Program Overview
This MA program in Heritage and Conservation Management prepares students for careers in heritage preservation and management, providing a comprehensive understanding of heritage theories, policies, and sustainable practices. Through industry collaborations and optional work placements, students gain practical experience and establish valuable industry contacts. The program equips graduates with critical thinking, negotiation skills, and a deep understanding of heritage's ethical and moral complexities, opening doors to diverse career pathways in heritage organizations and government agencies worldwide.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
This MA program prepares students for a career in heritage and conservation management. It is fully recognized by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the UK's leading body for building conservation practitioners and historic environment experts. The program challenges students to think about the meanings of heritage and explore sustainable heritage management in a range of contexts, including architectural, urban, social, political, scientific, and economic. The program introduces key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainable heritage management and examines their application to sustainability, conservation, tourism, and regeneration. Students will work in partnership with regional, national, and international heritage organizations on real-world projects, gaining practical experience with heritage professionals and establishing valuable industry contacts. An optional work placement provides the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a library, museum, historic property, or other cultural setting. Heritage partners include organizations such as National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Slate Museum Wales, Victoria Gallery & Museum, and Port Sunlight Village Trust. Students can further enrich their studies by getting involved in the activities of relevant research groups, including the Heritage Theme, the ArCHIAM Centre, and the Architectural and Urban History Group.
Outline:
Semester One:
- Compulsory Modules: It provides students with a comprehensive understanding of heritage and conservation policies and practice, and what heritage means. Students will be able to demonstrate international perspectives as professionals/citizens by being able to locate, discuss, analyze, and evaluate information from both local and international sources. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. Assessment is based on both coursework and oral presentation, which give students an opportunity to develop both written and oral literacies.
- Optional Modules:
- Architectural and Urban Forms of the Islamic World (ARCH737): This module aims to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge about the urban and architectural forms across a vast geographical region, the Islamic world. Examples from both ‘high’ and ‘peripheral’ Islamic traditions are presented in lectures and interactive seminars and workshops, aiming at providing a thorough understanding of both the distinctiveness and diversity of cultures and their established architectural practices. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. It also introduces a framework for the understanding of the ongoing discourses in the field. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. Students will be introduced to the historical context of virtual environments and virtual reality, and different related concepts such as augmented reality and mixed reality. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. It intends to prepare students to become creative and problem-solving professionals. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- AESTHETICS (PHIL716): This module intends to facilitate in-depth understanding of central themes of aesthetics and art theory, especially questions about aesthetic judgment, aesthetic experience, and aesthetic value. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
Semester Two:
- Compulsory Modules:
- Heritage Management and Sustainable Development (ARCH738): This module introduces students to the practice of cultural heritage management as a driver of sustainable development, reconciling conservation requirements with local development needs and integrating heritage protection into urban and regional planning. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- Research Methodology (ARCH707): This module provides research methods training for MA/MSc thesis. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- Optional Modules:
- Heritage Documentation, Digitisation and Presentation (ARCH739): This module provides students with knowledge of conventional and innovative ways of recording, digitizing, visually presenting, and virtually experiencing different heritage assets. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- Professional Placement (ARCH740): This module enables students to gain valuable experience within a wide range of heritage organizations. Students will also have the opportunity to do a work-related dissertation or research-led design project, which enables them to work on real-life and applied research/design topics developed in collaboration with an external partner. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions. It introduces students to record-keeping structures, traditions, and practices throughout the world, and to the legislative, cultural, and political traditions which affect those practices. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- PHILOSOPHY OF FILM (PHIL757): This module considers what it is to think philosophically about the nature of film. It critically discusses philosophical approaches to the medium. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
Final Project:
- Optional Modules: Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
- Thesis: Research by Design (ARCH722): This module offers the opportunity to submit a ‘Research by Design’ thesis which combines a thorough piece of research culminating in a design project. Assessment is based on a coursework assignment and an oral presentation of the research background and methods, analysis findings, and discussions.
Assessment:
The assessment strategies for the modules incorporated in this MA program reflect the variety of teaching approaches used, and include poster submissions, analytical reports, essays, sustainable heritage management plans, heritage design projects, oral and practical presentations, and a research dissertation or a design project led by research.
Teaching:
The majority of the modules will be taught within the Liverpool School of Architecture (LSA), with four elective modules taught within the departments of History and Philosophy. The program is designed to allow equal opportunities for students both with and without prior specialist architectural training, as it is open to students from different backgrounds with an interest in heritage. Modules are taught in a variety of ways – traditional lectures centered on fundamental principles and heritage applications, group discussions in workshops, flipped classroom, guided independent study, tutorials, hands-on workshops, discussions with heritage specialists and practitioners, learning from case studies, and field trips.
Careers:
The program provides graduates with a critical understanding of both the theoretical and operational aspects of heritage, and an informed use of lessons from the past to enhance the present. The interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of sustainable heritage management studies leads to creativity and enterprise. Graduates will have an acute awareness of the moral and ethical issues that are inherent in heritage, which contributes to skillful negotiation of contested matters. These abilities are valued by employers, both academics and heritage agencies. The breadth of this program widens the spectrum of employment opportunities. Potential career pathways include, but are not limited to, the roles of:
- Conservation officer
- Conservation architect
- Heritage consultant
- Building surveyor
- Heritage crafts Graduates could apply to work for UK government agencies, such as English Heritage and Historic Scotland. International opportunities also abound, working for heritage organizations in their respective countries, or international heritage charities such as:
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
- International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- The Council of Europe The program also equips graduates with the skills and knowledge needed to continue their studies and work towards an MPhil or PhD.
Other:
The Liverpool School of Architecture benefits from comfortable, well-lit studio, work, and seminar/review spaces, including a ‘hi-tech’ design studio, to which students will have 24-hour access. Facilities include a Print Media Design Suite, computing labs, workshops, a laser suite, a CNC router room, 3D printers, computing labs, and research labs. A team of dedicated technicians will help students to get the most of these facilities and to realize their ideas.
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland)
- Full-time place, per year: £10,800
- Part-time place, per year: £5,400
International fees
- Full-time place, per year: £24,800
- Part-time place, per year: £12,400 Fees stated are for the 2024-25 academic year. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support. You can pay your tuition fees in instalments. All or part of your tuition fees can be funded by external sponsorship. International applicants who accept an offer of a place will need to pay a tuition fee deposit.
