Conservaton/Preservation

Columbia’s curriculum provides educational opportunities in the arts, communication, and public information fields within the context of a liberal arts education. Course offerings in major subject areas combine conceptual study with practical application, resulting in realistic career preparation.

The BA program in Art and Materials Conservation was developed observing the American Institute for Conservation guidelines and offers students intense training in chemistry, materials science, studio art, and the humanities, as well as a year of study and hands-on practice at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Italian International Institute in Florence, Italy. Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared for graduate study or for work in the field. They will have gained a solid foundation in the philosophy and ethics of art conservation and preservation. Further, students will have gained a deep understanding of the scientific basis of art and materials conservation.

Art History provides skills in analyzing and interpreting art in relation to its historical and cultural contexts. Students learn how art acquires and conveys meaning by exploring the interactions among artists, objects, patrons, and society at large across a broad spectrum of media, cultures, and periods. Unlike art history programs at other colleges, the curriculum at Columbia College Chicago emphasizes fields of study outside the traditional canon of western art history. Our students specialize in one of four areas – modern and contemporary art, history of design, history of photography, and global art. These areas provide exciting perspectives on our visual and cultural environment and reflect the inclusive and interdisciplinary nature of art and art history today.

Both the BA and MA in Arts Management equip students with the competitive advantage needed to support careers in creative sectors such as music promotion and distribution, live entertainment and the performing arts, museums and galleries, traditional and new media, and professional and collegiate sports.

Queen's University in Kingston offers the only Canadian Master's degree program in art conservation -- a Master of Art Conservation.

Combining theory and practice, advanced programs aim to educate and train conservators and conservation scientists to a professional level. Students must specialize in conservation of paintings, artifacts, or paper objects. Graduates from the Queen’s program are employed worldwide in conservation laboratories and research facilities in art galleries, museums, libraries, archives, and independent conservation studios.

Syracuse University offers an MA in Museum Studies through the Department of Design in the College of Visual amd Performing Arts and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Cultural Heritage Preservation through the School of Information Studies.

The Museum Studies program offers a curriculum based on research, scholarship, design, and hands-on training that prepares students for a wide range of positions in different types of museums.

The School of Information Studies offers a graduate level Certificate of Advanced Study in Cultural Heritage Preservation that is designed for students currently pursuing another graduate degree or as post-baccalaureate work.  The certificate is available to on-campus students only. Recipients of the Cultural Heritage certificate are provided with an interdisciplinary grounding in the preservation of cultural heritage. The certificate program is intended to prepare students to work with organizations such as libraries, museums, National Parks, and State and local agencies in preserving cultural resources and the opportunity to focus on areas such as the following:

• the application of digital approaches to heritage preservation
• the basics of historic site preservation
• the management and interpretation of cultural resources
• and the collection, preservation, and curation of archaeological artifacts, archival materials, ethnographic data, and museum collections.

The School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania offers an MS in Historic Preservation, a Certificate in Historic Preservation, and and Advanced Certificate in Architectural Conservation and Site Management for post-graduates. In addtion, the Historic Preservation Department offers dual-degrees with other departments in the School of Design.

Faculty and students in the MS program in Historic Preservation pursue all aspects of preservation-technical, material, humanistic, urbanistic, economic. The time-tested curriculum provides the essential foundations for preservation practice, many opportunities for specialized study, and hands-on experience through praxis projects. History, theory, documentation, technology, and planning are the core of the program. Specializations include site management, building conservation, landscape preservation, preservation planning, and preservation design. Students learn to identify and analyze cultural places and their historic fabric, determine significance and value, and design appropriate conservation and management measures. Graduates can look toward careers focused on the design and preservation of the world's cultural heritage including buildings, engineering works, cultural landscapes, archaeological sites, and historic towns and cities.

The Certificate in Historic Preservation provides an opportunity for students in the departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and City and Regional Planning to gain expertise in historic preservation while completing requirements for their professional degrees. The Certificate program also offers practicing professionals the opportunity to pursue specialization training in historic preservation within one semester full-time.

The Advanced Certificate in Architectural Conservation and Site Management is a one-semester program that provides post-graduate training focused on research or praxis for those who have completed the Master of Science in Historic Preservation. The Advanced Certificate allows graduates the unique experience of directed research and field work at home or abroad under direct professional mentorship.

MTSU offers an MA or PhD in Public History, or a graduate level Certificate of Advanced Study in one of four tracks.

