Founded in 1970, Buffalo State’s Art Conservation Department is one of the leading programs of its kind in North America. Accepting only 10 students a year, the competitive three-year graduate program educates conservators of art and cultural heritage. Graduates can be found in the conservation labs and studios of major institutions across the United States, including the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Buffalo State is one of several four-year comprehensive universities of arts and sciences in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The university is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the University of the State of New York Board of Regents. Its graduate programs are registered and certified by the New York State Education Department. The university is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. All visual arts programs, including the Garman Art Conservation Department, are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
The Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State University opened in 1970 as the Cooperstown Graduate Program in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, affiliated with the State University of New York College at Oneonta and with the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. Since its founding, the department has offered a master of arts degree and certificate of advanced study in art conservation following a three-year program of study. In 1983, the program administratively transferred to Buffalo State College (changed to Buffalo State University in 2023) and relocated to the campus in 1987. In fall of 2022, the department started awarding a dual MA/MS degree to all of its graduates. The department today occupies a superb modern facility in Rockwell Hall, expressly designed to support conservation teaching and research.
Founded in 1871, Buffalo State University has grown into the largest four-year arts and sciences university in the State University of New York system. Over the past several decades the university has expanded to include a broad spectrum of programs in the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, technology, and education. Today, Buffalo State offers more than 160 undergraduate programs and graduate degrees in over sixty disciplines. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the University of the State of New York Board of Regents accredits the university. Its graduate programs are registered and certified by the New York State Education Department. The university is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. All Visual Arts programs, including the Art Conservation Department, are accredited by NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design).
