Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage

Career outcomes

Heritage skills are in great demand throughout Australia and globally, including the Asia-Pacific region. The Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage is designed to complement existing professional skills in areas such as architecture, planning, archaeology and history as well as provide a pathway to a new career in the management, conservation and interpretation of heritage. It provides graduates with the cross-disciplinary skills to pursue careers locally and globally including:

• Government and non-Government heritage agencies
• Cultural and collecting institutions
• Heritage sites
• Municipal councils
• Private practices in architecture, landscape architecture and planning
• Social and urban planning and policy
• Public history

Generic skills

The Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage has been specifically designed around the University of Melbourne postgraduate coursework graduate attributes and the preparation of students to work in a professional heritage setting. The course will incorporate research-led teaching, problem-based collaborative learning, cross-disciplinary approaches to heritage methodology and theoretical approaches, engagement with professional experts, and a diverse student cohort. Graduates of the Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage will have high-level intellectual, analytical and communication capabilities enabling them to demonstrate leadership, a commitment to life-long learning, and integrity in professional heritage practice.

Learning outcomes

• Theoretical and applied knowledge of the core issues, histories and methodologies of urban and cultural heritage;
• Understandings of the range of methodological approaches to urban and cultural heritage across academic disciplines and within professional practice;
• Critical engagement with international contemporary practice in urban and cultural heritage as this relates to built environments and the social, cultural, and regulatory economic dimensions of heritage;
• Ability to interpret and analyses complex cross-disciplinary materials relating to heritage in order to develop sustainable and effective strategies to the challenges of heritage within the built and social fabric;
• Understanding of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks that guide urban and cultural heritage practice at national and international levels, and how these may be applied in particular contexts and locations;
• Knowledge of the complexity of heritage management, with particular reference to cross-cultural issues;
• Ability to communicate effectively within cross-disciplinary teams, and to take a holistic approach to urban and cultural heritage in the communication of heritage strategies and applications;
• Capacity to respond with initiative and to build upon key frameworks in relation to new situations and challenges in urban and cultural heritage;
• Ability to respond to the challenges posed by urban and cultural heritage through a cross-disciplinary framework that enables students to execute a substantial research and/or design project.