UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology has formed a partnership with the Getty Conservation Institute to offer the UCLA/Getty Master's Program on the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Materials, which began in fall 2005.
Designed specifically to meet the needs of the growing conservation field, the UCLA/Getty Master's Program on the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Materials is the first program of its kind in the United States with such a specialized focus.
The program will be based at the renovated Getty Villa in Malibu, which opens Jan. 28, as an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.
The master's degree program will combine the resources of the Getty and UCLA; it will be administered by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, an organized research unit at UCLA, and will be closely supported by research and art resources at the Getty Villa. The Getty Conservation Institute conceived the program to expand training opportunities and fill a gap in conservation education. The Getty Conservation Institute began initial work towards developing the graduate-level course in the 1990s, and the partnership with UCLA was formally announced in 1999. The program reflects the firm commitment of the Getty and UCLA to the conservation of objects of cultural heritage.
"We are delighted to combine the resources of both institutions to provide a unique and outstanding training program in the conservation of cultural materials," said Charles Stanish, director of the Cotsen Institute. "This program will contribute to the preservation and protection of vanishing cultural heritage. As scholars with a mission to study the past, we have an obligation to be stewards of this heritage for the future."
"By partnering with a major research university, this new program is able to offer
the highest level of expertise and resources to train new professionals in the specialized areas of archaeological and ethnographic conservation," said Tim Whalen, director of the Getty Conservation Institute. "At the Getty Villa, students will benefit from close contact with scholars, curators, conservators and other specialized professionals. They will also have access to one of the finest collections of antiquities and to research resources focused on the ancient world, including a 20,000-volume library."
The renovated Villa features seminar rooms, a reading room, a classroom and state of the-art scientific laboratories. In addition, the Villa's scholarly and public programs, including workshops, lectures, seminars and performances will offer students deeper insight into their studies and the cultures of the past.
Spread over three years, the curriculum is designed to provide students with a solid combination of theory and practical training, with two years of classroom-based teaching and laboratory work at the Getty Villa and UCLA, followed by a one-year supervised internship at another museum or conservation facility.
The program's director, Dr. David Scott, said, "A strong interdisciplinary component to this course will equip students with a range of skills and knowledge to help them respond proactively to changing needs and conditions in the field."
Topics to be covered range from the nature and history of conservation to site management, museum practice, scientific methods,and ethics. Coursework will emphasize the multiple values and meanings that archaeological and ethnographic artifacts may hold for society, and encourage a sense of partnership with indigenous populations.
The UCLA/Getty Master's Program on the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Materials will admit both U.S. and international students once every two years, with an incoming class size of 10 to 12 students. The first M.A. degrees will be conferred by UCLA in 2008.
Visit http://www.getty.edu/conservation/education/ucla_getty/index.html for more information about the program. For application guidelines, visit http://ioa.ucla.edu/conservation/.
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