Course summary

Study at a specialist college with the assurance of a university qualification. Develop your passions and reach your potential in a small, welcoming environment within a community of like-minded people. Why choose West Dean? An international reputation for excellence in conservation and arts education 94% of students studying at the College* felt the programme had enhanced their skills and abilities (*2019 student survey) A rich arts environment and a focus on craft skills with vocational application Be inspired by the unique historic character and beautiful South Downs setting Located close to Chichester and the South Coast, with easy access to London The Course The Graduate Diploma offers you the opportunity to develop the skills and competences to work towards becoming a professional horologist or horological conservator, or to undertake further professional development in horology. You will learn professional standards of conservation practice as you develop practical, theoretical and professional conservation skills. The course provides a context for the analysis, assessment and treatment of historic objects. You can expect To develop excellent practical skills establishing and developing hand and machine tool skills To learn the principles and techniques of historical horological manufacture and repair To work on historic objects Learning environment Low student : tutor ratio Workshop access 8.30am-9pm, 7 days a week Interdisciplinary environment Teaches students to understand and apply Icon's Professional Standards in Conservation Visits from specialists from the heritage and private sectors Visits to museums and active links with heritage bodies Exceptional facilities You will work in our specialist clocks workshop equipped with a professional standard range of hand and machine tools for the production and treatment of clocks. Facilities include: Individual work benches for each student Access to the full range of metalworking and woodworking facilities in the adjacent departments Digital photography facilities for the production of photographic records and documentation Area for cleaning and testing completed work IT suite with specialist databases On-site Art and Conservation Library with thousands of specialist books and journals Teaching On the Graduate Diploma you typically have around 24 contact hours per week. Independent learning When not attending lectures, seminars and workshop or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study for approximately 13-14 hours per week. Typically, this will involve: Reading journal articles and books Working on individual and group projects Undertaking research in the library Preparing coursework assignments and presentations Overall workload Graduate Diploma: 60% of your time is spent in scheduled teaching and learning activity Scheduled teaching and learning: 720 hours Independent learning: 480 hours