Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg

Education and research at the Department of Conservation cover a wide range of questions about how we can identify and analyse the values of cultural heritage.

How do we preserve, restore, and develop objects, buildings, crafts, landscapes, and gardens? How do we value and prioritise our cultural heritage? These are some of the questions that the Department of Conservation explores in both our study programmes and in our research. We offer two unique international master’s programmes that cover the conservation of heritage objects and the issues of maintenance and reuse, contemporary developments, and different aspects of participatory heritage planning. Our research is based both in Gothenburg and Mariestad. The national centre for crafts, the Craft Laboratory, operates in Mariestad and works to document, safeguard and develop traditional craft skills.

News and events

Research story/portrait

Studying the craft using old boats

He spent a long time searching before he found the right direction. Fredrik Leijonhufvud is a boat builder and is…

News – 12 January 2024

Researchers document thousand-year-old graffiti in Kyiv

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv is a thousand-year-old world heritage site according to UNESCO, but it is also a source of…

Study here

Our study programmes deepens your knowledge about the multiple layers of meaning of cultural heritage and is focused on preserving, restoring, and developing objects, buildings, crafts, landscapes, and gardens.

Study Conservation

We offer two international master's programmes.

Video (1:30)

Master’s students working on a coat of arms object

Our research

Conservation research relate to the planning and operation of practices in order to preserve, conserve, restore and develop objects, buildings, parks and landscapes.

Our research

The Department of Conservation’s areas of research span a broad field of knowledge and issues relating to the planning and…

Doctoral Studies

The variation in licentiate and doctoral thesis topics in the department over the years reflects the breadth and complexity…

The Craft Laboratory

The Crafts Laboratory is a centre for crafts that is a part of the Department of Conservation. The aim of the Craft Laboratory is to document, safeguard and develop traditional craft skills in the fields of building crafts, cultural landscapes, and gardening crafts.