First Certificates in Cultural Heritage Research, Stewardship, and Restitution Awarded

In a recent milestone, Lucha Martínez de Luna, Maryan Ragheb, and Mary Anastasi—the first graduate students enrolled in UCLA’s Cultural Heritage Research, Stewardship, and Restitution program—have received their certificates. This specialized program, open to any matriculated or incoming graduate student at UCLA, is part of the newly founded Waystation Initiative at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. The Initiative is focused on the voluntary return of cultural objects to the communities and nations of origin.

“Students seeking to develop or expand their expertise in cultural heritage and material cultural research will find this certificate an invaluable supplement to their graduate studies,” according to Dr. Lyssa Stapleton, director of the Waystation Initiative. 

The 16-unit certification program begins with a core seminar on methods for conducting historical and provenance research on cultural objects. Students are challenged to explore current ethical practices, evolving views in conservation, legal frameworks, and the multiple challenges surrounding the protection, care, and restitution of cultural heritage items.

Lab-based coursework on current techniques in artifact analysis is prioritized to provide students the opportunity to directly conduct technical studies on actively researched cultural objects. Workshops are held throughout the year to complement and extend the development of specialized skills in community engagement, collaborative research, and cultural stewardship. Finally, utilizing their new resources and skill sets, each student completes a capstone project focusing on building a complete picture of the transactional history, material composition, and authenticity of their assigned objects

Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, students worked directly with cultural objects, building skills in research and analysis while collaborating with descendant communities and cultural heritage professionals, Stapleton explained. She noted that each student in this inaugural cohort framed their experience as a natural extension of their academic pursuits and interests. All cited a strong desire to further their knowledge and expertise in contemporary, ethically grounded, and technically advanced cultural heritage stewardship as the initial draw, she added.

“The evolving field demands a collaborative approach, and students felt the program prepared them not only to tackle the intricate challenges at hand but also to help them serve as educators for other academics on the nuances involved. By integrating various research techniques, exploring legality and ethics, delving into museology studies and more, students found the program broadened their skills beyond the confines of their respective academic niches,” according to Stapleton.

Lucha Martínez de Luna emphasized that “enrolling in the certificate program allowed me to discover strategies and find solutions to work with various stakeholders interested in returning past communities' belongings to their descendants and beginning conversations about how cultural institutions can become more transparent.”

Maryan Ragheb enthusiastically recommended the certificate and highlighted the program’s relevance to their academic interests, explaining that “establishing connections to my specific area of interest has made the discussions and skills gained in the certificate program invaluable for incorporating this work into my CV and personal statements.” 

Leaders of the Initiative and certificate program are proud of the hard work and dedication shown by this first group of graduate students, according to Stapleton. She sees the Initiative as “advancing new practices and training that frame the social justice objectives of Indigenous communities, involve students directly in advancing ethical standards for the stewardship of cultural heritage, and create a broad network of international professionals working towards similar goals.”

She notes that “returning objects to the nation or community of origin is a complex and time-consuming process that very few individuals are prepared to pursue when they realize they cannot donate objects directly to a museum. The Waystation temporarily stewards objects and facilitates their return, thereby providing a much-needed resolution for both individuals trying to do the right thing and for nations of origin and descendant communities who wish to be reunited with their cultural heritage,” she continued.

Her vision for the certificate program was to fill the gap in the educational space around cultural heritage and restitution, creating a network for a new generation of professionals in the sector. This includes involving students in the process of collaborating with all parties to produce creative solutions in stewardship of cultural items as they move through the ethically and legally complex process of being returned to communities or nations of origin. She underscores that the Waystation is a leading-edge initiative, “...establishing new practices and providing training to emerging professionals that cannot be obtained at any other university in the U.S.” Mary Anastasi emphasized how the courses in the program gave her a more nuanced understanding and “in particular, the certificate introduced me to cultural heritage law and the different legal agreements the US has with different countries, which affects the return of objects to a much greater extent than I originally thought.” 

The need for this kind of education is a sentiment echoed by Dr. Min Li, associate professor of anthropology at UCLA, who says, “the certificate program at UCLA fills in a critical gap of provenance research and responsible returns in the field of cultural heritage studies. With the increasing emphasis on decolonization in archaeology and museum studies, tracing the objects to their origin and making proper efforts for returning them to the country/community of origin becomes an increasingly significant task for future scholars and curators.”

Acknowledging that access to this kind of interdisciplinary knowledge is often difficult due to the complex nature of the information, Li mentions the challenges faced by the Waystation to address all of these concerns in an equitable and ethical way. According to Li, the push came to “overcome these concerns by looking at the big picture. First, there is a growing desire for social justice in graduate student training…Second, there is a growing need to prepare students for non-academic career tracks, such as museum work. The program offers real experience of provenance research and collaboration with scholars and students from source countries and communities… It is impossible to deny such an opportunity to the students.”

The certificate program commences every fall, and all incoming or current UCLA graduate students who are pursuing an MA or PhD are eligible and encouraged to apply. Graduate students may take between one and three years to complete the coursework. Applications may be submitted year-round, with a maximum of ten students admitted per year. Learn more and prepare to apply to the certificate program here.