The École du Louvre, an institution of higher education operating under the oversight of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, offers courses in archaeology, history of art, epigraphy, anthropology, history of civilizations, and museum sciences. The curriculum combines academic courses with hands-on instruction. Heavy emphasis is placed on material evidence and artifacts from the cultures under study—sites, buildings, monuments, and objects in museum collections. Most members of the faculty are museum conservators and professionals in the field of cultural heritage and historic preservation. Since its founding in 1882, the École du Louvre has been a global center for training, thought, and intellectual exchange. That tradition reflects and reinforces the school's commitment to the study of all cultures and geographic areas.