Picture of students examining 6th Century murals in China


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The three-year MA is interdisciplinary in its approach and international in its scope. The integral connection between painting and building ensures that every wall painting is individual and highly complex, and the MA is therefore designed to develop skills in a wide range of areas—from science to documentation to art history—that underpin the theory and practice of conservation. Consequently, the course is open to graduates in both the humanities and the sciences, and the Department actively encourages students from different backgrounds to apply. Previous experience in the field is not required.

With such a demanding curriculum, the course is very intensive, and accepts only about eight students once every three years. This small student body allows for a maximum amount of individual supervision and tuition.

The Courtauld Institute, including the Courtauld Gallery, is located in Somerset House, an outstanding 18th-century building in the centre of London. Equipped with its own laboratories and specialist library, the Conservation of Wall Painting Department also houses important research collections of wall painting fragments and samples, as well as the archive of the National Survey of Medieval Wall Painting. Students benefit from access to a wide range of research facilities at both the Institute and other parts of the University of London, as well as other major libraries nearby. Close collaboration with scientists and conservators in the national museums and heritage organisations offers further opportunities for training and research.

The first year of the course emphasises taught classes, including practical conservation and a period of about 6 to 8 weeks of fieldwork. This balance changes over the three years: in the second year fieldwork comprises somewhat less than half the year while by the last year well over half the time is spent on site.

This final year also includes individual research dissertations, which give students the chance to consolidate and extend particular interests developed during the course.

Since the programme began in 1985, it has trained students from 20 countries, including Italy, China, Australia, and the USA. The education is similarly international in its teaching and fieldwork, while its Boards of Studies and Examiners are composed of distinguished figures from the international conservation community.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the course, graduates are well-equipped to enter any of the varied aspects of the conservation profession. Many have gone on to work in heritage organisations, undertaking conservation administration and management in England, China and the USA. Others have entered private practice in England or abroad (former students are currently working in eight different countries, some with their own workshops), while others have chosen to pursue advanced research in the Department or elsewhere.