Students an MA in Public History choose one of four concentrations within the program: historic preservation, cultural resource management, museum management, and archival management. As fields of public history, these areas overlap to some extent, but each requires its own specialized training and each put students on a distinct career path. Incoming students may not be certain of the concentration they wish to pursue; one of the purposes of our program is to expose students to the myriad career possibilities associated with the four concentrations, helping them to select the curriculum best suited to their interests and aspirations.

The Ph.D. in Public History is an innovative, practice-based, individualized program of study. Offered by the Department of History in partnership with the Center for Historic Preservation and the Center for Popular Music, the program provides a community of nationally recognized scholars and cultural heritage professionals cooperating to train the next generation of leaders in the field

A 12-credit hour Certificate of Advanced Study is available to students currently pursuing an M.A. in Public History at MTSU, to MTSU alumni who hold an M.A. in Public History, and to applicants who hold an equivalent M.A. from another university. The CAS program has four options, described in greater detail below: Historic Preservation, Heritage Studies, Museum Management, and Archival Management.

The University offers an MA in History with a concentration in Museum Studies or Historic Preservation; or, an MS in Interior Architecture with a concentration in Historic Preservation or Museum Studies. In addition, the Department of Interior Architecture administers a Certificate in Historic Preservation, which introduces students to current issues and practices in the field by having them take three core Historic Preservation courses (Historic Preservation: Principles and Practice; History of American Landscapes and Architecture; and Preservation Planning and Law), a for-credit internship, and one elective. The Historic Preservation Certificate is ideal for professionals who already have a job in the field (and are seeking further training) or people who already have a Master's and want to gain additional skills.

Master of Arts in History:
The Museum Studies concentration offers a broad-based training in how to build relationships between history and public audiences, focusing on the theory and practice of telling stories through museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. It introduces students to the tools that public historians use; examines contemporary models for how best to reach audiences in ways that make history meaningful; and offers concrete experience in the development of public projects, collaboration, and leadership. Students engage in re-thinking how the professional practices of collecting, preserving, and interpreting the past are changing in the 21st century.

The Historic Preservation concentration trains students to see the past in the tangible world around us. Students focus on the theory and practice involved in “reading” the built environment, developing skills in researching the stories these sites tell, and making informed decisions about the appropriate treatment of historic buildings and neighborhoods. Students gain tools that help them inject historic preservation into contemporary discussions about urban planning, economic development, and environmental impact.

Master of Science in Interior Architecture:
The MS in Interior Architecture program is a post-professional degree with opportunities for concentrations in historic preservation, museum studies, interior product design. It approaches Historic Preservation from the designer's perspective offers opportunities to identify, document, evaluate, restore, rehabilitate, and adapt the historic built environment. As preservationists work with historic buildings, neighborhoods, urban downtowns, and rural districts, they directly impact the quality of life for local communities as they protect and enhance their sense of place. Career paths include preservation-related design and planning practice, architectural survey fieldwork, architectural conservation, and historic site interpretation or administration.

The MS in Interior Architecture approaches museum studies from the designer's perspective offers special opportunities to tell stories visually and graphically through designing exhibits or interpreting historic interiors. Students learn how to present the past in meaningful ways to the larger community. Career options include working at a museum, historic site, or other public history venue as an exhibit designer, graphic designer, web designer, and historic site interpreter or administrator.

The University of Delaware offerings for those seeking training for a career in museum work: a Certificate in Museum Studies to students enrolled in a number of Masters' or Ph.D. programs, Undergraduate Material Culture Preservation Major in the Arts Conservation Program, an MS in Art Conservation in the Arts Conservation Program, a PhD in Preservation Studies. The School of Public Policy and Administration offers an MA in Historic Preservation and a twelve-credit hour Certificate Program in Historic Preservation.

• The Certificate of Museum Studies (a 12-credit program) is available to students enrolled in a degree granting graduate program at the University, such as a Masters’ or Ph.D. program in History, Urban Affairs and Public Policy (UAPP), Education, Art History, Art Conservation, Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts Liberal Studies (MALS), Fashion Apparel, the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and the Longwood Graduate Program.  Students take a minimum of 9 credit hours of classes and complete a three - credit internship to receive the Certificate in Museum Studies. Instructors include distinguished professionals from area museums as well as university faculty. Ensuring Quality in the Future Our mission is to help ensure the future of museums and related cultural institutions by educating graduate students who either plan careers in public arts and humanities or will collaborate with cultural institutions as part of future academic careers. While receiving excellent training in their home academic disciplines, Museum Studies students also develop their understanding of the ethical frameworks that guide museums and other cultural not-for-profit organizations. They become knowledgeable in administrative, curatorial, and educational practice. Most important, they understand the challenges faced by cultural institutions in the twenty-first century.

