The Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices (MA MSCP) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore offers an intensive, interdisciplinary programme designed to equip future curators, museum professionals, cultural producers, and educators with the critical, practical, and conceptual tools to engage with the complexities of today’s art and cultural landscapes.
The programme has been structured to organically integrate three critical frameworks – Curatorial Practices, Museum Studies and Cultural Heritage. Through this development, we cultivate a stronger interdisciplinary understanding for the cultural producers of the future. The programme prepares students on how exhibitions, archives, collections, and cultural narratives – past and present – are shaped, mediated, and mobilized in response to rapidly evolving social, political, and technological conditions – particularly within and beyond Southeast Asia.
Launched in 2018, the Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices is a pioneering programme and has been the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. Developed with seed funding from the Economic Development Board and endorsed by the National Heritage Board of Singapore, the programme is residing under the care of the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA), a leading hub for critical thought in contemporary art and curatorial practices.
The one-year full-time or two-to four-year part-time curriculum combines academic rigour with professional experience. It is structured around three interconnected pillars:
Curatorial Practices: Explore new fields of curating from festivals, public, private and corporate organizations, as well as diverse formats such as art in non-art spaces and in the digital sphere encompassing the various audio-visual formats of artistic practices and the wide variety spaces of the curatorial today.
Museum Studies: Examine the expanding roles of museums in both public and private contexts. Their transformation—from traditional institutions to cross-disciplinary and digital spaces—reflects the evolving institutional frameworks across Southeast Asia.
Cultural Heritage: Engage with diverse approaches to studying, managing, and preserving local and regional cultural histories, with a focus on Southeast Asia—its material cultures and forms of presentation.
Students are required to pursue one specialisation within the programme. At the time of submission, prospective students must indicate the specialisation they wish to pursue and should also specify a second choice.
Students work closely with NTU’s distinguished faculty—curators and museum professionals, scholars, heritage specialists—while gaining hands-on experience through collaborative projects, internships, and partnerships with museums, archives, galleries, and cultural institutions across Southeast Asia and beyond.
The programme’s location in Singapore provides a unique vantage point to engage with one of the most dynamic cultural landscapes in the world, connecting local histories and regional ecologies with global discourses on art, heritage, and institutional change.
Our alumni network of more than 140 graduates works in leading public and private museums, contemporary art spaces, auction houses, governmental and cultural agencies, as well as in independent curatorial, publishing, and educational initiatives. These include: National Arts Council Singapore, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore, Sotheby’s, Art SG, National Heritage Board Singapore etc.
The programme is chaired by Ute Meta Bauer, renowned curator, educator, and Founding Director of NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, and is co-directed by Dr Marc Glöde and Laura Miotto. Glöde is a film historian, curator, and theorist known for his work on experimental cinema, spatial politics, and exhibition histories. He has curated the Art Basel Film Programme and numerous international exhibitions. Miotto, an exhibition designer and architect, is Design Director at GSM Project and has shaped major museums projects including: National Museum of Singapore, LKC Natural History Museum (Singapore) and Borneo Cultures Museum (Malaysia). The teaching team also includes Dr. Franca Cole a museum and heritage specialist, with extensive global experience in archaeology, collection and conservation strategies.
Together, the faculty brings world-class expertise and diverse perspectives from across the curatorial, museum, and cultural heritage fields.
David Blamey, Heman Chong, Lee Chor Lin, Amanda Heng, Hsu Fang-Tze, Ho Tzu Nyen, Anne Szefer Karlsen, Olivier Krischer, Maria Lind, Anna Lovecchio, Magdalena Magiera, Mark Nash, Karin G Oen, Clement Onn, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Nikos Papastergiadis, Philippe Pirotte, Shubigi Rao, Anca Rujoiu, Hanna Szczepanowska, Paul Michael Taylor, Charmaine Toh, Jason Wee, Liam Young.
Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Germany), Asian Civilisations Museum (Singapore), Borneo Cultures Museum, Kuching (Malaysia), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), CY Cergy Paris Université (France), Duta Wacana Christian University (Indonesia), Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, Venice (Italy), ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Jim Thompson House Museum, Bangkok (Thailand), Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (Singapore), M+ Museum, Hong Kong (CHN), MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai (Thailand), Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila (Philippines), Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (MACAN), Jakarta (Indonesia), National Gallery Singapore (Singapore), Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (Germany), Para Site, Hong Kong (CHN), Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (China), Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), Singapore Botanic Gardens (Singapore), Smithsonian Institution (USA), University of Sydney (Australia).
→ Application start: 3 November 2025
→ Programme start: August 2026
→ Duration: 1 year (full-time) / 2–4 years (part-time)
Join us and contribute to shaping the future of curating, heritage, and museum practice in and beyond Southeast Asia.
For more information about the programme and application requirements, visit www.ntu.edu.sg or contact us at NTUCCA_MSCP@ntu.edu.sg.
Images:
→ The Posthuman City – Climates. Habitats. Environments, 23 November 2019–15 March 2020. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore.
→ Isabelle Desjeux, Ceci n’est pas une exposition, 4 October–7 November 2024. Alliance Française Singapour. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore and Alliance Française Singapour.
→ Siah Armajani, Spaces for the Public. Spaces for Democracy, 20 July–03 November 2019. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore.
→ Arus Balik: From below the wind to above the wind and back again, 22 March–23 June 2019. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore.
