Scholarships and Funding Opportunities

NCAD Postgrad Futures Scholarships 2025 are tuition fee scholarships available to NCAD applicants for 6 NCAD Masters programmes. All applications submitted by 30 April 2025 will be reviewed.

Futures Scholarships 2025 at NCAD


The NCAD Postgrad Futures scholarships will recognise excellence, outstanding achievement and potential. 
The scholarships are awarded on academic merit and all applicants are eligible, including EU and non EU students. 
Winners will be announced after 20 June 2025.

 

In 2025 NCAD is offering 6 Postgrad Futures tuition fee scholarships.

A full EU tuition fee scholarship will be awarded on academic merit to one student for the following programme:

A half EU tuition fee scholarship will be awarded on merit to one student for each of the following programmes:

All applicants who receive offers for these programmes will be considered, on condition they applied by 30 April 2025.

The scholarship for part-time programmes will be awarded in 2 tranches i.e. half in Sept 2025 and half in Sept 2026.  This assumes that Scholarship winnners attend all classes and submit all assignments in a timely manner.

Winners will be announced after 20 June 2025.

Winners cannot avail of more than one scholarship.

 

HUMAN CAPITAL INITIATIVE

NCAD is delighted to announce a new funding opportunity for postgraduate students.

The Human Capital Initiative (HCI), a five-year project, investing €300m of National Training Fund (NTF) funding commenced in 2020. HCI aims to increase capacity in higher education to provide skills-focused programmes designed to meet priority skills needs.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) announced the launch of the Micro-Credentials Learner Fee Subsidy under the Human Capital Initiative, Pillar 3.

Micro-credential courses are small, accredited courses designed to meet the demands of learners, enterprises and society. The NCAD courses award between 5 and 20 ECTS and provide awards at Level 9 on National Framework of Qualifications.

Funding is available for the below courses:

Course Funding Amount

Professional Diploma in Fashion Communication €1100

Professional Diploma in Art and Health €1100

Professional Certificate in Circular by Design €480

Professional Diploma in Art and Ecology €1760

Professional Certificate in Design for Transformation €1100

Professional Diploma in Art and Design Research €1100

Professional Certificate in Design for Climate Action €480

Professional Certificate Art and Ecology €480

Professional Certificate Sustainable Exhibition €480

Professional Certificate in Creative Diversity €300

Professional Certificate in Typographic Futures €300

 

Scholarship by School

School of Visual Culture - Full Tuition Fee Scholarships

As listed above a full-tuition fee Postgrad Futures Scholarship is available for a student on the School's MA programme Art in the Contemporary World to sudy either part time or full time. It will be awarded on the basis of prior academic achievement and future potential. The recipient of the Art in the Contemporary World award will act as a champion for the programme (sometimes for example by editing the programme  website).

If you wish to be considered, you should apply for admission to the programme in the normal way. In addition you should submit a one page covering letter outlining your academic achievements and the reason why you should be considered for the scholarship.

The deadline for application in order to be considered for the Art in the Contemporary World MA scholarship is 31st May 2024, the programme commences in September 2024. 

A tuition fee scholarship is also available for a student on the School's MA programme Design History and Material Culture to sudy part time. It will be awarded on the basis of prior academic achievement and future potential. 

If you wish to be considered, you should apply for admission to the programme in the normal way. In addition you should submit a one page covering letter outlining your academic achievements and the reason why you should be considered for the scholarship.

The deadline for application in order to be considered for the Design History and Material Culture MA scholarship is 31st May 2024, the programme commences in September 2024.  Applications can be submitted and places on the MA can be offered before this deadline and so please do not delay the application process. 

School of Fine Art

Continuing NCAD Graduates and NCAD Alumni are eligible for a reduced tuition fee of €4,400 per academic year. (The normal fee rate is €5,400 per academic year).

A Postgrad Futures Scholarship is available in 2024 for one student on the MA Art and Social Action programme.  The scholarship is based on merit.  While it covers fees for the MA Arta nd Social Action, applicants to MFA Art and Social Action are permitted to apply and will be awarded €4045 if successful.

Research Degrees

PhD Studentships

Each year NCAD offers a number of Research Student Scholarships to meet the cost of fees for PhD and MLitt students commending study in the autumn. (Living costs are not covered by the scheme). 

