Preservation Studies (PhD)
PhD Program in Preservation Studies
Preservation is the study of the historical context and meaning of international cultural monuments and material heritage combined with the methods, policies, and philosophies necessary to insure their long-term survival and access. The study mandates an interdisciplinary approach within the humanities and the sciences. Informed preservation efforts, for Angkor Wat, for example, should embrace stone deterioration and the cultural history of the monument in addition to history of the region, including politics and religion. Partnerships with global cultural heritage organizations are anticipated for international topics.
There is a keen international need for better understanding of mechanisms of deterioration from the small (e.g. ivory miniatures) to the large (e.g. outdoor bronze sculpture or even entire historic sites) and the appropriate approaches to preservation. Such approaches may range from conservation treatment procedures to larger issues of legislation and public policy.
The Preservation Studies Program (PSP) is an interdisciplinary doctoral course of study that will teach the philosophies, research methodologies, and policies informing preservation efforts focused on art, architecture, landscapes, and material culture. It is distinct from other discipline-based courses of graduate study in that it provides a mechanism to combine cross-field expertise toward doctoral study in preservation. Our Value Statement reflects our commitment to educating professionals skilled in the preservation of cultural artifacts by connecting disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences.
Preservation Studies Goals
The PSP prepares students to address questions regarding individual objects and works of art, collections, buildings and structures, and sites and landscapes. More specifically, it will train its Ph.D. candidates to
Assess the significance and cultural contexts for the production, function, reception, and preservation of all aspects of visual and material culture
Identify, evaluate, and implement preservation practice and policy
Integrate ideas and methods from the full range of preservation-related disciplines
The Preservation Studies doctoral program builds on unique and distinguished programs at the University of Delaware and is administered within the Art Conservation Department. The PSP may involve collaboration with faculty and physical resources in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Earth, Ocean and Environment, Engineering, Education and Human Development, the School of Public Policy and Administration, the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, and the Winterthur Museum.
Applicants apply to a specific area of concentration within preservation studies, and acceptance will be contingent upon compatibility with existing University of Delaware resources. The PSP director will designate a potential dissertation supervisor who will work with the applicant to design a planned program of study. The Coremans Endowment is already in place for fellowship funding for doctoral students in preservation studies within the College of Arts and Sciences.
Maximum enrollment will generally be limited to approximately eight matriculated students, one or two accepted a year, dependent upon the amount of additional funding available to support students in this program, and by the availability of faculty members to serve as advisors within the demands of their individual workloads. Students will be admitted to the program based upon enrollment availability and their ability to meet the following recommended entrance requirements:
Applications must be made online via the University of Delaware's Graduate College and all relevant materials must be received by February 1.
Applicants should write to the PSP director in advance and submit a curriculum vitae and brief proposal for a dissertation topic. A pre-admissions advisory committee will be assembled to discuss and suggest changes so that a revised proposal can be submitted by February 1.
Application information
Applicants are to contact the PSP Director (currently Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner, jhstoner@udel.edu) well in advance of the annual February 1 deadline, and preliminary discussions will be arranged by email in order to determine if there are potential faculty members available in the chosen concentration and what travel or analytical equipment funding may be necessary.
After receiving each applicant's curriculum vitae and description of the proposed dissertation topic, the PSP director will attempt to assemble a pre-admissions advisory committee of at least three interdisciplinary faculty members who can address the suggested topic to determine its suitability for available expertise at the University of Delaware. This committee will present its findings to a larger five-person interdisciplinary admissions/PSP advisory committee after all admissions materials listed above have been received.
Admission to the program is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities for each concentration and dissertation topic area. Applicants who meet stated minimum requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. An on-campus interview with members of the pre-admissions advisory committee is strongly encouraged while the application is in progress.
The Coremans Endowment is in place and available for support for Ph.D. students in preservation studies especially in fields related to art and architectural conservation and technical art history. Students apply for these funds competitively as part of the admissions process. Students must remain in good standing each semester to retain their fellowship funding. Some teaching and research assistantships may also be available through collaborating units. Some students may be supported on external research grants depending on the chosen topic. Assistance will be awarded on a competitive basis to applicants best fitting the needs of the internal endowment, external granting agencies, and sponsoring faculty. Students receiving full stipends will be expected to maintain full-time status and may be expected to work up to 20 hours a week assisting faculty with research or teaching.
