About CORE

First Year Core Studies provides a visual investigation programme which is essentially student-centred and driven by an ethos of inclusive creative visual thinking.

Core Studies is the first year of all degree courses at NCAD. On successful completion of First Year Core Studies, students select places on the second year of their chosen area.

The course instigates and develops student-centred learning strategies that are topic-based and broaden the context in which ideas are explored. It seeks to establish Art and Design practice on a broad base of visual and intellectual enquiry for progression to subsequent levels of study. Students are introduced to processes, skills and materials in a similar context, i.e. as tools of practical investigation and enquiry. The student’s individual curiosity and engagement is taken as the starting point to the learning and teaching programme.

The key areas of study in First Year are:

Observation - descriptive, explanatory, analytical and inventive skills through drawing, making and recording

Materials - introduction to and development of the physical and aesthetic behaviour of materials such as paper, clay, wood, plastics, metal, plaster, wax, fabrics, card, pigments, charcoal, graphite, paint, commercial products.

Research - the process of gathering information in relation to topics of enquiry

Processes - the use of innovative & traditional techniques and equipment in the stimulation and development of ideas.

Visual Culture - this aspect of the course deals with the contextualising of studio work in contemporary environment of Art, Design and Culture.

This first year of the four-year degree courses in Ceramics, Glass & Metals, Fashion Design, Textile Design, Visual Communication, Fine Art, Education and their joint options, is devoted to Core Studies in the visual arts which, while enriching and expanding students' visual language, also provides broad and effective development towards specialized studies.

Modularisation - All courses at NCAD are modular. Modules and projects within modules having “Learning Outcomes”. The Learning Outcomes indicate clearly that which is expected from each stage of the programme.
Assessment is continuous and accumulative within the credit system.
A personal tutorial system also opperates whereby students are kept fully informed of their progress and advised on how to discover their own creative potential.
Educational trips away from the College are arranged as an integral part of the course.
Twenty percent of the course is devoted to studies in Visual Culture .

Attendance is full-time for 5 days per week and students are also expected to complement and extend study outside College hours. While students who are successful in First Year Core Studies progress to year two there is no guarantee that he or she can be accommodated in the department of his/her preference for second year specialisation.

Portfolio Submission Brief 2011

The portfolio submission brief for entry into the NCAD in 2011 is now available online.

Click here to view the Portfolio Brief

Click here for Entry Requirements and Application Procedures