I think that two issues are being confused here.  The first issue is
what kind of training is needed to be a competent practitioner of
conservation.  The second is what qualifications are necessary to
find employment.

I believe that the two basic paths to gain training in conservation
and restoration were outlined by another respondent but I will
reiterate them.  The traditional approach was to spend a number of
years as an apprentice in the field working in a lab under a good
conservator.  The second, which has become increasingly prevalent
over the past decades, is an academic degree, which is normally
followed by additional hands-on training as a post-program intern or
fellow.

I have meet both good and less-good conservators trained by each
method.  I believe the difference in quality is not necessarily the
training, but often the individual's attitude towards the profession
and continued learning.  That said, I believe that it is appropriate
that an increasing emphasis is now placed on a sound academic
credential as the basis for a conservation career.  As Mr. Kwan's
posting indicated, the field is diverse and complex and is also
becoming increasingly scientific and analytical.  Of the three parts
to conservation (fine arts, science and art
history/archaeology/anthropology) I think that the complex science is
more easily learned in an academic setting.

To answer David Paynter's initial question, the conservation degrees
awarded by the U.S. programs and others in Canada and England all
differ slightly in name.  Most are MA degrees but others are
Certificate or Diploma programs or BAs.  I received a B.Sc. from the
Institute of Archaeology, University College London.  This program
used to be a Diploma in Conservation and one year after I graduated
it changed to an MA degree.  Essentially the program remained much
the same but the name changed over the years.  While a few fellow
students were taking this course as an undergraduate degree, all of
the American students in the program already had a BA and were held
to an MA degree standard.  So the answer to whether a BA is enough
may be - it depends on what the BA is in.  The more appropriate
question to ask than what name of degree do I need, is how can I
obtain the manual and practical skills, understand the ethical
questions, and learn the scientific fundamentals (that are essential
to all aspects of the field) in
addition to the specific knowledge about the kinds of material that I
am interested in treating?

I agree with Mr. Taylor that academic degrees are not the sole
indication of whether a particular candidate will be a successful
employee.  I do not know though whether he has had occasion to hire
conservators before.  In the labs where I have worked numerous
candidates would be interviewed for a new job.  The issues, some of
which Mr. Taylor mentioned, such as compatibility, positive attitude,
maturity, stability were all considered and obviously, candidates
were distinguished easily in these categories.  Nonetheless all the
candidates had the same basic training credentials as a foundation
for their candidacy. No employer wants staff who think that they are
omniscient and whose manner annoys colleagues.  However, I think that
this is a personality issue rather than a training issue. An employer
should want someone who knows a lot, knows what they don't know and
knows how to get along with others.


This leads me to the second point - what is necessary to find
employment in the field. Again, this depends on where you would like
to be employed.  If you are interested in working in a museum
setting, especially any of the larger museums I would stress the
academic training.  If you read the American Institute for
Conservation (AIC) newsletter or look at the American Association for
Museums newsletter (AAM) called Aviso, most of the job postings for
conservators specify something to this effect: a "graduate degree
from a recognized program in conservation or equivalent
apprenticeship experience of not less than five years".  If you are
more interested in working solely in a more focused aspect of the
field such as ceramics restoration you might consider an
apprenticeship but I think you might have trouble finding a larger
lab that will take you on if you are not interested in the
fundamental theory and ethics that accompany this work as well.  Of
course when you look for a job personality issues are always
considered and all the general recommendations for cover letters and
resume, portfolio, interview and a professional approach to your job
are essential.


In conclusion, this is an exciting field with a lot of different
aspects.  There are several routes to arrive at a job in conservation
but none of them are particularly short or easy. I recommend that you
access information on the various academic programs on the Internet
via the site 'Conservation On-Line'.  Then contact the programs that
interest you directly to determine more precisely their entry
requirements.  At the same time you might want to contact local
museums to find out if there are any with conservation departments in
which you can gain experience.

Please feel free to contact me off list if you have any further questions.

Rachael Perkins Arenstein
Assistant Conservator
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).