This will vary according to topic. The PSP students may be required to pay a fee to use analytical equipment at the Winterthur Museum Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory. There may also be equipment use costs at some University of Delaware labs. All such costs will be anticipated, researched, and compiled by the student and advisor/committee chair, and potential funding sources identified, or alternative research avenues developed prior to the approval of a dissertation proposal. The PSP has a small fund to which students may apply for these funding needs and will work with students to identify external funding sources whenever possible; however, the responsibility to raise funding for travel, analytical equipment fees, and other research-related support rests with the student.
Department of Art Conservation Emergency Grant Program for Graduate Students in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation or the Preservation Studies Program
The Department of Art Conservation is committed to supporting the financial, educational, and emotional needs of our graduate students. Our Student Emergency Fund established August 15, 2021 supports graduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial need due to an unanticipated crisis or unforeseen educational barriers.
Rowntree Research Award in Contemporary Art
WUDPAC and PSP students are invited to apply for the Rowntree Research Award to attend conferences, or to travel to carry out research or collections-based study related to contemporary art. Applicants may ask for the application form by writing to jhstoner@udel.edu; you will be asked for a budget along with answers to questions about the project. The annual deadline for applications is April 1. More information about the Rowntree Award can be found elsewhere on our website.
Committee
During the second year of the program each student in cooperation with his or her advisor will nominate, for approval by the program director, a dissertation committee consisting of at least four but not more than six members. The committee chairperson must have an established record of publication and/or scholarship in the area of concentration selected by the student, and must be a full-time University of Delaware faculty member. The majority of committee members must be full-time University of Delaware faculty; the majority of committee members must hold doctoral degrees. Students are required to select at least one external member, from outside the University, in order to broaden the perspectives of the committee. The external member(s) should have an established record of publication and/or scholarship in the area of concentration of the dissertation. A student can request a change in the committee in writing with justification to the Director of the PSP. Once the student has advanced to candidacy and the dissertation committee is approved by the Director for the PSP, it is forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies for review and approval.
Dissertation Proposal
One semester after passing the qualifying examination, the student must submit a formal dissertation proposal (of about 10-15 pages with substantive bibliography) to his or her dissertation committee. The proposal should define the research question, demonstrate its significance to preservation studies and within the chosen area of concentration, provide a context for the project within the relevant published literature, outline the proposed research methods, and provide a timetable for conduct of the research and writing phases. After the proposal has been circulated to the dissertation committee, the committee will meet as a group with the student to discuss and refine the proposal. The student will normally make a formal illustrated presentation of the topic at this time. Students and faculties from related departments are invited to attend. Any dissertation proposals that involve human or animal subjects must follow the guidelines for approval of such proposals that exist in all Colleges and external institutions represented by the student’s doctoral committee. Dissertation committee members should sign the final copy of the approved proposal. A signed copy of the approved dissertation proposal should be forwarded to the PSP Director. Students who fail the dissertation proposal presentation will receive one additional opportunity to repeat the process and defend a new or modified dissertation proposal.
Dissertation Defense
The student will conduct an oral defense of the work to all members of the committee at once at least two weeks after delivery of the completed dissertation. After all questions have been fielded, the dissertation committee will meet to decide whether the dissertation is accepted, rejected, or accepted pending revisions. The success of the defense will be determined by a committee vote. In the case of dissenting votes, the majority opinion will rule, and a majority vote in favor is needed for a successful dissertation and defense (in the case of a tie, the vote will be in the favor of the student).
