International Application

Students from outside Ireland who wish to apply to degree courses at NCAD must have an equivalent second-level educational standard to that required from applicants who obtained their second-level education in Ireland. Please find Agreed entry requirements criteria for EU/EFTA Applicants for 2019 Entry on the CAO website here.

Applicants to Year 1 will be required to submit certified transcripts of their second-level examinations (with an official translation to English if necessary) if they are successful at the portfolio examination stage of the selection procedure.

Students from outside Ireland applying to Years 2, 3 or 4 of courses must also submit certified transcripts of their third-level college examinations, together with two letters of recommendation from their college: one from either the Director of their college or their Head of Department and one from their course tutor.

In the case of applicants to Years 2, 3 or 4 these documents should be uploaded when completing the online application form. 

English Language Requirement

Programmes are taught through English in the National College of Art and Design, therefore all applicants are required to demonstrate a high level of competence in English language. Applicants who have not passed English as a subject in the Irish Leaving Certificate Examination must provide evidence of equivalent competence in English language through their school leaving examination or matriculation examination or by achieving the minimum standard in a recognised English language test. Full details of acceptable tests and the standard required can be found at the following link English Language Requirement.

Applications will be open here before the end of January 2021. The links to apply will be available in the table below. 

For EU applicants to First Year the procedures are the same as applicants from Ireland.  For further information on closing dates and application procedures visit  EU Undergraduate. 

For international (non-EU) applicants to First Year there is a rolling closing date throughout the academic year and they are not required to apply through the CAO by 1 February. Applicants should apply using our Online Application system for International Applicants below. Applicants will also need to submit a digital portfolio. Details on the 

For 2021 Portfolio submission to NCAD will be 100% digital. This means you will scan/photograph/film your work and upload it to NCAD via our website. 

The Portal will be open from mid-January but this will be for EU/Irish students. You will not be able to upload your portfolio until after you have made your application. 

International applicants may choose to respond to the NCAD Portfolio Submission Guidelines or submit their own portfolio of work.
A non-refundable fee of €55 is payable per applicant per academic year. Candidates applying to more than one programme are asked to contact admissions@staff.ncad.ie to allow for their application fee to be transferred across programmes.
All uploaded documents must be clearly labelled in the following manner: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_DOCUMENT
i.e  MURPHY_JOHN_TRANSCRIPT    or     SMITH_MARY_REFERENCE1

The following applications are for International Undergraduate Students only.

NCAD is the top ranked Art and Design College in Ireland (QS World University Rankings 2018) and is ranked one of the top 50 Art and Design colleges in Europe. We are an independent specialist Art and Design Third Level Institution offering the full spectrum of art, design and craft disciplines. The campus has a rich history and supports a vibrant and exciting atmosphere at undergraduate and postgraduate level, located right in the heart of Dublin City Centre. NCAD is proud to be a big part of the local community in Dublin and can be found on the Liberties Design Trail. (We are number 9 on the map!) For more information on studying in Dublin, including information on student accommodation around NCAD, follow this link.

NCAD is home to students from over 40 countries, creating a culturally rich community, populated by people with curious and creative minds who love to challenge, debate, imagine and create. Our graduates tend to be leaders in the creative industries, all around the world, keeping the NCAD spirit and culture alive. 

Because our entire student body is purposefully concentrated to around 1,500 (including part time and evening courses), our highly skilled and experienced teaching staff are in a position to dedicate time to each student on their programme. This also means that every single student on a studio-based programme, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level are given an individual studio space. This studio space becomes your base for the year, your home from home, the centre of your working life as an NCAD student. 

At NCAD you will find workshops for working with wood, metal, ceramics, glass, textiles, for traditional and digital print on paper and fabric, for knitting, weaving and sewing, for book binding, preparing canvases, film editing, prototyping products and 3D printing. All workshops are supported by experienced specialist technicians so the work you create will be the best it can be! 

Our teaching staff are current practicing artists, designers, curators and educators. They understand what it takes to work in their chosen industry and they share this knowledge and experience through practice, debate, discussion and real world concepts. 

We are looking forward to welcoming you here as an NCAD student, so that you can carry our tradition with pride.