The Master of Heritage Conservation allows you to develop specific skills in assessment, interpretation, management, formulation of policy, and documentation of culturally significant places "including buildings, sites and cultural landscapes. You will be introduced to methods and practices of conservation, designing and building new buildings in old settings, and the history, theory, law and policy of this unique area. 

This exciting field of study is much more than just the simple preservation of existing buildings. Instead, by engaging with history, your role is to provide value to building owners, visitors and cultural bodies, all of which have a shared interest in understanding, adapting and preserving our heritage.

Heritage Conservation teaches you the techniques, approaches and methodologies required to work as a heritage consultant in policy development, regulation enforcement or as a cultural historian and commentator. Through this program you will understand the social value and embedded capital of significant sites and determine what should be preserved for future generations. Your degree in Heritage Conservation allows you to draw on our School’s extensive history in this profession, being the first university in the Asia-Pacific region to offer a program in Heritage Conservation.

This program combines the technical and aesthetic principles of architecture and architectural history with the social value of our past. You will be educated in the use of new and old material, alteration design, additions and modifications to existing buildings, and the sustainable, ethical and equitable development of sites in light of its past uses. Your core program emphasises the skills required for work with valuable heritage sites. These skills include the assessment, interpretation, management, documentation and formation of policy for culturally significant places, including buildings, sites and cultural landscapes. These core skills are taught by focusing on the duality of historic buildings their construction (in terms of design and materials) and significance (culturally, historically, economically and socially). From this dual understanding, you will be trained to develop policy that reflects the importance of all aspects of a significant building.

Students enrolled in this course may be eligible for membership of the Environment Institute of Australian and New Zealand (EIANZ).

Heritage consultants skills are in demand by government and cultural agencies, development firms, historical societies and architectural and urban planning firms. Graduates may also be employed as social commentators, historians or cultural observers. The dual focus of this program building design and policy formation equips you to enter either area, and there are an increasing number of opportunities with government and councils to work on conservation projects within their electorates. 

The approaches taught in this program are recognised internationally, and our internationally-focused approach to conservation education makes your skills readily transferrable to other countries. 

There is increasing demand for specialist skills in this area. Many graduates develop a niche specialisation (in a particular era or style of architecture, or in geographic contexts) in their professional practice. 

The increasing complexity of government regulations `red tape’ - for new project developments presents an opportunity for skilled heritage consultants to work alongside regulators and design teams to help navigate the complexities of significant sites.