Time Limit
There is a ceiling of five years for the completion of all requirements of the Ph.D. degree, including the dissertation and defense. Extensions may be granted on a year-to-year basis if the student can demonstrate continuing progress. The PSP Faculty meets annually to review the student’s class performance, progress toward degree, commitment to the field of study, and appropriate contribution to the university community. Failure to demonstrate progress may result in termination from the program; such terminations will be done in consultation between the dissertation committee chair, the PSP Director, and the Office of Graduate Studies. If, in the professional judgment of the program faculty, a student has failed to make satisfactory progress toward meeting the academic standards of the program, the faculty may vote to dismiss that student from the program. In the case of dismissal, the PSP Director is required to send a report to the Office of Graduate Studies that states the faculty vote on the decision causing dismissal and the justification for this action. The Office of Graduate Studies will notify the student in writing when the student is being dismissed for failure to make satisfactory progress in the program. In the case of academic dismissal, the student may appeal the termination in writing to the Office of Graduate Studies.
Complete requirements can be found in UD's Course Catalog. When viewing the course catalog please ensure you're viewing the correct year.
A student must be in full-time residence for the first year of study: two contiguous semesters. The purpose of this requirement is to enable a student to participate fully in the scholarly community of the university for a sustained period of time. In addition to benefiting the student, such participation also benefits other preservation studies students, and students and faculty of collaborating departments who have the opportunity to interact more closely with a student in residence. A non-credit seminar for presentation of research in progress will also be required for three semesters; faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students in related departments will be encouraged to attend.
Plans of Study
Upon acceptance into the program, students will meet with their advisors to formalize their curricula. They will choose approved courses relevant to their area of concentration and projected course of study. Areas of concentration include: historic preservation planning (including structures, landscape, and preservation of social and cultural context), preservation technologies, conservation research and technical studies, and heritage management.
Each student's curriculum must include a balance of courses that provide an introduction to the wide range of theoretical and methodological issues as well as courses supporting individual preservation research endeavors. Theoretical and methodological breadth ensures that all preservation studies students are familiar with basic procedures of research design and data handling and analysis needed to conduct dissertation research.
Eighteen credits of coursework are required in the first year.
Dissertation topic: Preservation of Outdoor Metal Sculpture. A student working in this area might do a dissertation involving one or more of the following research topics: testing coatings for corrosion protection, testing corrosion inhibitors, developing and testing new methods for monitoring corrosion susceptibility, identifying corrosion products and deterioration mechanisms, studying the relationship between atmospheric pollutants and corrosion mechanisms, testing the effects of cleaning regimes on sculpture surfaces and aesthetics, investigating the role of biocorrosion in deterioration of outdoor sculpture and sculpture coatings, or studying issues of original artist intent versus deterioration and conservation approaches.
Sample student background: A student following this curriculum plan would have one of the following backgrounds:
- Be a practicing conservator with experience in sculpture conservation, with a master's degree in art conservation or a related field and additional undergraduate or graduate courses in chemistry, materials science, or metallurgy/metallography
- Have a master's degree in materials science or chemistry, with additional courses and/or experience in sculpture techniques, art history, conservation science, or sculpture conservation
Special prerequisites: GRE required
Suggested coursework:
Required courses (6 credits)
- MSEG 606: Corrosion and Protection
- MSST 645: Technology of Cultural Materials: Metals
- PRES 801: A non-credit seminar for presentation of research in progress will also be required for three semesters; faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students in related departments will be encouraged to attend.
One of these two courses (3 credits)
- MSEG 602: Structure of Materials
- MSEG 603: Analytical Techniques in Materials Science
An additional 9 credits to be chosen from any of the following courses:
- MEEG 634: Air Pollution Processes
- GEOG 651: Microclimatology
- CHEM 622: Electroanalytical Chemistry
- CHEM 623: Chemometrics
- CHEM 624: Principles of Mass Spectrometry
- CHEM 626: Instrumental Methods in Mass Spectrometry
- CHEM 627: Practical Mass Spectrometry
- CHEM 680: Introduction to Polymer Science
- Any art history graduate seminar focusing on sculpture
Followed by the dissertation.
Suggested committee members: The committee could include a faculty member in Museum Studies who does research on corrosion and metal artifacts; a materials scientist with interest in corrosion and protection of metals; a chemist who can analyze atmospheric particulate matter or study deterioration of polymeric coatings; an artist with experience in fabrication techniques and materials of sculpture; external members could be a corrosion scientist and/or a local sculpture conservator or conservation scientist with expertise in metals.
