The proposal was formed by a group of twelve faculty and administrators from nine different departments, programs, and the dean’s office. The task force members included: the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Assoc. Dean for Arts and Humanities, the Director of MC Studies, the Chair and former Chair from Art Conservation, the former Director of the Conservation Ph.D., the Director of Museum Studies, the Director for the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, the Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, the Preservation Department Head in the UD Library, the Associate Director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, and an Associate Professor from Anthropology. They met regularly over the last year and a half to create an outline for a new doctoral program. In winter of 2004, the Center for Material Culture Studies voted unanimously to administer the program. Draft copies of the proposal were circulated, and five lunch-time meetings were held with thirty faculty members and administrators from possible cooperating departments and museums in March and April 2004. Comments and suggestions were gathered and incorporated into the proposal.
The Art Conservation Research Ph.D. (1990-2003) served as a pilot project for the proposed PSP. Six students graduated from the program (including the 2003 winner of the Wilbur Owen Sypherd Prize for dissertations in the Humanities).
Maximum enrollment is expected to be approximately eight matriculated students, one or two accepted a year, dependent upon the amount of additional funding which can be generated for student support in addition to the pre-existing Coremans Endowment. All students must be full time for the first two semesters and may be part time after completing six three-credit courses. Many applicants will be actively employed professionals who will conduct their work during sabbaticals or other leaves. The dissertation will provide them the experience necessary to continue conducting high quality research throughout their careers and to advance the field in their specific disciplines. At the same time, the opportunity to interact with students and faculty from a broad spectrum of preservation specialties will help the student to gain a wider view of the larger context of his or her area of concentration. Such a larger view would be an asset to those wishing to move into administrative/managerial roles.
In the preservation disciplines such as historic preservation, art and architectural conservation, and museum studies, there are few opportunities to earn a doctoral degree. Most programs provide practical training at the master's degree level for practitioners. This program will provide training in the conduct of research, will allow students to pursue in-depth research on a topic of significance to their area of concentration, and at the same time will give them a greater theoretical grounding and will help them place their specialization into context within the broader field of preservation studies. Strong interest in the program has already been expressed from those holding master's degrees in relevant disciplines. Students earning this degree are likely to be already employed in non-profit institutions such as museums, libraries, universities, and federal, state, and local historical organizations.
The need at this time for a program of doctoral study in preservation reflects both a coming of age for the profession and recognition within the wider world of humanities studies of the central role that preservation has in supporting scholarly activity in humanities disciplines such as history, art history, material culture studies, and anthropology.
There are no other known programs in North America that provide this interdisciplinary approach to a doctoral degree. Currently there is only one other Ph.D. program related to preservation and conservation studies in existence: an interdepartmental doctoral program at the University of London. There had been somewhat similar programs for a Ph.D. in conservation research at Götebergs University in Stockholm and in Canberra, Australia in addition to a doctoral program in conservation science at Johns Hopkins University. Due to economic or staffing concerns, these programs are not currently accepting students. Several related though more narrowly defined Ph.D. programs are currently active, such as a Ph.D. program in art conservation at the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum; a Ph.D. program in conservation science at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London; Ph.D. programs in Historic Preservation at Tulane University and at the University of Texas, Austin; and a Ph.D. Program in Historic Preservation Planning at Cornell University.
The degree awarded is a Ph.D. in Preservation Studies.
