Programmes of Study and Professional Fields

The Institute for Archaeology, Heritage Conservation Studies and Art History (IADK) unites several fields of study that focus on the material traces of human culture from prehistory to the present day: their recording and description, their analysis, their preservation and their cultural-historical interpretation. The variety of objects investigated ranges from individual artefacts to complex works of art and architecture, and further to entire urban areas and cultural landscapes. The geographical range is centred primarily on Europe and European-influenced cultures.

The programmes of study offered at the IADK prepare students for exciting professional careers. Those with an interest in historical relationships and cultural artefacts and who enjoy working by close observation, comparison and analysis will find courses and lectures to meet their needs; so too will those who are stimulated by cultural detective work and by the challenge of organizing and presenting research results in a coherent and meaningful way. Students of the Institute are exposed to international investigative trends and are given the opportunity to contribute to them, and are supported and encouraged in developing their own sense of responsibility for conserving the world's cultural heritage.

Unique in all of Germany is the IADK's emphasis on practice-oriented study and on a close marriage of methods of description and analysis drawn from the humanities and the natural sciences. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Bamberg itself offers a wealth of first-class objects for study, as do the works of architecture, the museums and the cultural landscapes in the surrounding region and in the cities and countries visited on regular planned excursions. The fields and specializations represented within the IADK open numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary study and are further supplemented by the programmes offered elsewhere within the University - for example in the departments of History, European Ethnology, Literary Studies, Physical and Historical Geography, Islamic Art History and Archaeology, Slavic Art and Cultural History, and Cultural Informatics.

Graduates of the IADK's programmes of study emerge with skills and qualifications necessary for careers in institutions of teaching and research, in museums, in private and public agencies for heritage conservation, in cultural foundations and publishing houses, or in activity as independent consultants and specialists. Thanks to their ability to work independently and to apply a problem-oriented approach to unknown and complex topics and problems, they are also attractive candidates for work in many other fields of employment. The option to undertake post-graduate study (doctorate, habilitation) is available in all departments of the IADK.