Master of Science in Conservation

This interdisciplinary programme is about cultural heritage conservation in a societal context. It provides you with advanced knowledge, skills, and tools to address the tangible and intangible resources of cultural heritage, and deals with the complexity of their conservation. The programme is taught by scholars with experience from different fields of research and countries. It expands your professional career possibilities in Sweden and internationally, and prepares you for further academic research.

About the Programme

The material and immaterial aspects of cultural heritage link our past with the present and future, and are enmeshed in critical questions of identity, memory, and sense of place. The programme is designed to deepen your knowledge about the characteristics and multiple layers of meaning that constitute cultural heritage, and condition its influence and doing in societies. It helps you develop new skills in the documentation, assessment, interpretation, and conservation of cultural heritage. During the programme you will engage in ongoing projects and delve into current methods of conservation, covering issues of maintenance and reuse, contemporary developments, and different aspects of participatory heritage planning. In a broader scope, the programme provides you with new knowledge to address heritage conservation in relation to challenges of climate change, social movements, and socially equal futures. Combining academic studies with research assignments, it enables you to link theory with practice, and build your capacity for both professional and research careers.

Firm grounding in research and collaboration

Our programme is taught by lecturers and guest scholars with national and international experience. We collaborate closely with a number of private heritage conservation actors and public agencies, including the Swedish National Heritage Board and a range of museums. We also enjoy an array of international connections, especially through the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, led by scholars at the Department of Conservation, as well as the different Erasmus agreements that network with us throughout and beyond Europe. The past four decades of experiences and connections have provided the Department of Conservation with an important history and position in Sweden. Participating in our master’s programme would help you find new connections, inspirations, and internships.

Who Should Apply?

Do you seek a career in the heritage conservation and management field and want to sharpen your critical thinking?  

Are you looking for new theoretical insights and cutting-edge methodologies?

Are you inspired to discover how cultural heritage conservation relates to contemporary, societal challenges? 

If this sounds like you, then apply for the master’s programme in Conservation.

If you are a conservator, take a look at our sister master’s programme in Conservation with a specialization in conservation of cultural heritage objects.

Programme Structure and Content

Courses include lectures, seminars, workshops, study visits, and site-specific investigations. The following are mandatory courses:

Conservation and Sustainable Development: Introduction to the master’s programme in Conservation

Theory and History of Conservation

Integrated Conservation

Research Methods in Cultural Heritage Conservation

Master’s Thesis

The first year consists of the main teaching courses and an internship and individual courses designed to help you specialize in your specific area of interest. The second year can be dedicated to a master’s thesis for 60 higher education credits, or you can do a thesis for 30 credits and choose elective courses from the Department of Conservation or elsewhere. If you already have extensive practical experience in heritage conservation and management or are interested in further doctoral education, we recommend that you spend a year on your thesis through which you produce a more research-intensive report in a specific research area.

After Graduation

Graduates of the programme receive the degree Master of Science in Conservation. The programme prepares you for work in the profession and also lays the foundation for future academic studies.

More information

https://conservation.gu.se/e...