Art
This pathway on the BA [Hons] Art programme attracts students interested in experimenting with visual storytelling, spatial experiences, soundscapes, and immersive environments, this expanding field in Art offers abundant job opportunities in new media art creative industries after college.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | Institute of Art Design and Technology |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | Institute of Art Design and Technology | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 years full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Min Entry Requirements
2 H5 + 4 O6/H7
English: O6/H7
Portfolio required. Combination of CAO and Portfolio Assessment Points.
For information on portfolio submission see https://iadt.ie/study/portfolio-guidelines/
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Applicants with QQI/FETAC Level 5 or Level 6 Awards require distinctions in 3 (of 8) modules.
Portfolio: Yes
For information on portfolio submission see https://iadt.ie/study/portfolio-guidelines/
Careers / Further progression
What will I be able to do when I graduate?
Careers include: professional artist, art teacher, film-maker, illustrator and designer, arts administrator, art director, community arts co-ordinator, art production manager, arts mediator, art critic, arts officer, content developer, image researcher, art historian, researcher, and gallery and museum curator.
Post-graduate studies include the Art + Research Collaboration MA (ARC) and the Postgrad Diploma in Cultural Event Management.
Further information
September 2026
Mature Students
We welcome applications from mature students, who must apply to the CAO.
More info for Mature https://iadt.ie/services/institute-student-services/access-social-inclusion/mature-students/
50
Entry 2026 - Restricted Course
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid submitting an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all fees are non-refundable.
Restricted Courses
Applying for a restricted course – you must have applied to CAO by 1 February 2026 at 5pm if you wish to apply for a restricted course. The restricted course must be included on your course choices list by that date, or added to your application using the facility to amend course choices (for a fee of €10) before 1 March at 5pm.
Restricted courses normally require additional assessment procedures, for example, the submission of a portfolio, an oral assessment or interview, or a written assessment. Restricted courses are identified in the handbook by the words “(Restricted - see page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook)" on the same line as the restricted course’s title. Please make sure to acquaint yourself with the additional requirements, if any, of the restricted course(s) that you have applied for and go to page 24 of the 2026 CAO Handbook for more information about interviews and assessments.
Exception: If a restricted course shares the exact same assessment procedures with a course you had applied for by 1 February 2026, you may be permitted to introduce it on a Change of Mind. You should consult with the relevant HEI before introducing such a course.
Mature Applicants
Mature applicants – most HEIs will require mature applicants, who wish to be assessed on mature grounds, to have applied to CAO by 1st February 2026 at 5pm, and include course choices by that date or add them using the facility to amend course choices (for a fee of €10) before 1 March at 5pm. (This restriction does not apply if the applicant wishes to be considered on the basis of school leaving qualifications only.) For more information about applying to CAO on the basis of mature years go to www.cao.ie/mature
Supplementary Admission Routes
Applying for DARE and/or HEAR – to be considered for DARE and/or HEAR, applicants must have registered on the CAO system by 1 February 2026 at 5pm. To apply to DARE, you must answer YES to Question 1 ('Do you wish to be considered for DARE?) on Section A of the fully completed Supplementary Information Form (SIF) by 5pm on 1 March 2026.
To apply to HEAR, you must indicate on your CAO application that you wish to apply for HEAR and fully and correctly complete all elements of the online HEAR form by 5pm on 1 March 2026.
Supporting documents for DARE and/or HEAR applicants must be sent to CAO offices before 10 March 2026 at 5pm
How might you respond to the question “what is art?” Our students explore and make work in a unique multidisciplinary studio and practice-focused programme. They are encouraged to integrate art practice and theory, through experimental ways of thinking, in response to the world of materials, media and environments. They think critically about how to explore the world, they make unusual things and create opportunities for new ways of seeing.
Traditions, skills and histories are valued equally with contemporary technologies, theory and practice in this open approach to questioning and making. Art practice is situated as a practical experimental space and way of working, through which we question, imagine and contribute to the production of public space, cultures and social life.
The art student of the future is envisioned as an innovator, equipped with skills to respond to a diverse world, disrupt expectations, and imagine and produce alternative, surprising and unprogrammed models of working and thinking through art.
Due to IADTs strong position in Film education in Ireland and home to the National Film School, there is an Art Film pathway within this programme that includes an array of Moving Image practices. Students can explore various mediums through photography, moving image, editing, sound, performance, installation and digital media creation.
This pathway on the BA [Hons] Art programme attracts students interested in experimenting with visual storytelling, spatial experiences, soundscapes, and immersive environments, this expanding field in Art offers abundant job opportunities in new media art creative industries after college.
What will I do?
• Develop your interpretative and critical skills in an interdisciplinary learning environment
• Explore your creativity and self-expression through workshops in drawing, colour, painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, digital media, time-based art, environmental and site-responsive work, performative arts and curation practices
• Discover practical making, studio and project-based enquiry, experimentation, collaboration, interdisciplinarity and expanded creative ways of working such as curatorial and writing practices
• Explore diverse approaches, methods and materials in contemporary art in the 21st century
• Develop specialist skills which allows you to best express your interests, abilities and ambitions. These skills also have a wide range of applications
• There are opportunities to study abroad through the Erasmus+ Programme and traineeships. A Professional Placement Module takes place in Year 3.
Cost for materials and/or field trips
Normally not more than €300 per year (years 1, 2 and 3) for materials and tools. You may have an opportunity to take part in extended field trips or international visits (not compulsory).
Your final year exhibition is your professional showcase of work, which can be produced in a range of different formats. We advise you to budget for not less than €500. It’s extremely useful to have a good quality digital camera, portable hard drive and laptop. We recommend you don’t purchase these in advance, but seek advice from your tutors.
What modules will I study?
Year 1
Semester 1
Introduction to Visual + Material Culture
Light + Space
Structure + Motion
IADT Connect
Semester 2
Interdisciplinary Histories + Theories
Making Research
Making Public
IADT Year 1 Workshop
Year 2
Semester 1
Materials + Techniques
Site Response
Disciplinary Specific Histories + Theories
Semester 2
Exploring Visual + Material Culture
Plans + Visualisations
Practical Testing
IADT Year 2 Elective
Year 3
Semester 1
Practice Led Research
Collaborations
Studio Production
Contemporary Art Practice
Semester 2
Thesis Research + Proposal
Business + Entrepreneurship for Creative Practice
Professional Placement
Year 4
Semester 1
Exhibtion Development
Semester 2
Thesis A
Exhibtion A
Thesis B
Exhibtion B
Tim Lloyd
Year Head
Email: tim.lloyd@iadt.ie
Clodagh Emoe
Year Head
Email: clodagh.emoe@iadt.ie