Education

Collaboration with universities
As an educational institute SRAL works closely together with the University of Amsterdam on the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage course. The postgraduate restoration program offered by SRAL was in 2005 integrated into the University of Amsterdam. Other universities such as Maastricht University, Ghent University and Radboud University Nijmegen offer related courses, however, these are more focused on art technology and scientific research.

Conservation training

The only formal and accredited training course in conservation in the Netherlands begins with module conservation and restoration of cultural heritage at the University of Amsterdam, which can be followed by a relevant bachelor degree. Or alternatively, after taking this module students can choose a specialisation, which will be followed by a two year masters degree. This is a combination of academic interdisciplinary subjects such as art history, history of restoration and conservation science, and practical lessons. The central part of the last semester forms a thesis in which students are required to present their own research. After having successfully completed the Master, the students may call themselves restoration experts. In order to become a certified restorer graduates must follow a further two-year training in their chosen specialisation, the so-called post-initital-training (PI).