The National College
Postgraduate Study in Fine Art: MFA, MA - Art in the Digital World & PhD
Master of Fine Art (MFA)
The Fine Art MFA research programme creates a stimulating and challenging environment in which students can develop their analytical, critical and communicative abilities. Postgraduate students are encouraged to develop their professional knowledge of contemporary art practice and debate in conjunction with their own practice in media, painting, print, sculpture, community/public art, installation, and interdisciplinary art forms. Located in the historic Liberties area of Dublin, the student is offered a very exciting opportunity to create work in studios based in the college.
Programme Structure
The programme is driven by the students’ research interests and the particular concerns emerging in their own art practice. This interdisciplinary research programme consists of regular scheduled individual supervision, a regular weekly research seminar, a series of studio ‘crits’, an introductory course on research methodologies, a visiting lecturer series and a set of international study trips. Recent study trips have been to Brazil, New York, and Venice. Recent visiting lecturers have included Declan McGonigle, Nigel Rolfe from Ireland, Marjetica Poitric from Ljubljana, Roger Buergel from Germany (curator of the next Documenta), Wolfgang Zinggel from Austria, Nicholas Bourriaud (Palais de Tokyo), Jochen Gerz from France, and David Carrier, Stephan Rand from the US. This dynamic programme will promote the exchange of ideas and debate between students and staff. Through a series of ‘crits’ students give a presentation of current work, including sources, influences, relevant artists, methodology and research interests, and receive critical response from the peer group. Each student is assigned a primary supervisor from one of the four departments: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking and Media. The primary supervisor acts as the personal tutor and sees the student through the duration of the MFA. The MFA programme is characterised by a very strong and fertile interaction across departments and media.
The Programme is informed by the local context but focused on contemporary international practice. It is interdisciplinary in nature, rooted in contemporary critical debates and informed by the long-standing tradition of experimentation, investigation and enquiry in-and-through the visual arts. Postgraduate students in NCAD are encouraged to interrogate the pre-given categories and formats of arts practices and consider the broadest possible ways in which the practice of art may extend understanding, knowledge, insight and wonder.
Participation
The Faculty is very committed to creating a community of practitioners who support each other and provide critical feedback. In order to enable this community to evolve the Faculty organises key events during the academic year at which postgraduate students present their work to each other and the wider College community. You may wish to view the current Postgraduate Student Handbook (PDF 304k) to get a better sense of how the years of study are structured.
Applications and Procedures
Applicants are expected to hold an honours degree (2:2 or above) in a relevant discipline. Applications from candidates with a diploma and/or sufficient previous sustained professional experience can be considered under exceptional circumstances where an appropriate qualifying examination will be set. Applicants are required to submit a clear research proposal (minimum of 500 words) which indicates their area of specialist investigation and intended outcomes, as well as examples of recent work in slide or portfolio form. Candidates should have experience in their particular research specialization. The feasibility, appropriateness and potential of the intended study, are considered at application stage. 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 Guidelines for Applicants. You may also wish to attend our postgraduate research open evening on the first Thursday of each February.
The final submission by participants in the MFA programme will normally entail a combination of (1) preliminary research materials (e.g. reference material, drawings, photographs, sketchbooks, technical notes, or test pieces) (2) art works (e.g. performance-events, paintings, installation-work, interventions, sculptures, print editions, video-works, public-art projects or other public manifestations of practice etc.) (3) a written text of 5,000 words for MFA. This text element may comprise for example a case-study report on the work undertaken, or an analysis of the outcomes, or a contextualized statement of intent or a report that articulates the critical process and outcomes of the work or similar. The evolving nature of the student’s practice will determine the exact nature of the outcomes and will be discussed with their colleagues and their supervisor as work develops.
An important consideration for all postgraduate students is the appropriate form for making the outcomes of their work publicly and professionally available (e.g. publication, exhibition, event, symposium, or other.) While in the past exhibition has been a standard practice, students are increasingly encouraged to consider a wide range of modes of distribution and communication.
The award is validated by the National University of Ireland, which appoints External Examiners to monitor the decision of the College examiners. The MFA by research is normally completed in two years full-time.
Want to know more?
Come to our Postgraduate Open Evening
View our Guidelines for Applicants
Print out an Application Form
Download: View this years’ Fine Art Postgraduate Student Handbook (PDF 304k)
