Paper Restoration, M.A.
The Stuttgart degree program focuses on the conservation and restoration of works of art on paper. For this focus, the course is also particularly equipped due to its integration in an art academy.
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 09.06 |
| 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
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 →About the programme
Our teaching concept enables efficient and multi-perspective learning. We prepare students for the reality of their future career without narrowing the character of an open-minded and creative course. The focus is on the individual support of students across all development phases of their studies.
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The course trains students to become independent scientists who are versatile in practice. Stuttgart students are prepared for the wide-ranging restoration tasks in today's society, also with a view to the further development of the subject. The B.A. degree provides essential basic knowledge. The M.A. degree deepens this knowledge and extends it in areas of specialization. After five years of intensive study, the M.A. degree forms the basis for starting your career. Read more under studying.
We cooperate with many external partners in research and restoration projects. Our students are centrally involved in projects in collections and research institutes and gather important content and team-oriented experiences for their later professional life. Projects are currently underway. a. with the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the University of Stuttgart (see also under Projects, Personen, and Cooperation Partners).
The academic work of our students regularly contribute to the development of the subject. Students are involved in all research projects of the course and learn systematic scientific work in all important forms. Many theses concern long-term research and development topics, many of which are published. In the B.A. work, the focus is often on scientifically and manually differentiated work on and with original objects. These works are also occasionally published or designed as an edited poster (open access under B.A. works). For publications, see also under monographs and semester papers.
The Stuttgart course is characterized by:
- profound and diverse restoration expertise of the teaching staff
- outstanding didactic preparation of all teaching content
- systematic practice-related teaching of core competencies
- intensive support in all areas
- regular personal feedback
- versatile opportunities to participate in external projects
- large selection of different objects for personal processing
- Flexibility in considering individual interests
- Promotion of team skills
What you study
Studying at ABK Stuttgart in the field of restoration of works of art on paper, archive and library material with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts prepares the students for the field of activity of the restorer. Graduates are successful in museums and research institutions as well as freelance or in private companies.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
The majority of graduates are at museums, some at libraries or in archives and some at conservation research institutes in Germany and other European countries, e.g. in London (UK), Zurich (CH), Düns (A), and Haarlem (NL). Two thirds are in employment, all others are successful freelancers, most of them in Germany - in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Cologne and Stuttgart as well as in the country-wide environment (e.g. Pforzheim, Göppingen, Dillingen, Crailsheim).
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Selected institutions at which former students of the degree program work:
- State Gallery, Stuttgart
- State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart
- German Literature Archive Marbach
- Kupferstichkabinett, State Museums of Berlin
- Academy of the Arts Berlin
- Jewish Museum, Berlin
- State Graphic Collection, Munich
- Bavarian State Library, Munich
- Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken
- Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
- Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
- Hessian State Museum, Darmstadt
- Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig
- State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia, Münster
- Archive of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim
- Saxon State Archives Leipzig, Hubertusberg Castle
- The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE), Amsterdam
- State Archives of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland
- University Library of Bern, Burger Library of Bern
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
- Museum Albertina, Vienna
- National Archives, London
- Kunsthaus, Zurich
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 corresponding university degree or an equivalent degree as well as proof of artistic suitability for the respective course (aptitude test). |
|---|---|
| Language | German B2 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 09.06 |
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 09.06Send 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 09.06.2027 (238 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.