Curriculum

This section of the curriculum contains three modules, one in each of the first three semesters:

• Fundamentals of Digital Cultural Heritage
• Theoretical and Epistemological Perspectives on Culture and Heritage
• Research Design and Professionalization

Fundamentals of Digital Cultural Heritage consists of a lecture and colloquium (lecture series) and examines the concept of heritage as a multifaceted site of local and global discourses and introduces you to the discipline of cultural heritage studies and related practices. It acquaints you with the essential concepts of digital heritage and digital preservation by discussing the' Digital Turn' in this discipline and its history. It also reviews how scholars and practitioners in this field can leverage digital approaches and methods to solve critical issues affecting the world’s cultural heritage.

Theoretical and Epistemological Perspectives on Culture and Heritage consists of a lecture and a seminar and analyzes topics and ongoing debates in the humanities, and humanistic social sciences, Cultural Heritage Studies, and related disciplines from various theoretical and epistemological perspectives. It examines the essential integration of theoretical ways of understanding the collective human experience, past and present, to foster rigorous and contextually appropriate approaches to interpreting and representing material, spatial, and cultural practices, and discourses. You will engage with such issues by reviewing, analyzing, and discussing primary literature and case studies drawing on established and emerging theoretical, epistemological, and ontological perspectives.

Research Design and Professionalization consists of a seminar and an exercise course, introduces fundamental research design principles, and evaluates the specifics of professional careers in Digital Cultural Heritage-related fields to help you understand the requirements of your Master’s thesis project and navigate the professional landscape within and beyond the academy. It prepares you for the writing of your Master’s thesis in the following semester and introduces you to practices within the academic discourse.

This section of the curriculum contains three modules, one in each of the first three semesters:

• Foundations and Methods in Digital Cultural Heritage
• Computational Thinking and Programming for Digital Cultural Heritage
• Cultural Heritage, Technology, and Society

Foundations and Methods in Digital Cultural Heritage consists of a seminar and an exercise course and brings you into contact with essential digital methods that underpin research and practice in cultural heritage studies. The module introduces the state-of-the-art in managing, curating, archiving, and presenting cultural data using online repositories and web techniques. Seminar discussions will focus on understanding the differences between data, information, and knowledge and how best to formalize each concept in machine and human-readable formats. The module will also delve into the ethical implications of digital cultural methods, equipping you with the tools necessary to navigate this complex and ever-evolving field with a thoughtful approach.

Computational Thinking and Programming for Digital Cultural Heritage also consists of a seminar and an exercise course and explores the differences between critical and computational thinking in the cultural heritage domain, highlighting each approach's unique benefits and limitations. Through theoretical discussions and hands-on computer-based exercises, you will develop a solid foundation in computational methods applied to cultural heritage, from representing, processing, modeling, gathering, managing, analyzing, and visualizing cultural heritage data. By the end of the module, you will have gained the skills and knowledge necessary to critically evaluate and apply computational methods to cultural heritage research and practice.

Cultural Heritage, Technology, and Society again consists of a seminar and an exercise course and examines how digital and media technology and computing shape the human condition in the 21st century, how they affect societal engagement with cultural heritage, and how they contribute or stand in the way of social inclusion, awareness, and cohesion. The module also introduces participatory and community-engaged practices enabling you to effectively interact and communicate with the broader public to improve the life of stakeholder communities, promote intercultural communication and awareness, and reconfigure and remobilize different types of cultural/digital heritage.

During an internship of at least four weeks full time employment, you shall gather experiences in a professional field related to Cultural Heritage. This could be in a research project, a governmental or non-governmental institution or organization, or a company, both in Germany or abroad. The internship is not graded.

The Final module covers the complete fourth semester. It consists of three components, the Master’s Thesis, the Master’s Colloquium, and the Disputation. The main component is the Master’s thesis, that is to be completed within fixed time span of 20 weeks duration, starting close to the end of the previous semester’s lecture period. Alongside the writing of your thesis, you present and discuss with your supervisors and other students your ideas and preliminary results in the Master’s Colloquium. After submission of your thesis, you will defend your thesis in an oral exam of 60 minutes duration that is called Disputation.

All students in their first semester have to choose one out of the following three Introductory Modules, depending on their previous experiences:

• Computer Science Fundamentals for Digital Cultural Heritage
• Introduction to the Study of Cultures
• Programming Project

Computer Science Fundamentals introduces students without respective knowledge to programming in Python and to basic web design techniques. These competences are required for mandatory courses in the second and third semester.

