The Heritage Conservation program educates students in the preservation of the built environment and prepares students for practice in the field of heritage conservation. The Graduate Certificate in Heritage Conservation is:
- Interdisciplinary, teaching holistic problem-solving within an integrated environment of natural and cultural resources including the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art history, history, landscape architecture, materials science, and planning; and
- Inter-institutional, promoting collaborative engagement between public and private institutions with a curriculum incorporating community service as a method of learning.
The learning outcomes of the Graduate Certificate in Heritage Conservation are intended to balance theory and practice, as well as research and outreach, including:
- Awareness of geographic, cultural, technological, economic, and political factors that shape the built environment; of building traditions of cultural groups and historic periods that define the Greater Southwest.
- Understanding of heritage conservation terms, concepts, and philosophical foundations; of legal, regulatory, and economic development tools; of treatment standards for historic properties; of cultural resource management business and ethical principles.
- Ability to conduct research using primary and secondary information resources; to survey, document, and communicate cultural artifacts, buildings, sites, districts, and cultural landscapes according to professional (Secretary of Interior) standards; to analyze building construction systems, components, and materials to make conservation treatment recommendations; to interpret the meaning of built environments to a larger audience.