Archives and Records Management University College Dublin

Overview

• This MA is the entry-level professional qualification for archivists and records managers in Ireland and globally.
• University College Dublin’s programme has an international reputation and has long-standing accreditation by the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland).
• The MA curriculum provides students with practical knowledge based on a strong theoretical foundation.

Career

• Since programmes for the education of records professionals were first established in UCD in the 1970s, successful graduates have found work in a range of archives, libraries and corporations in Ireland and globally.  The MA programme is also the first step for those seeking to pursue an academic career in archives and records management education.
• The MA Archives and Records Management programme is aimed at graduates who wish to acquire the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to enable them to ethically manage records and archives in all formats, and to select, curate and ensure access to the historic and future memory they contain.
• The programme is based on the conception of the record-keeper as a reflective professional, who is informed in terms of adherence to international best practice, creative in the delivery of services, sensitive to cultural difference, and dynamic in relation to technological change.
• The programme’s learning environment comprises lectures, seminars, field trips, practitioner visits and work placements. Onsite facilities allow students to gain practical experience of archival preservation, processing and digitization, often working in collaboration with external archival repositories.
• Teaching, learning and assessment is based on enabling students to complete assignments, both individually and in groups, which practically simulate the work of the professional record-keeper.  An engagement with the theory behind contemporary practice is encouraged through presentations, essays and a minor research dissertation.