Professional Certificate in Art and Design Research Ethics

This Professional Certificate has been designed for practicing artists and designers, research students and third level teachers as well as others who wish to develop key research skills for careers in the arts. It also provides excellent training for anyone planning to undertake an MRes or a PhD

Course Code - AD484PC-1

Dates - 20 Jan 2025 - 3 Mar 2025

Credits - 5 ECTS

NFQ Level - 9

What to Expect

Explore the ethical questions raised by the most creative and ambitious forms of art and design practice today.

This course will support participants to connect their practice in art or design (and allied fields such as curation) to broader considerations of ethos and ethics.

Developing insights into what is required to design an ethical research project, they will be equipped to articulate an ethical stance in relation to their own practice and in relation to key principles as formulated in various domains including arts organisations.

Focused on the needs of creative practitioners, this course will explore the tension between conventional and well-established ethics frameworks and concepts such as ‘truth’ and ‘consent’ in fields of practice such as contemporary art and speculative design which embrace controversy, para-fictionality, self-experiment, and so on.

The professional diploma is taught by experienced researcher Dr Jye O Sullivan.

Timetable

In a series of classes, you will explore key principles in research ethics such as voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm. Participants on the course will engage in critical examination of ‘real world’ examples and through these case-study analyses examine the consequences of different ethical models.

Participants will also be introduced to relevance of ecological ethics and decolonial ethical models to contemporary creative practices. 

This module aims to equip learners with tools for ethical analyses, combining theory and practice in a way that can be applicable to a wide array of disciplinary  and real-world scenarios.

Duration: 6 x 3h classes from

20th January to 3rs March 2025 inclusive (no session on 3rd February)

Monday mornings 10:00 AM-1:00 PM

Format: in-person and online (It is offered to both on-site learners and those who wish to participate remotely in real time via Zoom).

Classes take the form of workshops and seminars at our Thomas Street Campus (with occasional visits off-site). They are carefully tailored to value the learner’s prior experience and needs.

Seminars and workshops will be available to onsite and online learners in real time.

Educational Standard

All applicants are expected to present an approved Bachelor degree at minimum level of 2nd class honours (2.2)

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)  – Applicants who do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements for admission may be considered on the basis of a recognition of previous  learning  whether based on prior relevant experience or other relevant credited or non credited or learning (RPL). In such cases each applicant will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on a review of the applicant’s CV and other supporting documentation.

Please contact ncad@creativefutures.ie for further information.

Qualifying Examination –  In certain cases the academic team may choose to set a qualifying assignment in order to assess an applicant’s suitability for admission.

Candidates may be required to pass a qualifying examination set by the relevant department before being accepted to a Masters degree programme. Attendance at selected undergraduate lecture courses at NCAD, together with related written work may be prescribed.

You may apply for the programme if you are currently completing your Undergraduate Degree. NCAD will review the rest of your application If necessary, we can make you a Conditional Offer. When your degree is completed and you send us final transcripts we will upgrade this to a Full Offer.

Applicants who have not been educated through English must show proof of achieving IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 6 in the writing section on the Academic Version) or an equivalent score in another accepted test.

Essential Supporting Documentation

A statement framing your reasons for applying to the programme, i.e. how attending the above selected course will benefit you and your practice  (500 words)

A recent CV

Certified transcripts of previous programmes followed

Certified copies of degree/ certificates and/or other appropriate third level qualifications bearing the official stamp of the institution.

Find out more HERE

This postgraduate qualification is offered to artists, designers, curators and others who want to develop high level research skills and expertise for careers in the arts. 

Info for NCAD staff and current postgraduate NCAD students - please register here to participate free of charge.

High level research skills and critical understanding of research practices are vital skills for many artists and designers working today, as well as curators, arts writers and critics.

The professional certificate is also be an excellent foundation for a future research degree (MPhil, MLitt, MRes, PhD)

Fee

€600

This 5-credit programme belongs to the 20-credit Professional Diploma in Art and Design Research offer. 

Learners who completed the certificate can continue onto the remaining three 5-credit modules: 

Professional Certificate in Art and Design Research 

Creative Approaches to Archives*

Writing for / as Research*

Making Research Public 

*participants select 1 of the 2 blocks marked with an asterisk.


While the certificates are priced at €600 each, there is Human Capital Initiative funding available for the Professional Diploma. Learners eligible for the HCI funding would be paying €1100 instead of €2200 for four modules.

CFA Scholarship:
A CFA scholarship encourages the participation of learners from sections of society that are significantly under-represented in higher education by offering one free place on all of our CFA short courses.
Find out if you are eligible to apply HERE
Fill in the CFA@NCAD scholarship application form HERE

Applications are open!

CFA Contact

Dr Joanna Crawley crawleyj@staff.ncad.ie

Programme contact 

David Crowley crowleyd@staff.ncad.ie

Dr Jye O Sullivan osullivanjb@staff.ncad.ie

https://www.ncad.ie/directory/view/dr-jye-o-sullivan

Admissions Contact

postgraduate@ncad.ie