College Details
National College of Art & Design NCAD
The National College of Art & Design NCAD occupies a unique position in art and design education in Ireland. It offers the largest range of art and design degree courses in the state at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The National College of Art & Design has 1,000 full time students and a further six hundred students who are taking evening courses. Those who know the College, and those who have attended the Open Day, the annual exhibitions and fashion show, will be aware of the very high standards that are achieved.
The College has four Schools; Design, Education, Fine Art and Visual Culture.
A tutorial system operates throughout the College and many of the courses are project based. Students’ progress is monitored at the end of projects, and by examination at the end of each year.
From its beginnings, the National College of Art & Design has been as equally concerned with fine art as with design. The School of Fine Art teaching combines the traditional disciplines such as drawing and painting with an open experimental approach which allows individuals to realise their ideas in a wide range of media. Through contact with teachers who are practising artists, students become familiar with the activities and the ideas of artists working in today’s society. Students also become familiar with the fundamentally questioning nature of contemporary art and of the variety of responses generated by contemporary artistic practice. It is an intense visual education not only for artists but for others who may build careers in related directions.
The School of Design is the largest in the College and comprises ceramics, glass, metals, fashion design, industrial and product design, textile design and visual communication. In design the emphasis is on solving specific problems set by project. While students are expected to master the relevant technologies, the aesthetic design factor is stressed equally. There are many links with industry and students often work on competitions sponsored by commercial firms. The College aims to promote a broad education in design which can be the basis for a variety of careers either as part of a team in industry or by working individually in a studio or small business.
The School of Education provides for the education of teachers of art, craft and design in second-level schools. There are two modes available: the four-year joint honours degree in Design or Fine Art and Education, and the two-year Professional Master of Education in Art & Design. The School also provide a two-year Professional Master in Socially Engaged Art (part time mode). The Centre for Continuing Education in Art and Design is part of the School of Education and offers a range of part-time courses including certificate courses.
The College welcomes all applicants who are committed to art and design and who also have the necessary talent and academic standards. We can assure you that a degree course at The National College of Art & Design will be an enriching and challenging experience. It is a preparation for life in both a professional and a broad educational sense.
| Socially Engaged Art - Further Adult & Community Education The MA Socially Engaged Art (SEA) focuses on the dynamic relationship between socially engaged arts practice and pedagogy. Embedded in this programme is a further education teaching qualification, accredited by the Teaching Council of Ireland, and necessary for those considering a career as a teacher or facilitator of learning within an increasingly diverse further education… |
| Art in the Contemporary World Art in the Contemporary World is a taught masters programme that examines contemporary art practices and their contexts. The course offers an opportunity for focused engagement with the varied challenges of todays most ambitious art. It bridges the relationship between theory and practice by creating exciting study options for artists, curators and writers. We welcome… |
| Design History & Material Culture This MA in Design History & Material Culture (DHMC) is about objects: things you might sit on, drink from or wear; things you might cherish, throw away or never notice; things for special occasions and things you use every day; things made by machine, things made by hand and things never made; spaces you might… |
| Design - MFA The MFA Design operates across a range of design disciplines and methodological approaches and contexts. The programme addresses a range of individual Design disciplines – Product, Communication, Body & Environment alongside Applied Design Materiality. It combines core taught elements in research and critical studies, with advanced studio practice. The aim of the MFA is to… |
| Design - PhD through Practice in Design - Research The PhD through practice entails a practitioner producing a body of work within a critically reflective frame of enquiry with the intention of extending and innovating an area of design practice. Research in the School of Design is driven by three priorities: User-First Design, Design Sustainability, and Contemporary Practices in Art and Design. A vital… |
| Interaction Design The MA Interaction Design is a one year full time taught masters delivered in NCAD in conjunction with UCD. The course teaches fundamental approaches, methods and tools related to the design of digital products, environments, systems and services with a focus on users, experience and context of use. The MA is studio-based with students engaging… |
| Fine Art - MFA The MFA programme is based around the idea of visual arts practices as inquiries into how we understand and interpret the world. Students are encouraged to reflect on their individual research pathway, to communicate their ideas effectively and to situate their work in relation to the spectrum of contemporary art discourse and practice. On this… |
| Fine Art - Research Pursuing a PhD through fine art practice requires the production of a major body of work within a critically reflective frame of enquiry. PhD researchers are expected to extend and develop a particular area of art practice through practical work, exhibition and discursive production. Fine Art learning conditions support the integration of art production and… |
| Visual Culture - Research The School creates a community that fosters lively exchange, scholarly discussion and critical debate. The mix of disciplines in the School enables ambitious enquiries into all aspects of art and design, representation, cultural production, cultural consumption, material culture, visual and spatial culture and cultural politics. Themes are explored through a variety of methodologies and with… |
| Medical Device Design The MSc in Medical Device Design is based in a dedicated Medical Device Design Studio on the NCAD campus. The programme consists of a combination of taught modules and studio-based project work. Basic Medical Science is taught one afternoon a week at TCD while Biomechanics; Biomaterials, Bioinstrumentation; Human Factors and History of Medicine are taught… |
| Art & Design Education - Post Primary Teaching The Professional Masters in Education (PME) is a two year masters programme which leads to a professional qualification to teach Art and Design at second level. The award is professionaly accredited by the Teaching Council of Ireland. The masters programme will enable you as an art or design graduate, to apply your practice in a… |
| Education - PhD through Education - Research The School of Education has a broad research remit in art, design and visual education including all levels of educational provision and is especially interested in encouraging innovative research approaches. While the PhD through Education is normally by written thesis, the School considers applications which employ alternative media. Contacting the College in advance of submitting… |
