Program Overview

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Master of Conservation (Preparatory Programme)

The Master of Conservation (Preparatory Programme) is designed to provide students with a solid foundation to follow the Master of Conservation, structured in three conservation streams: Decorative Architectural Surfaces, Easel Paintings, and Stone.

Programme Overview

The programme welcomes graduate students from a range of disciplines who will follow common subjects, including other specific subjects according to their entry qualifications. Students will be introduced to the significance of paintings and stone artifacts, and to fundamental principles underpinning conservation. Emphasis will be placed on studying the materials and techniques of works of art and their physical history, which is essential knowledge for understanding works of art and planning their conservation treatment.

Duration and Credits

• The programme lasts for 2 semesters.
• It consists of 60 ECTS credits.

Mode of Study

• The programme is offered on a full-time basis.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successfully completing the programme, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of scientific methods and their use to solve conservation-related problems.
• Identify the relationship between material structure, composition, characteristics, and behavior for wall paintings/easel paintings/stone and their various components.
• Explain how the values of a building/artwork/archaeological site influence conservation decisions.
• Determine the importance of value and ethics in conservation interventions and wider discussions.
• Describe the processes used in the manufacture of a given decorative surface/easel painting/stone artifact, including materials and methods, using appropriate terminology.
• Identify the most suitable documentation techniques for a specific situation, including non-invasive imaging techniques and graphic representations.

Subject Knowledge and Understanding

Students will gain:

• A working knowledge of scientific methods and their use to solve conservation-related problems.
• Understanding of the relationship between material structure, composition, characteristics, and behavior for wall paintings/easel paintings/stone and their various components.
• Knowledge of how the values of a building/artwork/archaeological site influence conservation decisions.
• Understanding of the importance of value and ethics in conservation interventions and wider discussions.
• Ability to describe the processes used in the manufacture of a given decorative surface/easel painting/stone artifact, including materials and methods, using appropriate terminology.
• Ability to identify the most suitable documentation techniques for a specific situation.

Intellectual Development

Students will be able to:

• Reflect critically on conservation practice.
• Formulate ethical and values-based courses of action regarding the conservation of cultural heritage.
• Engage in and adopt a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach.
• Apply knowledge-based criticism, ethical, and values-based approaches in all conservation decisions.

Key/Transferable Skills

Students will gain the ability to:

• Conduct simple laboratory tests to solve conservation-related problems.
• Determine the principal stages of development of a historic building or artwork and critically assess its key values.
• Demonstrate how conservation ethics influence the decision-making process.
• Assess and systematically describe an architectural decorative surface/easel painting/stone artifact.
• Exhibit the ability to handle traditional tools correctly and to choose and use traditional materials in a suitable manner.
• Generate a suitable record (documentation) of simple conservation interventions.
• Produce professionally written reports on laboratory work and site work activities and research.
• Develop good practical and manual skills and carry them out independently.

Other Skills Relevant to Employability and Personal Development

Students will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team.
• Exhibit the ability to effectively communicate their findings and thoughts to their peers, supervisors, professionals working in related fields, and also people working in other unrelated fields.
• Develop good time management and organizational skills.
• Generate written documents which are explicative, clear, synthetic, according to negotiated deadlines.

Admission Criteria

The course shall be open to applicants in possession of:

• A Bachelors degree in Conservation Studies from the University of Malta obtained with at least Second Class (Honours).
• A Bachelor's degree comprising not less than 180 ECTS credits and obtained with at least Second Class (Honours) or Category II in a discipline related to Archaeology, Architecture, Biology, Chemistry, Conservation and Restoration, Engineering, Fine Arts, History of Art, or Physics.
• Qualifications deemed by Senate, on the recommendation of the Board, to be comparable to the qualification listed above.

Tuition Fees

• Fee per academic year for non-EU applicants: Eur 10,800.

Programme Structure

The programme includes compulsory study-units, and students are required to follow other compulsory study-units according to their qualifications and area of specialization (Decorative Architectural Surfaces/Stone/Easel Paintings).

Study Units

Semester 1

• General Compulsory Units:
  • BLH4023: Conservation Principles and Ethics
  • BLH4026: Research Methods for Cultural Heritage
  • BLH4027: Traditional Materials and Techniques 1
  • BLH4031: Development of Practical Manual Skills 1
• For students in possession of humanities-based qualifications:
  • CHE0501: Scientific Principles for Conservation: Inorganic Chemistry
  • GSC4500: Scientific Principles for Conservation: Geology and Geophysics
  • PHY1020: Basic Concepts in Physics 1
• For students in possession of science-based qualifications:
  • BLH4018: Visual Arts: From Classical Antiquity to Contemporary
• Decorative Architectural Surfaces or Stone:
  • BLH4020: Archaeology of Standing Structures and of Paintings
• Easel Paintings:
  • BLH4021: Introduction to Museology

Semester 2

• General Compulsory Units:
  • BLH4024: Documentation for Conservation
  • BLH4025: Introduction to Causes and Processes of Deterioration
• Compulsory Units (according to the area of specialization):
  • Decorative Architectural Surfaces:
    • BLH4028: Traditional Materials and Techniques 2: Decorative Architectural Surfaces
    • BLH4032: Development of Practical Manual Skills 2: Decorative Architectural Surfaces
    • BLH4035: Practicals: Studying Decorative Architectural Surfaces
  • Stone:
    • BLH4029: Traditional Materials and Techniques 2: Stone
    • BLH4033: Development of Practical Manual Skills 2: Stone
    • BLH4036: Practicals: Studying Stone
  • Easel Paintings:
    • BLH4030: Traditional Materials and Techniques 2: Easel Painting
    • BLH4034: Development of Practical Manual Skills 2: Easel Painting
    • BLH4037: Practicals: Studying Easel Painting
• For students in possession of humanities-based qualifications:
  • BLH4017: Scientific Principles for Conservation: Biology
  • CHE0502: Scientific Principles for Conservation: Organic Chemistry
  • PHY1030: Basic Concepts in Physics 2
• For students in possession of science-based qualifications:
  • BLH4019: Architectural History for Conservation
  • ARC1012: The Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations
  • BLH4022: Baroque Paintings: Malta and Beyond

Requirement for Successful Completion

The requirement for the successful completion of the Master in Conservation (Preparatory Programme) is 60 ECTS credits.