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Image from Gearóid Ó Conchubhair
PhD graduate, 2004

Image from Brian McGinn
MA graduate, 2004

Image from Rachel Lonergan
MA graduate, 2004

Postgraduate Study in Design: MA & PhD

PhD through practice in Design

Applications for study towards a PhD in Design through practice are especially welcomed. The first PhD by practical design work graduated from the Faculty in 2004 and there are several students currently pursuing doctoral research in the Faculty and this is an important area of focus for development in the Faculty. NCAD is active in the European Art Research Network (EARN), the European League of Institutes of Art (ELIA), and the Art & Design Research Ireland Network (ADRIN): each of these organisations is engaged with developing an interchange of research across diverse doctoral programmes.

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 a particular area of design practice or addressing a specific design question or area of strategic design thinking and research. Currently there are PhD projects being conducted in the general areas of:

• Co-relationships between aesthetic, affective and functional design factors
• Systemic visual communication and spatial narratives
• Binary forms and oppositions in shoe design

The Faculty welcomes applications to pursue PhD work across many more areas of enquiry (the College Website contains information about the breadth of staff research interests and professional practice. If you would like an opportunity to have a preliminary discussion of a proposed topic of research/practice then contact the College through postgraduate@ncad.ie.

Programme Structure

Each individual practitioner working on a Doctoral programme of study develops a unique structure of enquiry and delivery appropriate to the topic, media and area of engagement. Along side this individual programme structure, the College provides a range of research training, critical contexts and opportunities for testing practice against different contexts, debates and related international expertise. The overall pattern of work is developed in consultation with the supervision team. Designers on the Doctoral programme are expected to produce work and give public manifestations to their enquiry at different points along the journey through the PhD process, again this will be worked out on an individual basis with the supervisory team.

Participation

PhD students normally have access to a primary supervisor and an extended supervisory team, which may or may not include practitioners from outside of the College specifically brought in to facilitate a given project. This team is developed in consultation and dialogue with the individual student. There are regular scheduled meetings with supervisors and this is the primary mechanism through which the work is progressed and critically challenged and supported. Designers working on the Doctoral programme are required to participate in the interdisciplinary PhD research seminar which meets regularly throughout the year providing a forum for PhD students to exchange experience, information and to critically examine their work. The key aspect of the PhD experience is the critical re-examination of a given practice, providing practitioners with an opportunity to develop a sustained period of enquiry and questioning and to evolve a major project over a significant period of time.

Applications and Procedures

Applicants are expected to have already demonstrated a high level of achievement at undergraduate level, and to have a demonstrably dynamic and active practice, and will normally have already completed a masters programme of study. Applicants are required to submit a research proposal (minimum of 500 words) which indicates their reason for wishing to pursue the programme and what they hope to achieve, as well as examples of recent work in slide or digital portfolio form. Selected applicants, based on an evaluation of their applications, will be invited to attend for interview at the College. For further details about preparing a proposal and portfolio, and the criteria used to evaluate these, see the Guidelines for Applicants. The award is validated by the National University of Ireland, which appoints External Examiners to monitor the decision of the College examiners.

Want to know more?

Come to our Postgraduate Open Evening

View our Guidelines for Applicants

Print out an Application Form

Download: View this years’ Design Postgraduate Student Handbook (PDF 196k)