Winterthur/University of Delaware Art Conservation

The Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) is a graduate-level program jointly sponsored by the University of Delaware and Winterthur Museum. It is a three-year course leading to a Master of Science in Art Conservation. The curriculum is designed to educate and train conservation professionals to carry out the examination, analysis, stabilization and treatment of art and artifacts, speak to general principles of collection care, and have a broad academic background in science and the humanities. 

Faculty and students use twenty-six well-equipped conservation studios, laboratories, examination rooms and workshops in the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Research Building at Winterthur. This building houses one of the country’s largest and best-equipped museum analytical laboratories and conservation studios. Winterthur’s comprehensive collection of early American art, architecture, furniture, textiles, silver, pewter, ceramics, glass, paintings, and prints is world-renowned. The University of Delaware houses art studios for reconstructing historic techniques, science laboratories, a conservation laboratory and administrative offices.

Tours of the conservation laboratories at Winterthur are available to potential applicants throughout the academic year. PLEASE NOTE: Given the global pandemic and concern for health and safety, tours must be limited in fall 2020. Please contact Theresa Slusser (tslusser@udel.edu) if you are interested in an on-site visit so we can determine what might be possible. Applicants may also request financial support to supplement travel expenses for on-site visits. Such funds are limited but will be awarded where possible.

We recognize that pre-program candidates to the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation may no longer have access to in-person classes or internships during these tumultuous times. The Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property (ANAGPIC) has compiled a list of suggestions for how to enhance your preparation for graduate study while sheltering in place. You can access a PDF of that document here. In addition, the "Quick-Start Guide: A Career in Conservation" prepared by the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network of the American Institute for Conservation is available here, and an "Art Conservation: Career 101" informational handout prepared by WUDPAC Class of 2019 alumna Madison Brockman is available here.