National Museum Institute confers PhDs, degrees

In a rare recognition of academic research into India’s cultural heritage, 33 doctoral degrees and 152 masters degrees were awarded by the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Culture and Museology today for scholarly work ranging from studies of Old Delhi’s havelis to the country’s modern installation art.

 The National Museum Institute, India's premier educational institution for preservation and conservation of the country's art and cultural heritage, conferred the degrees at its 10th convocation ceremony held in New Delhi. Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch, the Chancellor of the New Delhi-based National Museum Institute, presented the degrees on June 3.

Founded on January 27, 1989, the National Museum Institute became a Deemed to be University two months later while leading a path of transformation into a centre of excellence for students in the field of art history, art preservation and museology ever since. The 10th convocation ceremony was the first in a period of seven years, bringing together students from across India and countries like Iran and Afghanistan.
The National Museum Institute conducts training and capacity building programmes in museum education and intangible cultural heritage with international institutions like the UNESCO and globally renowned academic institutions such as the  University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and the Leiden-based Kern Institute of the Netherlands.

Among the scholarly works that were awarded doctoral degrees today were areas like Deccani miniature paintings, provincial art and architecture of Kota, folk art of Bhils, Christian art of Goa,  comparative study of traditional practices of palm leaf manuscripts in India and conservation of Indo- Islamic carpets.