The Introduction to the Study of Cultures is designed for students who do not have extensive knowledge in any discipline studying cultures. You will be introduced to various disciplines as archaeology, social and cultural anthropology, and several disciplines concerned with specific ancient and modern cultures of the world, and learn about basic concepts, theories, and methods in these disciplines. These concepts are important for Digital Cultural Heritage specialists, in order to be able to work interdisciplinarily with experts in the respective fields.

The Programming Project is a supervised, but mostly independently conducted programming exercise designed for students who already have experience in programming as well as having studied a discipline concerned with the study of cultures. It allows them to develop their programming skills by conceiving and implementing their own programming project.

These modules are not graded. If you are uncertain which of the modules is best suited to your situation please contact your study coordinator.

In this section of the curriculum, two modules are offered within each semester. It offers a variety of specific methods and techniques for collecting, analyzing, processing, curating, visualizing, and/or managing digital cultural data at two levels: one that requires no prior digital or programming skills (Methods and Applications in Digital Cultural Heritage I-III); and a second level (Advanced Methods and Applications in Digital Cultural Heritage I-III) that provides in-depth knowledge of the methods and applications learned at the basic level, so prior digital or programming skills may be required as a prerequisite.

Examples of courses in Methods and Applications in Digital Cultural Heritage from past semesters are:

• Digital Imaging for Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (photogrammetry)
• Introduction to Geographical Information Systems for Heritage and Archaeology
• Laser Scanning and Mapping for Cultural Heritage and Archaeology

Examples of courses in Advanced Methods and Applications in Digital Cultural Heritage from past semesters are:

• LIDAR, Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Cultural Heritage and Archaeology

Modules offered in this section usually require advanced computational skills on the level of a BA degree in Computer Science. If you meet the prerequisites, you may choose maximally three out of thirteen modules. The modules always consist of a lecture and an exercise course. Some courses are offered in English, some in German. The section includes some modules with changing topics and some with regularly taught topics, for example:

• Information visualization
• Intelligent User Interfaces
• Big Data Management and Analytics
• Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence
• Foundations of Machine Learning
• Data Mining Algorithms I and II
• Artificial Intelligence for Games
• Advanced Machine Learning
• Advanced Web Technologies

This section contains modules from a large number of disciplines concerned with the study of cultures. As these are usually advanced course on a Master’s level, they are primarily offered to students who have completed a Bachelor’s degree in the respective disciplines. They offer opportunities to such students to advance their disciplinary knowledge on a high level. Therefore, throughout the first three semesters, you may maximally choose one module per semester. Most disciplines only offer courses in German, but some courses may also be offered in English. The disciplines offering courses in this section are:

• Near Eastern Archaeology
• Prehistorical and Early Historical Archaeology
• Archaeology of the Roman Provinces
• Late Antique and Byzantine Art History
• Classical Archaeology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• European Ethnology and Cultural Analysis
• Egyptology and Coptology
• Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Near and Middle Eastern Studies
• Indian and Tibetan Studies
• Chinese Studies
• Japanese Studies

These modules include practical courses taught by experts in Cultural Heritage and relevant fields utilizing digital, computational, and geospatial methods and multiple media. For example, practitioners in relevant fields working at research institutions, governmental and non-governmental agencies, museums, media outlets, cultural heritage/resource management firms, and tech companies can be invited to teach courses in these modules to expose you to professional knowledge and best practices and enable them to establish a professional network outside the academic field. The courses offer insights into practical issues in a professional field and allow you to develop further talents and skills that make you employable in governmental and non-governmental agencies and private firms. Modules in this section are offered throughout the first three semesters of the study program.

Examples of courses in Practice in Cultural Heritage from past semesters are:

• Museums and Virtual Museums
• Accessible AI in Cultural Heritage and Archaeology: Hands-on No-Code & Low-Code Applications

This module contains seminars devoted to different topics in Digital Cultural Heritage. This might, for example, include:

• specific areas of research, research projects, or case studies, discussing the potential and implementation of digital techniques to answer research questions;
• specific theoretical, epistemological or ethical aspects of the practice in Digital Cultural Heritage.

This module offers students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of research practice in Digital Cultural Heritage, both, at a theoretical and a practical level, by studying in depth specific topics and applications of digital methods within the framework of larger research questions and schemes. It is regularly offered in the summer term, but might occasionally also be offered in the winter term.

In addition to the mandatory internship, you have the possibility to complete a second internship under the same conditions.