The Department of Conservation and Built Heritage was set up February 2009, subsuming the Institute for Masonry and Construction Research. The remit of the Department is to focus on the conservation and management of the historic environment. The mission of the Department is to provide internationally recognised university education in all that concerns the Built Heritage, while promoting public awareness of its conservation at all levels. This is being achieved through a range of current and planned undergraduate and postgraduate University courses as well as research initiatives, and outreach programmes. The Department is also developing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for architects and other professionals involved in the conservation of the historic environment, including buildings, collections, archaeological sites and historic landscapes.

The Department maintains close interdisciplinary partnerships with other faculties and departments at the University of Malta, including the Faculty of Engineering, the Department of Classics and Archaeology, and the Chemistry Department, in the delivery of its course programme as well as in research initiatives. The Department also collaborates closely with other organisations, institutions and professionals working in the sector, on a local, national and international level, to improve awareness of conservation issues and to achieve excellence in teaching and research. 

The Department promotes the study of all aspects of the conservation and management of the historic environment. It is particularly active in the area of preservation of architectural and archaeological monuments in Malta.  In this regard, it has participated in research projects in collaboration with local, national and international organisations, studying the characterization, deterioration, conservation and treatment of stone and other building materials.  It runs a range of undergraduate and postgraduate Courses which are aimed at forming professionals in different areas of the conservation and management of the historic environment.

The University of Malta, represented by the Department of the Built Heritage became a Full Member of ENCoRE in 2010. The Department’s M.Sc. in Conservation of Decorative Architectural Surfaces is designed within the framework of ENCoRE’s guidelines and standards on the entry level into the profession of conservator. The Department of the Built Heritage is also a member of ICOM since 2012.