A Diploma in Architecture and Architectural Conservation or a Diploma in Architecture and Urban Design is available to students who complete either of the other taught postgraduate courses offered by the School during the Diploma year of their architecture course. Students are invited to choose the subject of their own master's dissertation or project. An individual supervisor is appointed to each student. The course is run by the Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies at Edinburgh College of Art. Its aim is to provide a firm under-standing of conservation principles and methods.
Emphasis is on the critical analysis of problems and their intelligent solution.
The ability to confront the questions essential to any conservation work is continually emphasised and expanded. The course consists of a mixture of lectures, seminars, case studies, visits and projects in conjunction with local and national government agencies, private practices and amenity bodies. The course is organised around a number of primary and secondary subjects. The primary subjects are sources, theory, technology, design intervention, and area conservation. A variety of secondary subjects include, conservation legislation, surveying, architectural drawing and sketching, methodologies, history of building materials, basic structures and construction, finance and organisations, analysis of character.