Art and Design Education

This four-year concurrent degree at NCAD combines studio-based art and design practice with professional teacher education, preparing you to teach Art at second level in Irish schools. You spend a significant portion of your week in studio sessions exploring areas such as drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and digital media, developing your own creative practice alongside your pedagogical skills. Modules in curriculum studies, child and adolescent development, and inclusive education equip you with the theoretical grounding needed for the classroom. School placement is a central feature, with supervised teaching practice in secondary schools building up across the four years. You graduate with both a strong personal art practice and full Teaching Council registration eligibility, making this one of the few concurrent routes to second-level teaching available in Ireland.

Entry is through the CAO and is competitive, with points requirements typically described as high, reflecting the popularity of teacher education programmes and the prestige of NCAD. You will need to meet the standard Leaving Certificate minimum for teacher education, which usually includes at least six subjects including English and Irish (both ordinarily at Ordinary level or above), plus Mathematics. A strong Leaving Certificate Art result at Higher level is highly advantageous and may be a specific requirement. A portfolio of creative work is typically required as part of the selection process, assessing your artistic ability and potential. Mature applicants (aged 23 or over on 1 January of entry) may apply through the mature route and are assessed on portfolio and interview; HEAR and DARE access schemes are available for eligible applicants.

Graduates of this programme are eligible for Teaching Council registration under Route 2 (concurrent programmes), which is a significant advantage in a regulated profession where unregistered teachers cannot be employed in recognised schools. Demand for Art teachers in Irish second-level schools is steady, with vacancies arising regularly through retirement and school expansion. The dual qualification — a strong creative practice alongside teaching credentials — also opens doors in the broader cultural and arts education sector. Starting salaries on the public sector teacher pay scale are transparent and progress incrementally with service.