Students & Career Pathways
To date, students have been drawn from third level teaching institutions, from the professional fields of archaeology, architecture, archives, public and arts administration, fashion, industrial and graphic design, art history, curatorship, craft practice, publishing, economics, history and sociology. Some have been financed by the Office of Public Works where the programme is seen as an important adjunct to their work; others have received an extra allotment of research time from their educational institutions to enable them to pursue the programme.
The highest achieving student on the 2001-3 programme was awarded the Gill & Macmillan Award for a thesis of exceptional merit. Two students on the 2003-5 programme have been awarded prizes for their written work as part of the Crafts Council of Ireland’s Third Level Education Awards pilot scheme.
Graduates of the course often wish to pursue the research they have initiated; to return to their teaching with new skills; to work in higher education; to work with historic interiors or architectural documentation; to publish and lecture; or to work in curatorial or educational capacities in galleries and museums. Some proceed to embark on Ph.D. theses in the Faculty or elsewhere.
Participants from varied backgrounds add to the richness of the course; we encourage applicants from disciplines including art/design practice, art history, sociology, cultural studies, history, literature, folklore, economics and communications.
Postgraduates have gone on to pursue careers in higher education or higher degrees. Former students lecture in the history of design at the NCAD, Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Sligo Institute of Technology, Griffith College, Dublin, and Dublin Institute of Technology. Others are based in museums, cultural institutions and historic properties, such as the National Museum of Ireland, the Royal Dublin Society and Farmleigh House, while yet others are working in design practice and consultancy.
Please view some statements from recent graduates here.
