This is a two-year course, including taught modules, a twelve-week studio placement in a leading conservation workshop, museum or heritage institution, and a five-month dissertation. You'll be able to choose an art-historical or archaeological module in Year 2.
You'll be taught basic and advanced techniques of stained glass conservation, grounded in an understanding of the historical development of stained glass craft and its care. You'll study other topics including art and architectural history, the history, ethics and philosophy of conservation, and international issues in conservation including the impact of climate change.
You'll also attend masterclasses presented by visiting experts which address current issues and new research, events that will provide invaluable opportunities for networking with your peers and practitioners in the field from both home and abroad.
The experience of working within a business or conservation institution, in a team with colleagues, with clients, custodians and heritage bodies, will be an invaluable aspect of your training. In addition to improving your practical skills, you'll have a chance to develop skills of advocacy, presentation and project management. The placement will also introduce you to a range of projects of greater scale and complexity. All of this training will benefit you in your future career.
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.
After an initial introduction to practical stained glass craft skills, you will quickly learn to apply what you have learned to the context of conservation, making regular use of our specialist conservation studio. You'll develop your experience and knowledge of the field through study in seminar groups and lectures. You'll have seven to nine hours per week of lectures, seminars and one-to-one meetings with your lecturer/supervisor. You'll be encouraged to spend time in the workshop to practise your skills and use self-directed learning. The amount of study time per week will depend on the modules taken each term, and this will also vary slightly throughout the course.
We offer an extensive programme of research seminars and events which are an invaluable way to engage with different aspects of your subject, along with discussing module themes with your peers, and the staff weekly office hours.
We have a fully equipped and custom-designed stained-glass conservation studio - the Nicolas Barker Conservation Studio.
There is a specialist library collection for stained-glass and conservation studies, as well as further History of Art resources available.
You will be based in the Department of History of Art on Campus West. Most of your contact hours will be in York city centre.
You will need to submit an example of written work with your application. Please see our guidance on submitting written work .
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements .
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses . These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York .
You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.
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