Introduction

The bachelor's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage provides the theoretical, practical, technical and scientific training required to undertake in a careful, thoughtful way the examination, assessment, documentation, preventive conservation, curative conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.
The main objective of the bachelor's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage is to produce competent, qualified professionals equipped with the necessary skills to perform the actions required to preserve works of cultural heritage so they can be passed on to future generations. The course focuses on traditional and modern techniques of creating cultural heritage, techniques for the scientific analysis of materials from which heritage elements are composed, and techniques of intervention to preserve documentary and aesthetic information using European standards for heritage conservation. The degree provides a balanced blend of theoretical, practical, technical and scientific content, enabling students to acquire the necessary skills and abilities to carry out the activities involved in a profession of public interest, given the return it makes to society in the form of economic and cultural development and social cohesion.

Basic information

TypeBachelor's degrees
Faculty or schoolFaculty of Fine Arts
Branch of knowledge
  • Arts and Humanities
Mode of delivery

face-to-face

Credits240
Number of places available

50

Length of course4 academic years
Language(s) of instructionCatalan 82%, Spanish 18%
Admission grade

8,355  (July 2023, start of process, via official entrance examinations/vocational training)

 

Approximate price per credit18,46 €
Compulsory placementsYes
CoordinatorANNA NUALART TORROJA
E-mailce.conservacio.restauracio@ub.edu
Course detailsIndicators
SpecializationsYes

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The main objective of the bachelor's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage is to produce competent, qualified professionals who can carry out actions required to conserve works of cultural heritage so they can be passed on to future generations. The bachelor's degree offers balanced training in theory, practice, and technical and scientific content. It provides the skills and capabilities required to carry out professional activities in this field. In this way, graduates shall be able to take on responsibilities associated with the preservation of cultural goods, given the interdisciplinary nature of conservation and restoration, as described in the international professional guidelines (ECCO). This is based on the knowledge, examination and diagnosis of cultural goods, their preventive and curative conservation and restoration, and documentation of the processes and treatments that are applied.

Competences

Basic competences

  • Capacity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds upon general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, whilst supported by advanced textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of the field of study.
  • Capacity to apply knowledge in professional practice and to develop specific competences for formulating and defending arguments and for solving problems related to the area of study.
  • Capacity to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within the study area) to make judgements based on reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues.
  • Capacity to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Skills required for further study with a high degree of independence.

General competences

  • Commitment to ethical practice: critical and self-critical capabilities, and capacity to demonstrate attitudes consistent with accepted notions of ethical practice.
  • Communication skills: capacity to understand and produce spoken and written Catalan, Spanish and a third language, including the comprehension and use of specialized terminology, and capacity to research and integrate information in these languages.
  • Ability to work as part of a team: capacity to collaborate with others and contribute to a common project, and capacity to work in cross-disciplinary and multicultural teams.
  • Creative and entrepreneurial skills: capacity to conceive, design and manage projects, and capacity to research and integrate new knowledge and approaches.
  • Sustainability: capacity to assess the social and environmental impact of actions taken in a particular setting, and capacity to adopt integrated and systemic approaches.
  • Critical reasoning and commitment to the plurality and diversity of realities of society.

 

Specific competences

  • A command of the vocabulary and the legal and regulatory material that governs the profession of conservation and restoration and the institutions and organizations that are involved in art, culture and heritage.
  • Capacity to analyse, identify and recognise the material and technological variety of cultural goods.
  • Ability to recognise, analyse and identify the agents and mechanisms of alteration and deterioration of cultural assets.
  • Capacity to identify, recognise and document the nature and state of conservation of cultural goods and activities of conservation and restoration.
  • Capacity to make an assessment and plan a proposal for the conservation and restoration treatment of cultural assets.
  • Capacity to apply the proposed conservation and restoration treatments and to assess the effects of the treatment regularly.
  • Capacity to apply the conditions of preventive conservation, maintenance, manipulation, exhibition and transport of cultural goods.
  • Capacity to identify, understand and assess the thinking of artists based on their works and texts.
  • Manual ability, sensitivity and skills to carry out conservation and restoration treatments.
  • Capacity to assess and know how to use the resources required to enter the job market.

     

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

Students of upper secondary school education with a specialisation in art, humanities, science or technology. Applicants to the bachelor's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage should have the following characteristics:

  • An interest and curiosity in the processes of artistic creation and cultural assets that comprise heritage, and a sense of responsibility and ethical commitment that ensures the transmission of aesthetic and cultural values to future generations.
  • Curiosity to discover how materials behave from a scientific perspective, the processes of transformation and ageing of materials, and the technologies of analysis and treatment of cultural assets for their conservation and restoration
  • Sufficient communication skills, including a command of oral and written language in Catalan, Spanish and English for the transmission of opinions, description of processes and writing of reports.
  • An ability to read and understand academic texts.
  • Skill and manual sensitivity in relation to cultural or art activities.

Access requirements and conditions

Admission for students with studies completed outside Spain.

Applicants holding higher educational qualifications from a university outside Spain should consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications to find out about specific admission requirements.
 

Pre-enrolment

Students that have studied abroad and who wish to study at the University of Barcelona may be admitted to EHEA bachelor's degree courses. Procedures for gaining admission will depend on the qualifications held by each applicant.

For further information about admission, consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications.
 

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online via the Món UB portal. To find out the date and time you have been assigned, check the specific information for your course. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned.

Academic information

Welcome

Support and guidance

Pre-enrolment information and events

 

Course curriculum

Subjects and course plans

Distribution of credits

Type ECTS
Basic training 60
Compulsory 84
Optional 72
Compulsory placements 12
Compulsory final project 12
TOTAL 240

List of subjects

Subject Language Type Credits
Final Project 2nd semester Compulsory final project 12
Institutional or Company Placement 2nd semester Practices 12

Pathways and specializations

Menció en Pintura i Document Gràfic (Suports Orgànics)
Menció en Materials Arqueològics, Petris i Pintura Mural (Suports Inorgànics)
Check the planning of the different pathways of the degree

Previous years

Placements

Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment.They are therefore included in the academic record.  There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 500 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.
 

Institutional information

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The career opportunities for students of the bachelor's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage are as varied and broad as cultural heritage and the public or private institutions that safeguard it or the people who own it. Conservation and restoration professionals could work as freelancers or employees of museums, archives, libraries, collections, foundations, research centres, archaeological sites, and architectural rehabilitation and restoration companies, among others.

Data from the university system in Catalonia

Contact us

Faculty of Fine Arts

Pau Gargallo, 4 - 08028 Barcelona

Secretary: 934 034 051
sec.ba@ub.edu

 

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