Conservation and Restoration of pPaintings and Sculptures, M.A.
The study course Conservation and Restoration of Paintings and Mounted Sculptures was founded in 1977, making it one of the first of its kind in Germany. It has excellent national and international networks and maintains numerous contacts with museums, institutions for the preservation of monuments and private partners in Germany and abroad. It is divided into a three-year bachelor's degree and a consecutive two-year master's degree. The B.A. degree does not yet qualify for the independent exercise of the profession. We therefore recommend that all graduates of the bachelor's degree pursue an M.A. degree afterwards.
Programme facts
| Degree | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 semesters, 120 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Required German | B2 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 10.06 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €1,500 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €113.40 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →What you study
The two-year Master’s degree (120 ECTS) builds on the bachelor’s degree and deepens the basic knowledge so that you acquire the necessary professional competence for a later, independent professional activity. The master’s degree is characterized by many options and great academic freedom: You can choose from a large number of usually one-week theoretical block courses from the fields of materials science, archaeometry, art technology and conservation science, as well as modern objects and contemporary art, those that interest you the most so develop your own professional profile. A complete list of offers can be found in the 2020 module manual.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Restorers work to preserve works of art and cultural assets. By working on and with original works of art, they take on a great responsibility for the transmission of cultural heritage. Every work of art has an individual story that can have many facets. Restorers want to grasp and understand the objects entrusted to them in a holistic approach in their complex historical, material and ideal meaning. Interdisciplinary cooperation with other disciplines is the key to success here. That is why restorers work regularly with art historians, preservationists, specialists from the natural sciences and engineering.
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The scientific recording of the object in all its dimensions is the prerequisite for the creation of an adequate restoration concept in which restorers justify the necessary conservation and restoration measures, but also preventive measures. Respect for the individual history of each object requires a tailor-made, individual conservation and restoration concept. They then implement these measures independently and on their own responsibility. Restorers work in museums, in the preservation of monuments or work independently for state, church or private clients. They are also increasingly taking on planning and coordinating tasks such as B. the planning and coordination of larger restoration projects or overseeing exhibitions and loan transactions. They advise on questions of preventive conservation and thus help to sustainably improve the framework conditions for the preservation of cultural assets. With the opportunity to do a doctorate, master’s graduates at the ABK Stuttgart also have access to research and teaching.
The M.A. degree from the ABK Stuttgart is valued at home and abroad. Our graduates work independently or as employees in restoration workshops at museums and monument offices or at universities. You can start your career, for example, through academic traineeships in museums or through the contacts that students make during their studies in compulsory internships, project work or semester and master's theses.
SELECTED INSTITUTIONS AT WHICH GRADUATES OF THE DEGREE PROGRAM WORK
- State Gallery Stuttgart
- Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart
- Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
- State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg
- State Art Gallery Karlsruhe
- Doerner Institute of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich
- Bavarian National Museum Munich
- Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
- Munich City Museum
- State Museums in Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
- Landesmuseum Hannover, Das WeltenMuseum
- Weserburg Museum for Modern Art, Bremen
- Hamburger Kunsthalle
- Kunsthaus Zürich
- University of Fine Arts Dresden
- Technical University of Cologne
- Bern University of the Arts
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (Baden-Württemberg), international students | €1,500 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €113.40 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | Admission to the master’s course requires a technically relevant university degree or an equivalent degree as well as proof of artistic aptitude for the respective course (aptitude test). |
|---|---|
| Language | German B2 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 10.06 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2German up to B2 and a certificateDSH or TestDaF has to be passed before you apply.
- 3Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 4Application directly to the university until 10.06Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 5Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 10.06.2027 (239 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.