International Art Crime Studies Masters Program
Encyclopedia
ARCA's International Art Crime Studies Masters Program is the first post-graduate program to specialize in the study of art crime and cultural property protection. The program provides Masters level instruction in a wide variety of theoretical and practical elements of art crime: its history, its nature, its impact, and what can be done to curb it. Courses are taught by international experts, in Umbria, Italy. Topics include art history and the art trade, museums and conservation, art security and policing, criminology and criminal investigation, law and policy, vandalism and iconoclasm, and cultural heritage protection throughout history and around the world. The interdisciplinary program is attracts art police and security professionals, art lawyers, insurers, curators, conservators, members of the art trade, and post-graduate students of criminology, law, security studies, sociology, art history, archaeology, and history.
agent, lawyers, art historians, private investigators, and museum professionals.
History
ARCA's Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection has run since 2009. Graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the museum field, conservation, investigation and a wide range of arts and investigation careers.Faculty
Current and past lecturers have included:- Judge Arthur Tompkins, New Zealand District Court Judge and Honorary Member of Interpol’s DNA
- Richard Ellis, Director, The Art Management Group, former Director, Scotland Yard Arts and Antiques Unit
- Dr. Derek Fincham, Assistant Professor, South Texas College of Law;
- Anthony Amore, Director of Security, Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
- A. J. G. Tijhuis, Lawyer and Professor of Criminology, University of LeidenLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
, The Netherlands - Patricia Sherwin Garland, Senior Conservator, Yale University Art GalleryYale University Art GalleryThe Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
- David Simon and Veronique Plesch, Professors of Art History, Colby CollegeColby CollegeColby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
- Matjaz Jager, Director, Ljubljana Institute of Criminology, Slovenia
- Petrus van Duyne, Professor of Criminology, University of Tilburg, Netherlands
- Tom Flynn, Professor of Art History and the Art Market
Academics
ARCA's International Art Crime Studies Masters Program involves 300 lecture/class hours that are condensed into the three summer months. The reason for this is to allow for the program to be open to professionals, not only full-time students. Additionally, ARCA is a non-profit and relies on donations to run its charitable activities, including the MA program. All of the tuition goes directly into running the program. It would be too expensive to run a 9-month program because it would require hiring full-time faculty. Thanks to ARCA's unusual format, rather than hiring full-time faculty to teach a standard 30-hour course over one semester, 9 lecturers teach their 30 hours courses over the span of two weeks each. In this way, each lecturer comes to Umbria for a 2-week working holiday, permitting the organization to have fewer expenses and therefore charge a lower tuition. Finally, the condensed nature of the program makes it less expensive for students. While the tuition is standard for European MA programs, living in inexpensive Amelia for three months saves students months and even years of living expenses, which they would have to cover in a standard one year European MA or two year American MA. With living expenses added to the equation, it has been calculated that the program costs students roughly half as much as any year-long European MA Program.Admissions
The only prerequisite for the program is an undergraduate degree completed by the time the program begins. The program accepts a maximum of thirty students.Students
The program attracts post-graduate students and professionals in the fields related to art crime. In the past, the program has been attended by a former United States Secret ServiceUnited States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
agent, lawyers, art historians, private investigators, and museum professionals.
ARCA's Annual The Study of Art Crime Conference
During July, when the program is in session, ARCA hosts its annual "The Study of Art Crime Conference in Amelia. In addition to featuring distinguished speakers, ARCA announces the ARCA Award winners for those individuals who have made significant contributions to the fields related art crime. In July 2009, the ARCA Award winners were as follows:- Norman Palmer, the Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship for his important scholarship in the field of art and antiquities law
- Vernon Rapley, the Award for Art Policing and Recovery for his outstanding efforts and success in the recovery of art and the prevention of art crime
- Francesco Rutelli, the ArtGuard Award for Art Security and Protection for his work in securing Italian cultural heritage and setting an international precedent that the looting of antiquities will not be tolerated
- Carabinieri Division, the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the ARCA Life-time Achievement Award in Defense of Art for four decades of outstanding work in the recovery and protection of art