Dissertation topic: Misconceptions in 19th-century revivalism of 16th-17th-century Old Master techniques: e.g. Delacroix copying Rubens and Washington Allston copying Titian. Contemporary letters, documents, treatises on painting methods would be examined, paintings sampled, and media and pigments compared. (Delacroix mistakenly copied paintings by his hero Rubens when they were covered with discolored varnish and consequently thought they were much darker than they actually were, affecting his painting technique accordingly, and Washington Allston, known as the "American Titian," interlayered varnish into his paint films in an attempt to imitate the natural translucency of aged oil paint making them quite dangerous to clean.)
Sample student background: A student following this curriculum plan would have one of the following backgrounds:
- Be a practicing paintings conservator with a master's degree in art conservation
- Be an art historian with a master's degree with additional undergraduate or graduate courses in chemistry, materials science or paint technology
Special prerequisites: Reading knowledge in French or Italian would be helpful. GRE scores, especially quantitative, are required.
Suggested coursework:
Required coursework (9 credits)
3 courses in current scientific methods, to be adjusted according to the expertise of the applicant, but possibly including:
- ARTC 672 and ARTC 673: Chemical and Physical Techniques Used in the Examination of Art Materials III and IV
- ARTC 666: Independent study on microscopy of paint cross-sections, fluorescent staining, and work with faculty from the Chemistry Department on Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
- PRES 801: A non-credit seminar for presentation of research in progress will also be required for three semesters; faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students in related departments will be encouraged to attend.
An additional 9 credits to be chosen from any of the following:
- ARTH 611: Studies in Italian Renaissance Art
- ARTH 617: Studies in Northern Baroque Art
- ARTH 621: Studies in 19th-century Art
- Other relevant courses in the Art Conservation, Art History, or History
Followed by the dissertation.
Suggested committee members: The committee could include one or two art historians with expertise in Renaissance/Baroque or 19th-century paintings, a paintings conservator from WUDPAC, one or two scientists with expertise in microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, and GS-MS (from WUDPAC or chemistry department).
Dissertation topic: The history of urbanism and the preservation of historic urban environments.
Please note: Due to recent retirements of faculty members in this area, candidates are not being considered for dissertation work in Historic Preservation Planning until further notice.
- Sample student background: A student following this curriculum plan would have a master's degree and one of the following backgrounds:
- Previous work with historic sites surveys and National Register nominations in her state
- Oversight of architectural inventories and the publication of those inventories in a series of descriptive technical reports
- Background in historic preservation publication
- Desire to advance in the field of historic preservation and broaden the interpretive framework for the public interpretation of historic architecture, landscapes, and sites.
Goals of research are likely to be professional advancement with an eye toward steering preservation practice toward humanistic as well as planning goals. Special prerequisites: Prior experience in field-based architectural history and preservation planning. MA or certification in architectural history, urban history, historic preservation, or museum studies expected.
Suggested coursework:
Required courses (9 credits)
- UAPP 629: Seminar in Historic Preservation
- MSST 608: Public History: Resources, Research, and Practice
- HIST 605: Theories in Material Culture
- PRES 801: A non-credit seminar for presentation of research in progress will also be required for three semesters; faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students in related departments will be encouraged to attend.
An additional 9 credits to be chosen from any of the following courses
- ARTH 667: The Town House in England and America
- GEOG 638: World Cities in Comparative Perspective
- UAPP 628: Issues in Land Use and Environmental Planning
- UAPP 635: Evolution of the American Urban Landscape
- ARTH 654: Vernacular Architecture
- HIST 657: Historical Archaeology and the Public
- Other courses in Urban Affairs and Public Policy, Museum Studies, History
Followed by the dissertation.
Suggested committee members: The committee could include faculty with a particular interest in urban form and preservation from Geography (urban historical geography); Center for Historic Architecture and Design (urban geography, land use planning, and public policy); Art History (urban architecture, town planning, and historic preservation); History (architectural history, industrial history, and museum studies).
New graduate courses designated with “experimental” 67 numbers are offered every semester. The faculty advisor(s) would work with the student in identifying and taking advantage of these offerings.
