Master in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management

Master in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management is one of 32 English-taught Business Administration programmes at master’s level in the register, offered by 19 institutions. 29 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 727 to EUR 1,453; this programme lists EUR 1,453 a year. 18 are at a public university, where EU, EEA and Swiss students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters.

This is a joint Master's programme run by the University of Applied Arts Vienna and Silpakorn University International College in Bangkok. It is aimed at people who already hold a conservation-restoration qualification (BA plus MA, or a diploma) and want to add international project work, site management and heritage preservation to their skills. The programme is taught in English.

What you study

The curriculum mixes conservation practice with management and cross-cultural work. Courses cover Asian cultural heritage, transcultural communication and collaboration, preventive conservation, cultural heritage management, communication practice, and Asian art and culture. A large part of the learning happens through practical formats: students take on the role of facilitators and guide their colleagues through the conservation work process, and the programme closes with a conservation teaching workshop. Students are also invited to join international projects run by the Institute of Conservation, with a focus on practical conservation and collection care.

By the end, graduates are expected to know the relevant aspects of Asian culture and history, understand the international professional field of conservation and restoration and its organisations and networks, communicate and collaborate across cultures, present their work, manage projects and sites, and have built their own professional network through practical collaboration.

How the programme is organised

The Master's runs over three semesters and carries 90 ECTS. Study phases take place at both institutions. Angewandte students spend two months of the first semester in Vienna, where they also take the Asian heritage and transcultural courses and prepare materials for the conservation teaching. The second semester brings introductions to sites of religious practice, reflection on transcultural collaboration and advanced courses in preventive conservation. In the third semester, Silpakorn and Angewandte students share a joint study phase in Bangkok with courses and workshops on heritage management, communication practice and Asian art and culture. For Angewandte students, the stay at Silpakorn University International College in Bangkok is compulsory. You can write your master's thesis in Bangkok or in Vienna.

Who it suits

This is for conservation-restoration graduates who want hands-on experience abroad rather than a purely classroom degree. Two groups of students with different academic backgrounds learn together, so you should be comfortable working in a mixed, international team and teaching others what you know. If you want to move into project and site management, work with UNESCO World Heritage sites, or deal with stakeholders and communities, the programme is built around those tasks.

Admission, language and next steps

Teaching is in English. Entry is through an entrance exam, and the university also mentions a university entrance qualification exam; the institution's own pages give the dates and details. There is no central application portal, so you apply directly to the University of Applied Arts Vienna and follow the application period published there. Questions about the programme go to the Institute of Conservation. Fees, waivers and scholarships are set out on the university's financial pages.

The degree programme is aimed at graduates of conservation and restoration study programmes who want to further develop and refine their skills by means of international project work, project and site management, and preservation of cultural heritage as well as world heritage. The programme takes an innovative, transcultural, and interdisciplinary approach. It brings together two groups of students with different academic qualifications, who will spend parts of the study programme together in Vienna and Bangkok, which enables them to learn from and with each other.

Ein Joint Master Studium in Zusammenarbeit der Universität für angewandte Kunst und dem Silpakorn University International College (Bangkok, Thailand)

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here University of Applied Arts Vienna. A public university sets the admission requirements and dates for this level, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: No. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.