Five scholarships will be available for students commencing study in 2024-5.

The Scholarships are intended to support new doctoral research in key fields where we have specialist interests and expertise. They are

  1. Sustainability, Circular Economies & Environmental Futures
  2. Healthcare, Wellbeing and Medtech Innovation
  3. Collaborative Practices
  4. Material Cultures, Physical & Digital Making: Heritage & Futures 
  5. Future Teaching Practices, Student Culture/s and Pedagogies 
  6. Critical Technologies, Human Interfaces & Hybrid Objects
  7. Structures, Systems & Power
  8. Gender, Identities & Cultures

More details on our research interests can be found here.

Students who are awarded Research Student Scholarships can be registered in any of the four Schools of the College. They can be registered as 'by practice' or 'by thesis' researchers.

Scholarships can be awarded to full and part time students and cover the full period of registration (up to a maximum of 4 full time years or the part time equivalent). 

The Scholarships are offered after application and interview. Priority will be given to applications which are received by 31st May 2024. They are awarded on the basis of the quality of application, and the experience and skills of the candidate. 

On the Research and Innovation at NCAD pages of this website, you will find information on: research topics of current and recently completed PhD students; the work of our teaching and research staff; directions in research; and examples of some of our research and innovation partners.

Master of Research

All applicants to MRes by 31 May will be considered for the Postgrad Futures half tuition fee schaolarship.  One applicant will be awarded the scholasrhip based on academic merit.  

School of Design

The School of Design offers 4 Postgrad Futures Scholarships 2024.  These scholarships are awarded on academic merit.  Part-time programmes award 50% in Sept 2024 and 50% in Sept 2025.

The closing date for all Postgrad Futures Scholarships is 31 May 2024.

We encourage applicants to seek out other scholarships or funding that may be available to them.

Postgraduate Scholarships for International Students 

Government of Ireland International Education Scholarships

The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES) programme supports high-calibre international students who wish to study at NFQ levels 9 or 10 (masters, postgraduate diploma or PhD) in Ireland. The programme is funded by the Government of Ireland in partnership with Irish higher education institutions (HEIs) and managed by the Higher Education Authority. Under the initiative, 60 scholarships are awarded each year for one year of full-time study at NFQ levels 9 or 10.

Please find more information on these scholarships, and how to apply, here.

The Irish Council for International Students (ICOS) Ireland Fellows Programme

The Irish Government offers a number of fellowship programmes to students from developing countries to undertake full-time study at Master's level at an Irish higher level institution, with a focus on courses that are relevant to Irish Aid's development objectives.

Almost 4,000 Ireland Fellows have studied in Ireland over the past 50 years as part of the Ireland Fellows Programme. Fellows bring a unique perspective which enriches the educational experience in higher education institutions in Ireland as they address global challenges. In the course of their studies in Ireland, participating Fellows are provided with opportunities to learn more about Ireland.

For more information about The Ireland Fellows Programme, please go here.

Claddagh Scholarship Programme for Chinese Students

NCAD is delighted to offer 2 postgraduate scholarships for Chinese nationals under the Claddagh Scholarship Programme. These scholarships are available for students who have received an offer for our MSc in Medical Device Design programme. 

The scholarships will be to the value of €2,500 towards non-EU tuition fee for the MSc in Medical Device Design. 

This scholarship is for applicants who are normally resident in China, who have non-EU status and who will pay non-EU tuition fees. 

The scholarship will be assessed based on academic achievement, and evaluation of the applicants’ potential to contribute to the overall NCAD community.

For more information on the Claddagh Scholarship Programme and how to apply, please go here.

Funding & Grant Opportunities for Postgraduate Study 

Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI)

Most NCAD students in receipt of a grant have applied to SUSI. More infomation including eligibility criteria can be found on the SUSI Wesbite. Please note: application queries should be sent directly to SUSI who operate independently of NCAD. 

www.susi.ie

Tax Relief on Student Fees

Tax relief is available on postgraduate tuition fees. You can find more infomation available here

Where else can I find information? 

Please visit studentfinance.ie the Higher Education Authority's website with information on Third Level Fees & Funding

 

NCAD Fees & Grants Office

If you have any questions on fee payment schedules or need to know the fee applicable to your chosen programme you can visit the Fees and Grants Section at the link below. The team there will be happy to help. 

Fees & Grants Office