Preventive Conservation MA
2 Years Part-Time by Distance Learning | September Start

Learning materials are accessed online through recorded lectures, electronic reading and an array of additional content, providing flexibility as to when, where and at what pace you learn.

This innovative model is particularly valuable for international students who do not have English as a first language, while the distance-learning format offers a cost-effective opportunity for students unable to re-locate or who need to continue in part-time or full-time paid employment.

This distance-learning approach facilitates study in any location and time zone, enhancing your employability while enriching the course through collaboration with peers from diverse cultures and backgrounds worldwide. 

Four teaching modules cover core aspects of collections care and professional preventive conservation practice (e.g. environment, material deterioration processes, display, transit, surveying collections, and disaster planning and recovery), together with global issues in heritage conservation (eg. the impact of climate change and conflict, handling of contested objects) and the science of preventive conservation.

Your research-led learning is supported by a wealth of recorded lectures from heritage professionals from high profile institutions from around the world, created especially for the course.

In your second year you will carry out a professional placement module where you will have the opportunity to contextualise your studies within a heritage institution of your choosing, gaining important professional skills and experience.

Your final dissertation, submitted in the September following the end of your second year will be supported by a dissertation and academic research skills module culminating in a written Project-Dissertation, where you will conceptualise, theorise, and undertake a piece of original research that aims to be a significant and original contribution to the heritage field.

You will be taught by academic staff who are experts in their field and who possess extensive professional and research experience in the conservation and heritage sectors, drawing on large and varied international heritage networks that support your teaching, learning and research.

This ensures the course remains at the cutting edge of contemporary professional practice and aims to provide you with invaluable industry connections.

Learning materials are accessed online through recorded lectures, electronic reading and an array of additional content on our innovative e-learning platform Blackboard Ultra.

You have access to guidance from teaching staff online and can also access support and other key University systems through your personal online student portal. You will also have remote access to reading lists and an impressive range of online scholarly journals and e-books though the university library. Online discussion boards also provide regular opportunities for you to network and discuss academic issues with the other students in your cohort. 
 
You will be fully supported throughout the course by the teaching team who will help you develop your area of personal research, provide guidance and feedback on assignments. 
 

This course emphasises research-tutored and research-led learning approach engendering an enquiring, analytical and creative approach to the challenges of professional practice.

The curriculum scaffolds your development as a professional through flexible opportunities for critical enquiry, encouraging you to define your own research ideas. 
 
This approach supports your academic and professional development, particularly the ability to conceptualise and undertake research that advances understanding within preventive conservation practice, contribute to new knowledge creation and formulate balanced judgements - essential skills for conservation professionals working within historic collections care and management environments.

On completion of MA Preventive Conservation, you can gain the knowledge and skills to enter the field as a collections care specialist. 

The professional placement module in your second year offers an opportunity to enhance your career prospects by applying your skills and knowledge in a professional environment and learning side by side with professional preventive conservators. The placement develops your professional networks and helps identify which aspect of professional heritage practice you'd like to pursue. 

Throughout the course, you can benefit from high-quality learning materials, live briefs and access to professional environmental monitoring tools. Combined with our established record of delivery and international network of contacts, this helps position your knowledge and understanding to meet the needs of the heritage sector worldwide. 

Teaching staff support your continuous professional development after graduation through our alumni network and social media presence, which alerts you to potential jobs, conferences and publication opportunities. 

A range of career options are available to graduates, with many choosing to pursue roles such as preventive conservators, or collections managers in museums, galleries and other heritage organisations. Former students now work in leading preventive conservation roles at many of the world’s most important heritage organisations, including the National Trust, The British Museum, Bodleian Library, Oxford, The Heritage Conservation Centre Singapore, The National Gallery of Victoria,  Australia and the National Archives, Oslo.