Postgraduate Studies

Master of Arts, Doctor of Phliosophy

The National College of Art and Design has a major commitment to postgraduate studies and our policy is to achieve a substantial growth in our postgraduate courses and numbers.We offer a range of specialisms and welcome applications from graduates capable of high quality achievement.

Research is a major interest of the Faculty and research degrees have been awarded since 1989. Staff all have research interests and are available for supervision. The areas of expertise are spread across the history of western art and design, with a special emphasis on the history of Irish painting, sculpture and architecture; Irish Romanesque art; 18th century art, architecture and design; the Irish arts and crafts movement in an inter-national context of National Romanticism; 19th century art, including Ireland; the education of artists and designers; material culture since the 18th century; textiles, metals, ceramics, glass, dress, jewellery; contemporary international movements and issues in the fine arts and craft and design; aesthetics and general critical theory.

Applications for the MA and PhD degrees by research are invited from those who are appropriately qualified and who have a research proposal which is within the specialist areas of the Faculty to supervise. Proposals should include a clear statement of aims, scope and originality of the research, the analytical focus, methodology and sources. Applicants should do some preliminary research to define their proposal prior to submitting it formally to the College.

MA in History of Design & the Applied Arts

This two year taught course encourages the study of designed objects, from the ordinary objects of everyday life to the ‘designer' product, from the hand-crafted to machine-made.

The course is intended to create greater understanding of design, the design process and the place of the consumer in history. It is a unique course in Ireland and is the country's first postgraduate taught course in design history and the applied arts.

The course introduces the student to the history of material culture in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries in terms of design, production and consumption. The course aims to stimulate research in areas such as dress, textiles, furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, jewellery, metalwork, stained glass, interior and graphic design, including illustration, packaging and advertising. It welcomes applicants from a wide range of disciplines. In Year 1 a day a week is devoted to lectures by staff and disinguished visiting scholars. There are also visits to places of relevance to the course. In Year 2 students write a minor thesis. The course would be valuable for careers in teaching of design courses, in museums, in private and public galleries and in auction houses.

Further information on Postgraduate Study options at the NCAD is available in the Research Section of this website.

Click here for Entry Requirements and Application Procedures

Download: History of Art and Design - MA, PhD (PDF 548k)
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