Conservation Studies, specialising in Ceramics

Study at a specialist college with the assurance of a university qualification. Develop your passions and reach your potential in a small, welcoming environment within a community of like-minded people.

Why choose West Dean?
An international reputation for excellence in conservation and arts education
94% of students studying at the College felt the programme had enhanced their skills and abilities (2019 student survey)
A rich arts environment and a focus on craft skills with vocational application
Be inspired by the unique historic character and beautiful South Downs setting
Located close to Chichester and the South Coast, with easy access to London

The Course

The Graduate Diploma is your opportunity to develop the skills and competences to work towards becoming a professional ceramics conservator. You will start with basic treatments while being introduced to a diverse range of objects, then undertake progressively more complex conservation projects, from archaeological finds to decorative arts objects from a range of cultures and stylistic periods.

You can expect

To acquire and practise both established and developing techniques
To study ceramic technology, material culture and materials science
To work on artefacts from historical and private collections

Learning environment

Low student: tutor ratio
Interdisciplinary environment
Well-equipped workshop
Individual workspace for each student
Workshop access 8.30am-9pm, 7 days a week
Icon Professional Standards in Conservation

Exceptional facilities

You will work in our well-equipped workshop with specialist facilities for cleaning, retouching and finishing. Facilities include:

Pottery studio for making, firing and finishing new work
Areas for photography and microscopy
Wet room for cleaning processes
New analytical laboratory
IT suite with specialist databases
On-site Art and Conservation Library with thousands of specialist books and journals

Teaching

On the Graduate Diploma you typically have around 24 contact hours per week.

Independent learning

When not attending lectures, seminars and workshop or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study for approximately 13-14 hours per week. Typically, this will involve:

Reading journal articles and books
Working on individual and group projects
Undertaking research in the library
Preparing coursework assignments and presentations

Overall workload

Graduate Diploma: 60% of your time is spent in scheduled teaching and learning activity
Scheduled teaching and learning: 720 hours
Independent learning: 480 hours