Welcome to the Website of the MA Design History & Material Culture at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin
The Master of Arts: Design History and Material Culture provides a dynamic platform for the study of design and material culture from the eighteenth century to the present day. An innovative series of themed modules introduces students to objects, spaces and the material culture of everyday life, and to the range of critical and interdisciplinary approaches which are used in design and material culture studies.
The MA in Design History and Material Culture at the NCAD is the only postgraduate course of its kind in Ireland. This programme has been offered in the past on a biennial basis. However, due to high levels of demand and the success of the programme, there has been a move to deliver the programme every year and to provide both full- and part-time modes of study – the revised programme now requires just over 12 months full-time study or approximately 24 months part-time study.
If you would like to apply please contact the programme co-ordinator Anna Moran at morana@ncad.ie or use this form.
Course Structure
The course is offered on a full-time or part-time basis over one or two years respectively. Most lectures and seminars take place on two days of the week for full-time students, and on one day of the week for part-timers. Students attend classes from September to May, and submit a major piece of work in the autumn.
Course contributors are leading figures in their field. We draw from our own team of design historians, leading academics from other educational institutions, museum curators and well-known design practitioners at the forefront of contemporary design practice.
The programme does not aim to offer comprehensive historical or geographical coverage - instead the modules interrogate particular themes and case studies which equip students with a range of skills and methodologies used to interpret design and material culture. While a number of modules focus on design and material culture in Ireland, others explore themes and issues within the broader international context.
Each semester has a distinct intellectual emphasis while also tending to focus on a particular chronological period. The first semester introduces students to the tools and skills necessary for object analysis in an academic context together with the latest methodologies used in primary research. During this semester the modules mainly draw on material from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The second semester, mainly addressing the period since c. 1900, is orientated around key theoretical issues surrounding the relationship between design, technology, culture and society. These issues are explored within the different modules, paying attention at all times to the ways in which the history of design has been written and interpreted.
Course seminars on campus are complemented by outside sessions at various national cultural institutions. A crucial part of the course is a visit to London, during which we visit a number of design museums and historic properties where we are facilitated with behind-the-scenes object-handling sessions, led by leading specialists and curators.
