The 2015 Dutch study choice guidebook (Keuzegids) for Master programs has reserved a special place for the Piet Zwart Institute. Two of her Master programs were rated in the ‘top programs’ – the top fourteen programs that received a minimum of 76 points.
The independent study choice guidebook compares test results from inquiries with students as well as research done by NVAO, the Dutch accreditation institute. The guidebook aims to give prospective students an opportunity to form their own opinion when choosing the right program, by critically comparing information and judgements on academic level and one-on-one time with instructors, among other.
High scores for Piet Zwart Institute
The Master Media Design and Communication received 82 points, and the Master Fine Art scored as many as 98 points, the second highest score in the entire guidebook! With 62 points, PZI’s Master Interior Architecture & Retail Design is the best of all Dutch masters in that field. The Master Education in Arts has not been assessed in this year’s ‘Keuzegids’.
Renée Turner, director of the Piet Zwart Institute, is very content with this score, but not entirely surprised, as she explained during an interview with Profielen. “It is a recognition in the Netherlands. Up until now, I sometimes felt that we are more wellknown internationally than in the Netherlands. Even though one of our students is currently nominated for the Prix de Rome (a large Dutch art prize, ed.).”
Like the other Piet Zwart Institute Master programs, the Master Fine Art is a small scale program with a lot of personal guidance, where eight to ten high profile artists, writers, filmmakers and other professionals tutor a group of twenty students, divided over two academic years. The tutors are internationally recognized, and the students profit from the network that the tutors bring to the program, Turner further explains.
But being small scale isn’t enough. “You have to stay focused,” Turner says. The education managers frequently discuss the program and curriculum with the students, and they have a lot of influence on the education they are provided.