Professional Diploma in Art and Ecology
21 Jun 2024
- 30 May 2025
Apply To
NCAD
ECTS Points
20 ECTS
Funding
HCI Subsidy Funding 80% Available
Course Code
AD472PD
Fees
€2200
NCAD
20 ECTS
HCI Subsidy Funding 80% Available
AD472PD
€2200
This Professional Diploma in Art and Ecology programme introduces learners to the contemporary and historical field of art and expanded ecologies through situated environmental learning. This 20 credit programme consists of four 5 credit modules: Creative Principles (Professional Certificate), Creative Collaborations, Creative Practices, Creative Capstone.
Using and responding to NCAD’s physical inner city location learners will connect with inspiring ecological practices, environmental justice community projects and artists spearheading this emerging field. With our current Earth crises we need to urgently develop new and necessary Nature/ Culture futures. The historical, cultural and professional contexts of how artists operate and work with ecological themes and the current earth crisis will be explored in rich and varied ways.
Utilising Eco creative principles students will explore a diversity of practices and approaches and become attuned to ways to practise in this territory.
The programme works directly with an urban embedded novel ecology of the NCAD FIELD site. This taskscape acts as an outdoor classroom, a site for nature connection, commoning and a testing site for multi-species futures. Connecting to the site and its seasonal activity, nature/culture connections are explored and enacted allowing learners to expand their research, creative making and critical thinking skills in meaningful and liveable ways.
A grounding in the social, political, economic and historical issues that frame ecologies of the surroundings site are explored. Through the Diploma Programme practitioners will expand, develop and question their practices using the NCAD FIELD as a testing site and shared learning space. The programme supports a range of creative approaches and interdisciplinary art and design practitioners that wish to connect and work in the space of critical ecologies and expanded environments.
Learners aiming to evolve as artists, curators, activists, designers and cultural producers will be supported, giving them the tools, networks and knowledge to confidently work in this interdisciplinary field.
Established and emergent artists, curators, activists, designers, makers, cultural producers, ecologists, scientists, architects, landscape architects, social workers, policy makers, biodiversity and sustainability officers, educators, horticulturalists, active citizenship, citizen scientists, lifelong learning
The three successive modules following from Professional Certificate (1st Creative Principles) will focus on:
As part of a suite of programmes that make up the Creative Futures offer at NCAD, the Professional Diploma in Art and Ecology seeks to provide a scholarly framework for students who wish to study specific, connected aspects of creative disciplines and themes within a leading art and design college setting.
Many aspects of the suite of programmes will be delivered in collaboration with partners from the Creative Sector and in addition, a number of programme sessions will have a public dimension, allowing us to invite other interested parties from the fields of contemporary creative practice and scholarship to join our conversations and creative activities.
Successive modules allow students to develop their practice, their professional, technical and organisational skills and their knowledge and application of critical contexts.
Modes of learning will include field work, lectures, seminars and workshops along with cross-disciplinary conversations and collaborations. A key focus is on the productive intersection points where creative practices meet scientific, legal and social policy debates, to manifest outcomes that catalyse progress.
Learners will learn through material delivered in advance of each session prescribing group work and also individual initiative.
This diploma lays the foundation for further study at Masters and Phd level.
The programme is designed to meet the needs of the creative sector within and beyond Ireland. As such, the constituent awards explicitly address key requirements identified in extensive discussions and research undertaken with industry partners and representative bodies such as the Arts Council of Ireland, Design and Crafts Council of Ireland and Institute of Designers in Ireland, and findings from government and sectoral reports.
It is required that all applicants have a Completed Professional Certificate (Creative Principles) module. Professional Certificate (Creative Principles) is the foundation module of the Professional Diploma programme.
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.
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.
“I’ve been searching for a way to integrate my love and interest in the environment with my art practice beyond the traditional approach of direct visual representational art. This course really helped me to push my practice beyond that while staying true to my own working methods and creative process. As well as that, a collaborative and supportive environment was nurtured and encouraged throughout the course”
“The course exceeded my expectations and I feel that what we covered is just the tip of the iceberg. I can’t wait to explore everything we discussed and discovered together further”.
“The lecturers’ enthusiasm, commitment and belief in this course was obvious and they made it a fruitful, diverse place of learning”
June-July 2023
Creative Futures Academy has been awarded a total of €315,640 from the Human Capital Initiative HCI Pillar 3 Micro-Credentials Subsidy funding. Subsidies will range from 50 – 80% of the total course costs for eligible learners. Applications are now open for a number of courses with more coming on-stream in late 2024 and 2025. Terms & Conditions apply.
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.
