The Institute, a department of the Fitzwilliam Museum, provides conservation facilities for public and publicly shown collections. The Institute is financed solely by the endowment fund, income from work and charitable donations. Students are enrolled for a three-year Certificate course in the conservation and restoration of easel paintings, followed by a further year of attachment to a conservation laboratory in the United Kingdom or abroad, leading to the award of the Diploma. Students are required to play an active part in the work of the Conservation Department, thus becoming familiar with all aspects of the care of pictures, technical, scientific, aesthetic and art-historical.
Emphasis is placed on the practical work, which requires manual skill, patience and integrity.
Practical work and the technical and scientific background outlined in the syllabus are studied with constant reference to the foremost consideration, that of the painting as a work of art. The practical and theoretical instruction is given by members of the staff and by visiting lecturers. One day each fortnight is set aside for the students to visit exhibitions and also conservation and scientific laboratories in London and elsewhere. Occasional periods of instruction are given on site at country houses etc. Students, individually, spend occasional periods of work at the Institute's London studio.