Address: 2 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris, Île-de-France, France
Conservation-Restoration of Cultural Heritage (Scientific Specialties)
Two professions that look after the same collections, curators who study and manage them and restorers who treat them physically, are trained at the Institut National du Patrimoine, a higher-education institution of the French Ministry of Culture. The institute presents itself by the short name INP.
The institute trains heritage curators (conservateurs du patrimoine) and restorers (restaurateurs du patrimoine). The work is organised on two sites: the curators\’ department and the administrative headquarters are in Paris, while the restorers\’ department is in Aubervilliers.
Training differs sharply between the two paths. Curators follow an 18-month course in which students carry out scientific work. Restorers are admitted by competitive examination and study for five years in one of seven specialties, including two double specialties, ending in a master\’s degree in the conservation-restoration of cultural property. Because the two courses differ in length, applicants should consult the institute\’s admissions pages for the current competition calendar, intake numbers and eligibility rules.
Domains taught:
Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Materials, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Project Management, Quality, Software Engineering, Statistics
Diplomas*:
Diploma, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Partnerships with major museums (Louvre, etc.), historical monuments laboratories (LRMH, C2RMF), and international conservation institutes.
Research:
Materials science for heritage conservation, Analytical techniques for cultural heritage, Conservation ethics and practices, Scientific research on alteration and preservation of artifacts.
Famous Alumnis:
N/A
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
100
Current students***:
200
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Leading institution for training heritage conservators, strong scientific and technical component in conservation studies.
Cons
Highly specialized, focus on cultural heritage conservation.
Best For
Higher education for heritage conservation, with strong scientific and technical training for conservators.
École Nationale des Chartes - PSL in Paris is listed for the conservation of written and graphic heritage and for digital humanities and data technologies.
École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris is listed for life and earth sciences such as neuroscience, ecology and paleontology.
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris is listed for evolutionary biology, earth sciences, paleontology and ecology.
Observatoire de Paris - PSL is listed for astronomy, space science and the metrology of time and space.
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris studies geophysics, seismology and volcanology in Paris.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands teaches industrial design with a material research strand, which parallels the material focus of restorer training.
University of Leicester in the United Kingdom is listed for space science, archaeology and genetics, an overlap through archaeology.
University of Delaware in the United States lists early American history and culture next to chemical engineering, a combination relevant to heritage conservation.
Switzerland's Université de Fribourg offers materials science, biology and chemistry, the scientific base used in conservation work.
University of York in the United Kingdom is listed for arts and humanities alongside the sciences, covering the history side of heritage studies.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Which ministry supervises the Institut National du Patrimoine?
It is a higher-education institution of the French Ministry of Culture.
What makes this institute different from a typical university?
It trains two heritage professions, curators and restorers, and it belongs to the French Ministry of Culture rather than to a university.
Which sites does the institute use?
The curators\' department and the administrative headquarters are located in Paris. The restorers\' department is in Aubervilliers.
How long does curator training last?
The curator course runs for 18 months, and students carry out scientific work during it.
What does the restorer programme involve?
Admission is by competitive examination, followed by five years of study across seven specialties, two of them double specialties. The diploma confers a master\'s degree in the conservation-restoration of cultural property.
How does the restorers\' course differ from the curators\' course?
Restorers study for five years, while curators follow an 18-month course.
Where can candidates find admission rules and fees?
The institute\'s official website describes both courses and the competitions. Applicants should check it for the current calendar, since eligibility, age limits and exam formats are set by the institute and the ministry.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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