7 Training for heritage professionals The principal pathway for graduates and newly-qualified builtenvironment professionals into the heritage sector is through one of the post-graduate courses in the conservation of buildings and places, followed by work experience and a period of assessment by the relevant accrediting professional body. The post-graduate courses are open to graduates with at least a 2.1 honours degree in a relevant subject, and generally last one academic year followed by a written dissertation. The Institute for Historic Building Conservation recognises the courses listed in the table below. For practicing professionals there is also the opportunity to gain similar knowledge and skills through training and mentoring in the workplace, without taking a post-graduate course in the conservation of buildings and places. Training does not stop there as all the accrediting bodies require their members to maintain continual professional development (CPD). Although some professional bodies stipulate that a proportion of CPD must be undertaken through formal or structured learning, such as courses and conferences, CPD includes many other forms of learning. The RIAS for example suggests that the following can all count, provided the content is relevant and appropriate: ‘searching out information from technical literature, reading the construction industry press, discussions with colleagues, attending conferences and courses, supporting the profession through committee or other work; building sites/ visits; seminar/conference/course; preparing/ giving presentation; committee meeting/work; in-house CPD; meeting/discussion/debate; reading/research/teaching’. COURSES RECOGNISED BY IHBC Recognition level MSc Conservation of Historic Buildings University of Bath Full MA/PGDip Conservation of the Historic Environment Birmingham City University Full MSt Building History University of Cambridge *Select MSc Sustainable Building Conservation Cardiff University Full MSc Building Conservation and Adaptation University of Central Lancashire Full MSc Architectural Conservation University of Edinburgh Full MSc Architectural Conservation University of Kent Full MSc Historic Building Conservation Kingston University Full MA Urban Conservation University of Leicester Full MA Sustainable Heritage Management University of Liverpool Full MSc Sustainable Heritage University College London Full MSc Historic Conservation Oxford Brookes University with University of Oxford Full MA Architecture Building and Heritage Conservation University of Portsmouth Full MSc Architectural Design for the Conservation of Built Heritage University of Strathclyde Full MSc Building Conservation Weald & Downland Living Museum Full MA Architecture and Sustainable Heritage University of Westminster Full MA Conservation Studies (Historic Buildings) University of York Full * ‘Select’ means that the course offers a pathway into full membership of the IHBC where the applicant is offering related services only – in this case historical research and heritage significance assessment, for example.
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