Applications must be made through the Graduate Studies Office at the University of Delaware using their online application. If you are considering applying to our program and would like to hear from us about current events and more, please register here.
The
admission requirements are designed to bring students into the training
program that have a balance of skills in material culture studies
(including anthropology, archaeology, museum studies and history of
technology), art and cultural history, science, and studio arts and
crafts. Applicants should possess an innate desire and ability to work
with their hands and derive a high level of satisfaction and sense of
accomplishment from working with artistic and cultural works.
Bachelor Degree: A
minimum of a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree is
required. Applicants must have an overall academic index (on a 4.0 point
scale) of at least 2.5 and an index in the field of concentration of
3.0. The latter figure is computed from the junior and senior years.
These following majors are preferred areas of study:
anthropology/archaeology/technology, art and cultural history,
chemistry, or studio arts and crafts. Applicants with degrees in other
majors who meet the minimum course prerequisites will be considered.
GRE: An official copy of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
scores must be submitted. The University of Delaware’s GRE Code is
005811-5101. When taking the GRE, applicants are expected to obtain a
GRE score in the sixty-fifth percentile or better for the verbal section
and fiftieth percentile or better for the quantitative section and a
score of 4.0 or above on the analytical section. In the case of a
student for whom English is not the first language, the TOEFL (Test of
English as a Foreign Language) scores may be substituted for the verbal
score to calculate the minimum GRE total.
The ETS University of Delaware institution code is "5811". You only need to submit the University code of 5811. No department code is needed for our institution.
Coursework:
Applicants must complete prerequisite coursework in art and cultural
history/archaeology/anthropology, studio arts, and chemistry. Please
review the prerequisites on the following pages for specific information
and number of college level credit hours required in each area prior to
admission in the program.
Conservation Experience: In
addition to coursework, applicants must have completed at least 400
hours of documented conservation experience under the supervision of a
conservator. Appropriate experience may include work in regional,
institutional or private conservation laboratories. Involvement in
supervised collection care projects such a collection assessments,
rehousing, and exhibition design, as well as examination and treatment
of individual artifacts is also encouraged. Above all, applicants are
expected to be thoroughly acquainted with conservation as a career
option and to possess a fundamental knowledge of its philosophy, ethics
and basic working procedures.
The application deadline is January 15.
If all coursework has not been completed by January 15, the application
will still be considered if no more than two required courses are still
in progress. Applicants with more than one chemistry requirement in
progress will not be considered. Proof of registration must be submitted
with the application, and proof of satisfactory completion of the
courses with a grade of C- or above is necessary for entry into the
program. (Applicants interested in Library and Archives Conservation
studies are asked to note their LACE preference on the Statement of Interest in
their application materials. More information about the Library and Archives Conservation Education (LACE) Consortium is available here.)
Up to ten students will be admitted annually. Each
student will receives a fellowship that includes an annual stipend,
which increases with each year of study, and a tuition-free
scholarship.
