Curriculum
General information
The follow-on master's program is a full-time program with a standard duration of 2.5 years. The study plan is divided into 5 semesters. The standard total amount of credits is 150.
The study plan is created in accordance with the rules and conditions of ENCoRE (European Network for Conservation-Restoration Education) and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
The programme is focused on practical, methodological, and technological conservation-restoration training.
Students work on original materials, identify their degradation, artistic craft techniques and technologies. They have the opportunity to focus on one of three material areas (textiles, silicates, base and precious metals). They choose their material area when submitting their application for admission to the program.
Students of the program:
- acquire knowledge of materials, methodologies, and procedures used in the field of caring for works of art and crafts,
- become familiar with the history of materials and works of art and applied art and the procedures for their preservation and protection in the context of institutional and private collections,
- gain an overview of the historical development of the profession of conservator-restorer and the protection of monuments and works of art and applied art,
- learn to interpret the values, significance, and mission of protecting works of art and aaplied ar in the context of contemporary society,
- will try being part of conservation-restoration teams led by experts from practical and theoretical fields of conservation-restoration.
Study curriculum
The study curriculum is divided into two parts – practical and theoretical. Students compile their study curriculum from core and elective subjects over the course of two years of study. The last semester is reserved for practical and theoretical diploma theses, with the support of the Diploma Thesis Seminar course.
The practical part consists of workshops (subject-specific teaching) and specialized internship at conservation-restoration workplaces. Studio teaching includes compulsory specialized subjects covering practical and theoretical training (Study of Techniques and Technologies, and Conservation-Restoration Technologies). For practical workshop projects, the Workshops at UMPRUM provide facilities and expert workshop supervision at the highest level.
The theoretical part of the program offers students compulsory elective courses in art history (provided by the Department of Art Theory and History), theoretical art history courses (Proseminar and History of Artistic Crafts), and specialized theoretical preparation courses (grouped under the working title Material and Theoretical Platform). From the range of material, technological, chemical-technological and methodological subjects, students are required to complete the subjects Materials, Research and Applied Chemistry for Conservators, Methodological Approaches in Conservation-Restoration, and History and Theory of Conservation-Restoration. The platform also offers other subjects that students can choose according to their interests, needs of practical conservation-restoration projects, or in combination with specialized subjects from other fields (e.g. Introduction to Glass Technology, Science of Textile Materials, etc.).
Practical conservation-restoration projects
Through practical conservation-restoration projects on original objects of applied arts, originated from public and private collections, students acquire knowledge and skills in the fields of materials studies, historical techniques and technologies, the history of applied arts, museology, and collection management.
Each project is accompanied with conservation-restoration documentation, through which students learn:
- perform appropriate material research procedures,
- propose appropriate procedures for eliminating material damage,
- identify historical and contemporary techniques and technologies,
- produce technological copies of works of applied arts,
- design procedures and materials for conservation-restoration,
- carry out professional treatment of the work,
- design and implement the adjustment, storage, and further use of works of applied arts.
Completion of studies
The program concludes with a state final examination, which consists of a theoretical and practical part (defense of the thesis). Theoretical areas include theory, technology, and history of conservation-restoration of works of art and art history. The practical diploma project is worked on during the final two semesters and includes professionally prepared complete conservation-restoration documentation and a critical methodological-theoretical reflection on the conservation-restoration intervention. The thesis is defended before a committee.
Teaching staff and Lecturers
Teachers and experts working on the program, in cooperation with external staff and partner institutions, offer interested students a unique opportunity to obtain a university education at the level of a master's degree in the field of conservation-restoration of applied arts made from inorganic (metals, silicates), organic (textiles), and polymer materials.