History
Background and Planning Process
A group of twelve faculty and administrators from nine different departments, programs, and the dean's office created the proposal for the Preservation Studies Program. The task force members included: the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, the Director of Material Culture Studies, the Chair and former Chair from Art Conservation, the former Director of the Conservation Ph.D., the Director of Museum Studies, the Director for the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, the Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, the Preservation Department Head in the University of Delaware Library, the Associate Director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, and an Associate Professor from Anthropology. They met regularly over a year and a half to create an outline for a new doctoral program. In winter of 2004, the Center for Material Culture Studies voted unanimously to administer the program. Draft copies of the proposal were circulated, and five lunch-time meetings were held with thirty faculty members and administrators from possible cooperating departments and museums in March and April 2004. Comments and suggestions were gathered and incorporated into the proposal. The first students began their studies in PSP in 2006. In 2010 the program was moved to the Art Conservation Department, and in 2013 the program was awarded permanent status.
The Art Conservation Research Ph.D. (1990-2003) served as a pilot project for the proposed PSP. Six students graduated from the program (including the 2003 winner of the Wilbur Owen Sypherd Prize for dissertations in the humanities).
Enrollment and Typical Student Backgrounds
In the first six years the PSP received more than 100 inquiries and 28 formal applications. Maximum enrollment will initially be limited to approximately eight matriculated students, one or two accepted a year, dependent upon the amount of additional funding available to support students in this program, and by the availability of faculty members to serve as advisors within the demands of their individual workloads. All students must be full-time for the first two semesters and may be part-time after completing six three-credit courses. Many applicants are actively employed professionals who conduct their work during sabbaticals or other leaves. The dissertation provides them the experience necessary to continue conducting high quality research throughout their careers and to advance the field in their specific disciplines. At the same time, the opportunity to interact with students and faculty from a broad spectrum of preservation specialties helps the student to gain a wider view of the larger context of his or her area of concentration. Such a larger view is an asset to those wishing to move into administrative/managerial roles.
In the preservation disciplines such as historic preservation, art and architectural conservation, and museum studies, there are few opportunities to earn a doctoral degree. Most programs provide practical training at the master's degree level for practitioners. This program provides training in the conduct of research, allows students to pursue in-depth research on a topic of significance to their area of concentration, and at the same time gives them a greater theoretical grounding and helps them place their specialization into context within the broader field of preservation studies. Strong interest in the program was quickly expressed from those holding master's degrees in relevant disciplines. Students earning this degree have often been already employed in non-profit institutions such as museums, libraries, universities, and federal, state, and local historical organizations.
The establishment of a program of doctoral study in preservation reflected both a coming of age for the profession and recognition within the wider world of humanities studies of the central role that preservation has in supporting scholarly activity in humanities disciplines such as history, art history, material culture studies, and anthropology.
The Preservation Studies Program is the only program in North America that offers an interdisciplinary doctoral degree designed to combine technical art history and science. There are related doctoral programs in historic preservation at Tulane University and at the University of Texas, Austin; a Ph.D. program in historic preservation planning at Cornell University, and a doctoral program at Columbia University for "fields devoted to the built environment." Doctoral study is available at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden in three areas: built environment, conservation science, and craft. Several related though more narrowly defined Ph.D. programs are currently active, such as a Ph.D. program in conservation science at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London; or the University of Arizona/Arizona State Museum Heritage Conservation Science Doctoral Program. The Ph.D. program in art conservation at the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ph.D. program in textile science and conservation created by a partnership between the Textile Conservation Center (TCC) and at the University of Southampton and the Universities of Bradford and Manchester, UK both closed in 2009. The TCC program has recently been resurrected at the University of Glasgow accompanied by a technical art history program. Individualized doctoral study tracks in preservation topics are available by special arrangement and government funding at several universities in the U.K. An earlier doctoral program in cultural heritage conservation in Australia has also closed. In France there are doctoral programs at the Sorbonne that involve research and writing only, no coursework.
Degree Awarded
The degree awarded is a Ph.D. in Preservation Studies.
