Overview

The master’s programme in Book and Digital Media Studies introduces you to the history of the written and printed word, and to theories and practices of publishing as well as digital textual media.

The master’s programme in Book and Digital Media Studies offers three specializations:

Digital Access to Cultural Heritage

You focus on the various ways in which cultural heritage institutions offer access to their digital collections. The course concentrates on topics such as crowd sourcing, digital preservation, support for digital scholarship and intellectual property and how these are transforming textual media.

History of the Book

You explore different aspects of the history of textual communication. We look at innovations in how books were made in the medieval and early modern period. You will conduct research using the rich primary sources contained in the special collections of libraries and archives in Leiden.

Dynamics in Scholarly Publishing

You will look at the wider role and function of academic publishing, a large, international, and technologically innovative business, in society. The course covers the full publishing chain, from the work of authors, via the activities of publishing houses, to libraries and readers.

What you will learn

The master Book and Digital Media Studies at Leiden University aims to equip you with a range of important skills and knowledge that will help you thrive in your future career. Your specialised expertise is complemented by vocational skills and the ability to apply multidisciplinary, critical-thinking skills to solve complex conceptual problems.

Career prospects

Graduates of the master in Book and Digital Media Studies leave with a well-developed knowledge of the history, theory and practice of textual transmission via manuscript, print and digital media.

Our alumni have gone on to pursue successful careers in a wide range of fields, including all branches of the book trade, libraries, the cultural heritage sector and the knowledge industry. They have also found employment as antiquarians, booksellers, librarians, curators, and project managers for publishing companies.

Some positions held by recent graduates have included:

• Account manager at a publishing house
• Project officer at a governmental agency specialising in cultural heritage
• PhD candidate at a university in the United Kingdom
• Project manager at a university library
• Desktop publishing editor at a publishing house
• Technical marketing coordinator at a publishing house
• Communications officer and author on company history at a multinational publishing group
• Assistant editor at a publishing house
• Event manager at a Russian academic library
• Editor at a consultancy company
• Project manager at a foundation collecting original (historic) manuscripts to set up a library.

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.