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] . 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