• The Art Conservation Department offers an undergraduate degree in Material Culture Preservation that prepares students for graduate-level study in conservation, historic preservation, museum studies, library science, or other allied fields. Material Culture includes objects made or modified by humans, such as photographs, archival documents, decorative and fine arts, clothing, domestic possessions, toys, tools, machines, motion pictures and videotape, ethnographic materials, archaeological remains, and architecture.

• The MS in Art Conservation is offered in collaboration with the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate.  It is a three-year course leading to a Master of Science in Art Conservation. The curriculum is designed to educate and train conservation professionals who can carry out the examination, analysis, stabilization and treatment of art and artifacts, speak to general principles of collection care, and have a broad academic background in science and the humanities.

• The PhD  program in Preservation Studies is in collaboration with the Center for Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware.  The Preservation Studies Program (PSP) is an interdisciplinary doctoral course of study that will teach the philosophies, research methodologies, and policies informing preservation efforts focused on art, architecture, landscapes, and material culture. It is distinct from other discipline-based courses of graduate study in that it provides a mechanism to combine cross-field expertise toward doctoral study in preservation. The PSP prepares students to address questions regarding individual objects and works of art, collections, buildings and structures, and sites and landscapes.  The Preservation Studies doctoral program builds on unique and distinguished programs at the University of Delaware and is administered within the College of Arts and Sciences. The PSP may involve collaboration with faculty and physical resources in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, Human Services, Education, and Public Policy, Marine Studies, and the Winterthur Museum (which is already a collaborative partner with the University of Delaware for two graduate programs related to this new Ph.D. program).

• The Master of Arts in Historic Preservation prepares professionals for the successful practice of historic preservation in public, private, and non-profit venues.  Students are prepared in the theory and practice of historic preservation.  The specific skills that will be developed are: analysis and documentation of historic resources, practice of preservation planning, contextual research design, and advocacy. The program is designed to meet the needs of both traditional graduate students and working professionals, with graduates having the skills and knowledge to work with a wide variety of populations and in diverse settings.  The program provides opportunity to pursue specific areas of emphasis within historic preservation, including (but not limited to): planning, museum studies, material culture, documentation and analysis, non-profit leadership, vernacular architecture and landscapes, geographic information systems, and design.

Denver University offers several degrees that prepare students for working in a museum environment: a BFA in Pre-Art Conservation, an MA in Anthropology with a concentration in Museum and Heritage Studies, or an MA in Art History with a concentration in museum studies. 

The course of study to earn a BFA in Pre-Art Conservation students desiring to enter graduate programs to train to become art conservators or to enter an art materials safty profession. It requires intensive work in chemistry, languages, art history and studio art, as well as training in the senior year under the supervision of the chief conservator at the Denver Art Museum. One semester in Florence, Italy during the junior year is highly recommended in order to continue conservation studies under the conservators at Studio Art Centers International.  Students participate in the group BFA exhibition at the conclusion of their studies.

Both the Anthropology and Art History Museum Studies Concentration programs have joint course offerings in conservation, information technology, and museum management. Both programs benefit from institutional ties between DU and the Denver Art Museum and Denver Museum of Nature and Science, providing students with research, internship and job opportunities. Other Denver-area museums and cultural organizations offer ampleinternship and job opportunities.

The majority of students seeking an MA in Art History choose to complete the museum studies concentration. Alumni have gone on to diverse and rewarding careers in the museum world. Our partnership with the Denver Art Museum forms a central part of the museum studies program.

Candidates for an M.A. degree in Anthropology with a concentration in MHS are expected to achieve graduate competence in anthropology as a whole, along with their specialization in MHS.  Ideally, we train students to be practicing anthropologists in museums and related cultural institutions.  Both generalist and specialist training in museum and heritage studies are provided for students interested in working in different sizes and types of museums, cultural institutions, archaeological and heritage sites.  The program's goal is to train museum professionals, but to also provide students with an understanding of the larger sociocultural, economic, and political contexts in which museums exist and how they influence museums and museum practices.  The Museum Studies concentration in the Department of Anthropology prepares students to be both scholars and practitioners. The program rests on the philosophy that anthropology should be in service to both science and the public, and that cultural work is an essential and valuable part of social life. Students are trained, both academically and professionally, to meet the many challenges of cultural work in contemporary society.