The second cycle two-year master’s course in Science for the conservation and diagnosis of Cultural Heritage is intended for all those wishing to extend and improve the abilities acquired in previous degree courses in order to take their place in the world of research and professional practice in the field of conservation of cultural heritage.

The degree course aims to educate and train Conservation Scientists, i.e. experts in diagnosis and technology applied to cultural heritage, endowed with a strong interdisciplinary educational background. In particular, second-cycle degree course graduates will acquire in- depth theoretical, methodological and experimental knowledge of science applied to the Conservation and Diagnosis of Cultural Heritage, enabling them to identify new theoretical developments and to operate at project and decision-making level in all areas of Science applied to Cultural heritage.

The second cycle two-year master’s course in Science for the Conservation and Diagnosis of Cultural Heritage assumes a highly responsible role in the various fields of conservation of historic and cultural heritage with regard both to diagnosis before, during and after conservation-restoration interventions and protection and valorisation, in all professional environments through geological, physical, chemical-biological applications in the field of geoarcheology and archeometry in all fields of professional practice tied to the application of ICT to various types of cultural heritage.

Application and admission: Open with entry requirements examination.

English language

Students must have level B2 proficiency in English. Proficiency may be certified at the time of matriculation by submitting a certificate of level B2 language proficiency or better, or by sitting the SLAM (University Language Centre) Placement test during the first year of studies only, between September and December.

Students who do not pass the test must follow the SLAM language courses and obtain appropriate certification within the year the plan of study calls for a language exam.

The study programme provides students with the opportunity to spend a period abroad at a European university or research centre to follow courses and take exams as well as for thesis / research work and for the graduand traineeship. For these scholarships, and in general for conducting and obtaining the recognition of research activity abroad, the student will need a programme teacher as supervisor. Therefore, any field within the programme could potentially provide opportunities.

There are two types of scholarships: Erasmus+, allowing the student to take exams abroad in addition to doing research (this programme is currently included in the call for applications for the programme in Geological Sciences). Erasmus+ Traineeship (under Placement on the unimi.it website), exclusively dedicated to internship and research activities.

The Erasmus+ call for applications for this degree programme is available in the Geology area. We highlight the Bachelor's/Master's degree programmes in Conservation at TEI, Technological Educational Institute, Athens (Greece), which has a specific agreement with this degree programme. The Erasmus+ Traineeship call for applications is published on the unimi.it website and is valid for all degree programmes. In the past few years Traineeship partner universities included: Cergy-Pontoise (France), Poitiers (France), Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and Ghent (Belgium). Scholarship agreements for internships and research can be stipulated with any other university or research centre with which the programme teachers have scientific collaborations. The activity carried out beyond exams at the foreign university will award 5 CFU credits / month.

The activity to be performed abroad must be agreed with home and foreign university teachers through the Learning Agreement (LA). This document, together with the grade certificate and/or the research report, is required for the recognition of the activity carried out abroad.

Attending courses and taking exams at a foreign university is not just a great life experience, that allows you to learn the local language. It will provide you with the opportunity to deal with a different educational system and develop a more flexible approach to learning. Conducting research or doing an internship abroad will give you the possibility to access facilities that are not available at our University (for example, large instruments), do applied research in specific fields and interact with broader research groups.

Highly recommended, not mandatory.