I (VA student) am currently weighing the pros and cons of a few schools with my interest being Art Conservation, which are: the University of Virginia, William and Mary, Marist College - Florence campus (for 4 years), and the University of Delaware. (Skip to the last paragraph if you only want to see my question.)
The University of Virginia does not have a program for Art Conservation, but a degree in Art, Art History, or Chemistry is fine. I may be able to find opportunities in Virginia with conservators. There is also the plus of the university being close to home, but financially there is no difference in college costs “thanks” to scholarships. (I am grateful for so many opportunities but a difference in costs would have made this decision process so much easier!)
I was accepted to Marist College’s Florence campus for their Bachelors in Art Conservation. Being in Europe would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and the internship is covered; however, there is a lack of STEM classes and a degree specifically in Art Conservation may be too narrow if I ever change my mind. I will be leaving high school with enough college credits to cover my required electives, but I do not know if I will be able to make taking science classes work by transferring and Marist College’s New York campus has very little funding in their science programs. There is also the possibility that I could get my masters at the University of Delaware, where there are many science classes to take. Programming is also something I could always pursue outside of class thanks to the overwhelming amount of resources and the expertise of my dad. Everyone is excited about the whole Italy thing, but I am looking for what is best for my future.
What are your experiences with the University of Virginia’s study abroad programs? (competitiveness, costs/financial aid, how the faculty helped you prepare, and etc.) What are your experiences with the Arts, Art History, or Chemistry programs?
Any other opinions?
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Heya VA Student, I saw your post and wanted to reach out to you. I can’t answer your question about the University of Virginia’s program, but I can tell you that if you are genuinely interested in conservation that the program at Marist Italy is the most developed and will give you the best hands on and lab experience, which is crucial for finding work or graduate schools after.
I’ve been studying at Marist’s branch campus in Florence four years and will be graduating this May with a degree in Fine Arts and Art History. My first two years of Undergrad I studied Conservation here to learn the technical side of historical painting and craftsmanship so I could apply it to my art. Their conservation classes like Fresco conservation and Painting and Polychrome Wooden Sculpture Conservation were great at doing just that: these classes are very technically and theoretically involved, and are paired with Science for Conservators and chemistry to fully involve all aspects of conservation.
Your concern about the chemistry is super valid, and was a huge concern I had with my classmates. We thought that we didn’t have enough Chemistry classes for graduate schools or employment (at the time, there were just two levels of Science for Conservators and graduate programs generally want no less than two years including Organic). We petitioned the school to offer us more chemistry classes and they created four semesters worth of chemistry - General Chem I and II, Organic I and II, and full intensive labs with all of them. The original Science for Conservators classes are still available, and very useful for applying chemistry knowledge to artwork. It’s the best of both worlds - a full intensive chemistry course and all the art and art history to back it up, and the added experience of being in Florence, Italy which no other program can fully offer.
There is a lot to say for theoretical courses that offer intense levels of chemistry and science, but it is incredibly crucial still to have that theoretical knowledge with those lab hours and actual hands on experience with the artwork. Conservation is a very new and niche field, and is very interdisciplinary - involving Chemistry, Arts, and Art History. The experience I’ve had in the conservation labs to work on art, direct involvement with experiments for my science class, debates on the ethics of conservation in my theory class, and all the art history from the classes here and just from living here - not to mention all the field trips and on-site visits to work on frescoes in villas and meet with top conservators in Italy - this experience is more valuable to me than anything else. Learning here goes beyond the textbook, and is applied to the art you want to work on and that makes all the difference from just studying something to actually working on it for all four years.
I wish you the best with your college search, and would love to answer any questions if you’ve got them. Good luck with everything!
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