About Royal Danish Academy – Conservation

The Royal Danish Academy – Conservation educates conservators and carries out research, which contributes to the preservation of cultural heritage. We aim to be one of the leading schools of conservation in the world. Through research and collaboration with other conservation programmes and conservation institutions we enhance and promote the subject both nationally and internationally. Royal Danish Academy - Conservation aims to be a dynamic partner in the preservation of our global cultural heritage.

The aim of Royal Danish Academy – Conservation is to nurture our students’ talents, so they can make their mark both nationally and internationally as leaders in the fields of sustainably practical and theoretical conservation. We wish to develop our PhD programme, so our PhD graduates can be part of the leading research team in the world in the field of conservation. We expect to continue to be the preferred research partner, when it comes to European practical and theoretical conservation, and to further develop our international research within European, and other research programmes. We also aim at close discussion with students in relation to the school’s professional development.

The science of conservation
The conservation curriculum is based on conservation science, which aims to prevent and treat the deterioration of objects of cultural and natural heritage in the broadest sense of the word. The profession is characterised by its mix of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. It includes the ability to assess ethical, aesthetic, humanistic, technical and scientific issues in a systematic way.

The profession of conservation has its origins, not only in handicraft and art, but also in the humanities and technical and natural sciences. Conservation science is characterised by its cognitive and systematic analysis, diagnosis and practical problem solving, and by knowledge of the complexity in, and the interaction between objects’ materials, their properties and information, and the influence of their surroundings on them. Therefore, the complex and multidisciplinary nature of the preservation of objects of cultural and natural heritage necessitates close collaboration with relevant professional groups within the humanities, natural science and technology. This interdisciplinary work takes place at all levels in close collaboration across Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation and with other higher education programmes and research institutions, and archives, libraries and museums both in Denmark and abroad.