Organizer Information
The University of Applied Arts Vienna (Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, known informally as "die Angewandte") is a public arts university in Vienna, Austria. Its predecessor institution, the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, was founded in 1867 and was closely affiliated with the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, following the example of the South Kensington Museum in London (now the Victoria & Albert Museum). It became an institution of higher education in 1941 and was granted full university status in 1970. The university has counted major figures such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Hans Hollein among its historical staff and faculty, and today runs degree programs across fine arts, design, architecture, conservation, and cultural studies. The /ecm programme sits within this institutional context as a postgraduate, continuing-education offer in exhibition theory and curatorial practice.
Title & Description
/ecm — Master's Programme for Exhibition Theory and Practice
The /ecm is a two-year, part-time postgraduate study programme at the University of Applied Arts Vienna focused on exhibition theory and curatorial practice. The programme is built around the questions of how museums can shape society and what consequences curatorial actions can have, and it aims to give participants comprehensive knowledge and skills across the extended field of museums and exhibitions. The next intake begins in October 2026 and runs through June 2028.
Theme
Consequential curatorial practice — framed around the questions "How can museums change society?" and "What consequences can curatorial actions have?"
Categories
- Curatorial
- Educations
- Culture
- Art Management
- Research
Eligibility
- Knowledge of German and English, both written and spoken, required
- Successful participation in the one-day admission seminar required
- Binding registration for the entire course required
- Path a/ (non-degree Master's programme, MA (CE)): a subject-related Bachelor's degree with at least 180 ECTS credits, plus practice-relevant experience
- Path b/ (university course, "Academic Curator"): several years of relevant professional experience, or a completed Bachelor's degree
Program Benefits & Awards
- Comprehensive training across 120 ECTS credits over 22 modules
- Path a/ leads to the academic title "Master of Arts (Continuing Education)" — MA (CE)
- Path b/ leads to the academic title "Academic Curator"
- Structured, staged admission process giving applicants early planning security
- Admission seminar fee (EUR 150) is offset against tuition upon admission
Application Fee
Admission seminar fee: EUR 150, offset against the participation fee upon admission. Separately, the full programme participation fee is EUR 14,000 (VAT-free, excluding the Austrian Students' Union (ÖH) contribution, travel, and accommodation costs), payable in installments by arrangement.
How to Apply?
Send the application digitally by email to: ecm@uni-ak.ac.at
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 15 August 2026
- Next Admission Seminar: 1 September 2026
- Programme Start: October 2026
- Programme End: June 2028
Location
Vienna, Austria
Additional Details
- Admission follows a "first come" model, staggered after each admission seminar, designed to give applicants planning security while still allowing strong candidates to be admitted up until September
- Both study paths (a/ and b/) are taught jointly as a single combined course offer; they differ only in admission requirements and the form of the final academic thesis
- Graduation requires active participation in all courses (maximum absence of 15 teaching units per semester), a written term paper at the end of the first semester, and the conception, organization, implementation, and documentation of the /ecm project at the end of the second semester
- Path a/ additionally requires writing and presenting a positively assessed Master's thesis; Path b/ requires a positively assessed practice-based research project
- The source references "Funding opportunities" as a topic but does not specify any actual funding mechanisms, amounts, or eligibility criteria