende Archivare und Archivarinnen auf der ARCHVISTICA 2023 in Bielefeld
Transfer

Retrospective

The Distance Learning Programme Archive and DDM presented themselves at ARCHIVISTICA and the German Archive Day in Bielefeld

Over 100 table discussions and consultations were held over the three days, which led to follow-up enquiries from the specialist community within a very short space of time.

Registration & Information

ZEW – Further Education Unit

weiterbildung@fh-potsdam.de
House 4
Room 1.10

Project management

Sabine Stropp
Sabine Stropp, M. A.
Staff Member of the Brandenburg State Office for Archives and Public Libraries
Lecturer

Coordination

Beatrice Jurth, M.A.
Beatrice Jurth
Coordination of the Further Education Unit (ZEW)