Education - Art & Design Education - Post Primary / Second Level Teaching

The Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two year masters programme that leads to a professional qualification to teach Art and Design at second level. The award is professionally accredited by the Teaching Council of Ireland. The masters programme will enable you as an art or design graduate, to apply your practice in a professional teaching context. On completion of the PME you will have developed an integrated understanding and appreciation of the unique qualities of an art and design education. Specifically, you will have achieved the capacity to perform as an educator in a variety of settings and contexts particularly at second-level.



The focus of the PME is on the application of your own art and design practices, insights and modes of learning to the requirements of teaching. The PME aims to facilitate your personal, social, intellectual and practical growth, prepare you for a professional career as a teacher and foster the necessary skills and dispositions of research, analysis, evaluation and critique to enable you to become a reflective practitioner.



The two-year Professional Master of Education (PME) programme has three interconnected pillars: School Placement, Foundation/Professional Studies, and Subject Discipline/Visual Arts Pedagogy. In Year 1 you are given both a theoretical and a practical understanding of key processes of teaching and learning. The School of Education operates on the principle that art teacher education is not centrally concerned with the teaching of art or teaching about art but, rather, is expressly committed to teaching through art. There is a particular emphasis throughout the programme on exploring a range of visual art processes and contemporary art practice through practical workshops in a studio setting.



Over the process of the programme student teachers will critically map their work, as educators and artists, on to the current pedagogical shifts in art and design curriculum reform taking place in post primary education. You are introduced to influential traditions of practice in teaching and classroom management. You also undertake teaching practice in a school where you will develop the knowledge, teaching skills and attitudes needed for effective teaching. This is supported by college tutorials and support teaching. In an extended placement in Year 2, the emphasis is on more autonomous learning, and you will be encouraged to take up a visible and active role in the full life of the host school. Key requirements in Year 2 are an Action Research project and an Arts Based Research project, which you will undertake with college support.

Year 1:

PGED1002 Psychology of Education

PGED1003 Curriculum Studies

PGED1004 Visual Arts for the Classroom 1A

PGED1013 Classroom Practice including Methodologies 1

PGED1006 History & Philosophy of Education

PGED1011 Visual Arts for the Classroom 1B

PGED2009 Change Lab: Global Citizenship Education



Year 2:

PGED2004 Collaborative Teaching & Learning

PGED1007 Sociology of Education

PGED1012 Pedagogical Studies: SEN/Inclusive Education

PGED2003 Classroom Practice including Methodologies 2

PGED2011 Research & Practice

PGED2010 Professional Studies

PGED2007 Professional Portfolio

Applicants for the Professional Master in Education (Art & Design) should hold a level 8 degree or equivalent in art and/or design recognised by the Registration Council for Secondary Teachers of the Department of Education and Science in Ireland. The applicant must have received a minimum of a pass in each examination and a 2.2 or higher overall. The degree should include credits in the following:



a) Drawing, 2D and 3D Visual Studies in Art/Craft/Design

b) Media

c) Art/Design History and Critical Studies/Visual Cultural Studies



Applicants will also be required to complete the Irish Teaching Council Subject Declaration form. The form can be found in the 'Essential Supporting Documents' section below. More information can be found at the Teaching Council website.



You may apply for the programme if you are currently completing your Undergraduate Degree. NCAD will review the rest of your application and 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.



Garda Vetting

In order to start school placement, it is necessary to be Garda vetted. Please do not delay completing these forms once they have been sent to you. From 7th July 2025, the National Vetting Bureau (NVB), in line with the EU Directive 2011/93/EU, introduced additional child protection checks with the other 26 EU member states and the UK, to strengthen the protection of children. These additional checks have increased vetting application turnaround timelines for those who have resided in another EU state or the UK. Therefore you must complete your garda vetting documents accurately and quickly once you receive them. They will be sent to you via the email address you provide when applying to PME.



Essential Supporting Documents

• A Statement of Interest

- Statements should refer to the most enjoyable aspects of your own education.

- Indicate which aspects of education policy and practice especially interest you and outline your views on current issues on art and design education within second-level schools.



• A recent CV



• Certified transcripts of previous programmes followed



• Certified copies of degree/ certificates and/or other appropriate third level qualifications bearing the official stamp of the institution.



• Academic Reference (Head of School/Department preferred), or if you graduated more than 4 years' ago please submit an employer reference instead



- Some referees prefer to submit the reference directly to the college. If this is the case, please instruct your referee to email a standard reference to postgraduate@ncad.ie. Please make sure all references contain the letterhead and the institution contact email address for the referee, as well as their job title



• Subject Declaration Form - Please complete this form online. Download it as a PDF and add it to your application along with other supporting documents. Alternatively, you can email it as a PDF to postgraduate@ncad.ie Please click here to complete the form.



Portfolio

You will not be asked to supply your portfolio until all of the other documents have been received and have been reviewed. Only those who are called for interview are asked to submit a portfolio. Therefore we do not ask you to submit it when making your application.



English Language Requirements

All programmes in NCAD are taught through English. International Applicants are asked to provide proof of their English Language Proficiency.



Full details of acceptable tests and the standard required can be found at the following link: https://www.ncad.ie/study-at-ncad/international/english-language-requirement/

2 years full-time.

Programme commences September 2026.

After Your Master’s Degree

Graduates of the programme take up positions as second level art teachers in Ireland and across the world, as third level art educators, as school principals and deputy-principals, as museum curators, youth workers, arts officers, artists in residence in primary and secondary schools, independent art education consultants and as researchers in art education.