NCAD offers eight BA programmes in design:

• BA Fashion Design

Fashion Design aims to educate students to become professional practitioners in the field of fashion and related industries. Students are encouraged to have an awareness of fashion in its social and cultural context and to bring that understanding to their work. The programme places great value on its industry and professional links that give students an insight into real-world commercial requirements. Emphasis is placed on developing informed, creative designers, who are prepared for the needs of industry. 

• BA Graphic Design 

Graphic Design is a field rather than a discipline, and in its many forms makes an increasingly powerful contribution to the cultural and economic life of contemporary society. It exists in the public domain, is an indicator of current cultural thinking and is a catalyst for social, cultural, political and economic change. The programmes distinctive approach focuses on design as a means for communicating meaningful messages, gathering content, organising information, creating and presenting narratives and experiences, while always looking to affect change.

• BA Illustration

Illustration is a powerful visual language that defies boundaries and extends across all art and design disciplines. Traditionally, it was associated with bringing words to life in the publishing industries and in advertising campaigns, however, through the explosion of new technologies and media, illustration has never enjoyed such currency and is now encountered in every aspect of our daily lives. 

• BA Interaction Design

From apps and websites to connected products and wearable technologies, Interaction Design is about designing the way people communicate and interact at home, work or play. Interaction designers explore the relationship between people and technology to design digital products, apps, user experiences and services. Interaction designers create the future, and shape the digital products of tomorrow. 

• BA Moving Image Design

Stories and how we tell them are at the core of human narrative. We exist in a world where the screen holds powerful cultural capital. Responding to developments in an ever-changing landscape, the BA Moving Image Design at NCAD offers a range of approaches at the nexus of traditional communication and the evolving world of digital media. This programme encompasses the field of motion design in its many guises and encourages a creative and expressive approach to storytelling. 

• BA Jewellery & Objects 

Jewellery & Objects at NCAD embraces many different types of creative practice. Students are supported to develop the skills to pursue personal expression through the gallery market or to forge a career in industry. Our students are encouraged to create designs that challenge notions of the body, fashion, gender and the environment and explore the interaction between materials and the creation of domestic objects and products, exploring form, function and processes. With individual bench spaces and machine workshops in studio, the programme provides the perfect environment to experiment and explore in pursuit of personal expression.

• BA Product Design

Product Design is about shaping the world around us. Most objects, from toys to medical devices and from furniture to consumer electronics are subject to product design. This is possible because product design is a versatile process that can be applied to many different contexts. At its core, product design is about understanding people and how they experience and interact with their surroundings. This kind of training enables graduates to help make the world a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable place.

• BA Textile & Surface Design

Textile & Surface Design at NCAD will help you to develop your full creative potential as a designer of the surfaces and textiles that will surround us in the future. The programme focuses on designing and creating fabrics and materials for use in fashion, accessories, interiors and the broader design field. Throughout the programme you will develop your knowledge and expertise through the use of traditional and new design and production processes for printed and constructed textiles. 

Course Details

Year 1

On entry to NCAD, no matter what pathway you are registered on you will be instantly immersed in an exciting and unique interdisciplinary programme where art and design students work side-by-side and together to explore and discover the wide range of pathways open to them. Taught and guided in the studio by both art and design practitioners, you are encouraged to engage in an open and experimental research process in a manner that helps ensure that you enter the pathway that is best suited to your individual goals and abilities. 

Year 2 

The focus in second year is on further developing key skills and knowledge within your chosen field of Design. 

Year 3: Studio+ & International 

Studio+ is an optional year that gives students the opportunity between their second and final years to engage with the world beyond NCAD by gaining practical work experience in the form of internships and working on live commercial, social or community projects. Students can also take a number of electives from across NCAD and partner institutions. Studio+ can also include a work placement abroad or a study abroad period through the Erasmus programme with internationally recognised art and design faculties partnered with NCAD. Students who choose an Erasmus placement will graduate with a BA (International). 

Final Year 

In the final year, students are ready to develop their own programme of study, which reflects each individual’s skills and interests within their discipline. This will culminate in a substantial body of work for assessment and display at the Graduate Showcase, exhibitions and events. Each year is supported by a series of lectures by leading creative practitioners and theorists, collaborative interdisciplinary opportunities, live industry projects, field trips, and study visits. 

Design is one of the fastest growing sectors in Ireland. As a consequence of the creative, conceptual and technical skills acquired during their study, our design graduates have a wide range of opportunities open to them, working within and leading national and international design agencies and companies.

NCAD offers a range of innovative masters programmes, practice-based PhD’s as well as a range of CPD courses.