The study programme of Conservation and Restoration prepares students for
an academic conservator’s continually changing and expanding field of activity.
The study programme objective is to
enable students to independently carry out measures for examining, conserving and restoring art and cultural goods in line
with the appropriate standards of professional ethics. To achieve this, the knowledge of current methods of prevention and
preservation form the basis of the programme. At the same time, students will receive guidance in the pursuit of scientific
conservation research and interdisciplinary cooperation with other specialist areas.
The study programme will convey
the internationally recognised quality criteria for the development of long-term and sustainable preservation strategies.
The knowledge imparted will be based on conservation sciences, natural sciences and the humanities. During the course of the
programme both theoretical and practical contents are treated as equally important and are set up to mesh with each other.
Individual emphasis on certain topics will be enabled depending on the programme framework. On top of that, international
cooperation activities and projects will serve to expand professional skills.
Graduates of the programme distinguish
themselves by their responsible handling of art and cultural goods and a methodically structured approach in their work. They
are able to argue the strategies they have developed, as well as react flexibly to the highly diverse requirements of their
field of activity.
Study route
The diploma degree programme of Conservation and Restoration is arranged
in two study segments.
The first segment encompasses two semesters and represents an introduction into general conservation-restoration
practices, where the teaching covers all specialised areas of the programme. From the very beginning of the programme, students
handle original items in the workshops (Central Artistic Subject – ZKF – Conservation-Restoration Practice) and encounter
various conservation and restoration tasks. The theoretical courses of the first segment convey basic knowledge from natural
sciences, materials science and art history across the specialist areas.
The second study segment (in the chosen specialist
area) continues as in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge in conservation, materials, and humanities. Contents from
preventative conservation as well as dealing with (historical) production and processing techniques supplement the study programme.
Students may undertake an exchange or internship semester in a domestic or foreign institution during the second study segment.
Also, students will be included in national and international research and restoration projects.
The fifth and final
year is dedicated to the diploma thesis in which students are tasked to resolve a complex conservation-restoration issue in
its entirety as independently as possible. The balance of theory and practice is a significant aspect of the study programme.
In addition to the ongoing training in conservation-restoration methods, current trends in conservation sciences are addressed
and the appropriate knowledge imparted.
Qualifications of the graduates
The conservator accepts
responsibility for the inspection, conservation- restoration work of the cultural good, as well as the documenting and carrying
out of all procedures. The academic conservator must be able to recognise, analyse and document complex restoration issues
in their entirety and carry out interventions based on an up-to-date standard of knowledge. Conservation will always require
interdisciplinary collaboration.
Graduates may either work in museum contexts, increasingly in the field of preventative
conservation, or the preservation of historic buildings and monuments. Their position is equal to academics of neighbouring
disciplines and will involve interdisciplinary exchange.
