Master en Conservation

After many successful years running a Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation, the City & Guilds of London Art School is proud to announce our new MA Conservation that will run alongside our existing BA (Hons) Conservation Studies course from Autumn 2017. All of our Conservation courses will then be validated by our long-standing partner Birmingham City University.

The course will run from Autumn 2017 focusing on practical conservation and research that particularly explores conservation of 3-dimensional cultural objects in wood, stone and related materials including decorative surfaces. Closely related to the BA, this course tackles more complex projects and higher level research.

Content and Structure

As with our BA (Hons) Conservation Studies course, the MA focuses on the conservation of three-dimensional objects made of stone and wood and related materials such as ceramics and plaster, along with decorative surfaces. The MA involves high-level conservation projects, advanced conservation science, research, ethics and professional practice. The course culminates in the completion of an ambitious practical conservation project accompanied by an extended research and treatment report.

Entry Requirements

Applicants for MA Conservation are normally expected to have achieved or be expected to achieve a BA (Hons) Degree in Conservation or a related subject

Applicants who can demonstrate equivalent prior professional experience will also be considered.

Applicants who do not speak English as a first language will be required to provide evidence of achieving the equivalent of the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) score of 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 5.5 in all four areas.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN APPLICATION AND AT INTERVIEW

This course has up to 4 places available each year. We are looking for highly motivated and skilled individuals who can demonstrate:

• manual dexterity;
• observational skills;
• an informed approach to problem-solving and project management;
• an appetite for research objects, materials and their behaviour;
• patience and attention to detail.

Selection criteria

We select applicants according to their potential and ability to demonstrate to a high level that they are able to:

• Fulfil the entry requirements,
• Demonstrate commitment, motivation for the course,
• Evidence practical and theoretical knowledge of the subject,
• Gather, research and synthesise information,
• Critically evaluate their own achievements and recognise areas for development,
• Evidence an interest in and knowledge of cultural objects and their historical context,
• Demonstrate a range of hand skills and technical abilities,
• Plan and prioritise their own time and set achievable goals,
• Communicate ideas verbally and in writing,
• Self-direct and evaluate their own work.

Duration

• 1 year full-time
• 2 years part-time

For more information, please visit our website.

Welcome to City & Guilds of London Art School, a not-for-profit, specialist higher education institution dedicated to teaching and inspiring the next generation of creative professionals. We provide an important alternative to other models of art and craft higher education in the UK.

All of our courses have a proven track record and are widely respected. We offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in contemporary Fine Art (BA (Hons) and MA), Conservation of cultural objects (BA (Hons) and MA), and Historic Carving (Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma), as well as a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Please visit the individual programme pages to find out more about our courses.

While our fees are in line with standard UK degrees, we have a commitment to high levels of contact time with tutors, all of whom are active professionals. We also offer a significant number of bursaries and scholarships to help students fund their studies, thanks to a wide range of generous benefactors who recognise the Art School’s commitment to excellence. Students on our BA (Hons) course may be eligible for government-funded student loans.

TEACHING

Our staff to student ratios are generous, and teaching on all courses takes place across the week. Teaching is conducted by artists and practitioners at the top of their professional fields, who collectively provide a varied and dynamic range of expertise and viewpoints. The specialist nature of the Art School means we can focus on excellence and provide the one-to-one attention our subjects require. We believe in curiosity, ambition and learning through making. Every student is encouraged and supported to exceed their own expectations.

The education we offer is both broad and deep. We combine skills-based teaching with contextual Art Histories lectures and seminars that employ London’s museums and galleries as a crucial resource for regular targeted study trips. Drawing is fundamental to all of our courses with a dedicated Drawing Studio open to all, while the fruitful cross-pollination of subjects helps students to develop a profound understanding of their practice.

LOCATION AND FACILITIES

We have been at our Kennington site since 1879, which now comprises a Georgian terrace and purpose-built Victorian studios located opposite Kennington Tube station, together with large flexible studio spaces for the Foundation Diploma in a neighbouring 1930s ex-warehouse building. We have London’s galleries and museums within easy reach, with the National Gallery just a few stops away and both the East End galleries and South Kensington museums just a 20-minute tube journey away. This area of South London is fast becoming a cultural quarter with Damian Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, Gasworks, Beaconsfield and numerous other galleries within a short walk. Our relationship network with cultural organisations, museums and galleries is extensive and both local (London) and global, including partnerships in Venice, Tokyo and Berlin.

We recognise the centrality of the studio as a space for creative endeavour, analysis and experimentation, and students are allocated dedicated workspaces which support their intensive, focused and full-time practice. Each area of workspace is devised with the student’s practice in mind whether that is a high ceilinged artists’ studio with natural north light, or a conservation research lab. In addition, students have access to expert- run specialist resources and workshops, including the drawing studio, print room, wood workshop, casting workshop, glass workshop, Sackler Library and IT studio, as well as access to smaller specialist facilities such as a foundry, ceramics kilns and a photographic darkroom.

SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY

We operate on a human scale with approximately 230 students and 80+ teaching staff. This enables us to work with our students as distinct and important members of our lively and engaging creative community. We care about individual progress and stay in active communication with our alumni, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Students also benefit from collaborations with leading heritage, creative and art-related institutions and initiatives, which provide opportunities for voluntary work experience, commissioning and showcasing student work.

For more information, please visit our website.