Painting, printing, sculpture, graphic design, ceramics, photography, textile and fashion design are just some of the exciting specialisms on offer under the art and design umbrella.
Students aspiring to the majority of those courses have to deal with the double burden of an additional entrance assessment other than Leaving Certificate points. For many, this means spending an extra year, usually at Post Leaving Certificate level, building up a portfolio.
It also means a good deal of vigilance, and attention to dates is required as students will usually apply to more than one course and must juggle the various dates for submission of portfolios and projects.
Most of the art and design courses fall into the restricted-application category. This means you must apply for these courses by the CAO closing date of February 1st. Late applications may not include restricted-application courses and you cannot introduce any new restricted-application courses using a change-of-mind form. In simple terms, the February 1st closing dates is the first and last closing date when it comes to restricted-application courses.
The following is an attempt to clarify the applications procedure for art and design courses in the various colleges:
The National College of Art and Design
NCAD offers three courses to school-leavers, two of which are in the CAO system. The first-year core programme, which is the common first year for NCAD's four-year degree courses in fine art, craft design, fashion design, textile design, visual communications and the joint courses in history of art with either fine art or any of the four design options, is not in the CAO system.
Applications for first-year core must be made directly to the college and the minimum academic requirement is two higher-level grade C3s in the Leaving Certificate and four D3s at ordinary level, including Irish, English and either art or a third language. Places are offered on the basis of a portfolio. Students must simply fulfil the minimum educational requirements. Leaving Certificate results can be combined over two years.
College admissions officer Ms Cecily Grant says students should be aware that a "massive portfolio" is not required. "By its nature a portfolio that is extremely bulky is not a good one. It means that the applicant has not been selective in his or her work. They should include only their best work and not be repetitive," she adds. The guidelines for the NCAD are to include not more than 10 finished pieces, plus a preliminary work, an ideas notebook and students' sketchbooks.
School-leavers and mature students applying for first-year core should submit their completed application forms and portfolios to NCAD by Friday, January 29th. There is no need to deliver portfolios personally but many students, understandably, want to make sure they reach the college in perfect condition. Portfolios are usually available for collection during the third week in February.
Applicants to NCAD's BA in art and design education must apply through the CAO, with a closing date of February 1st. Mature students should apply directly to the college by April 1st. All applicants to the course will be offered an interview in the week beginning April 26th.
Applicants are sent a brief for a drawing test prior to the interview and they must bring the completed test and a portfolio of work with them. The minimum academic requirements are the same as for first-year core and, again, a Leaving Certificate points system is not used.
NCAD's third offering, the BDes in industrial design, is offered jointly by the University of Limerick and NCAD. Students spend the first year at UL and three years at NCAD. The course appears under UL in the CAO handbook.
Interviews are held in the week beginning Monday, April 26th. A minimum of two grade C3s at higher level and four D3s at ordinary level are needed and there are specific maths/science/engineering requirements, as there is some engineering content in the course. Irish, English and art or a third language are also required.
As with the BA in art and design education, mature applicants should contact the college directly, before the closing date of April 1st.
Dublin Institute of Technology
DIT offers six art and design courses - three degrees and three certificates. The degrees include design (interior and furniture), design (visual communication), and fine art, while at certificate level the college has courses in design (display), design (presentation) and media production.
Applicants must submit a portfolio of work to DIT before 4.30 p.m. on either Thursday, March 11th, or Friday, March 12th. Usually, about half of those who submit a portfolio are called to interview.
A maximum of 600 points is awarded for the portfolio and interview. Those points are then added to Leaving Certificate points to allocate places. Candidates are scored separately for each course for which they apply.
Athlone IT
Athlone IT takes part in the CAO project assessment system. If an applicant passes the project, he or she is asked to attend a portfolio assessment and information session at the college. The idea of the information session is to meet staff to discuss the candidate's suitability for the course. Points are awarded for the portfolio and these are added to Leaving Certificate points to allocate places.
Carlow IT
Carlow IT does not require a project or portfolio for its industrial design course. Places are awarded on the basis of Leaving Certificate points alone. It is not a restricted application course so late applications will be accepted by the CAO.
Admissions officer Ms Mary Jordan adds that the college organises an information day each May for all applicants to the course: "We bring them in for a day. They can bring their portfolios with them and they can talk to the design lecturers. It doesn't affect their points and it is not compulsory, but a high percentage of applicants come in on that day."
Cork and Limerick ITs
Cork and Limerick ITs operate within the CAO admissions process for the project section, with the project scored on a pass/fail basis. Those who are successful in the project are called for a portfolio assessment/ interview. A maximum of 600 points is available for the portfolio/interview. Points are then added to normal Leaving Certificate points.
Cork and Limerick ITs usually operate a combined portfolio assessment/interview so a limited number of students applying for both colleges need attend only one interview. Both colleges offer similar courses - national diplomas followed by add-on degrees.
Ms Catherine Kelly, admissions officer for Limerick IT, notes that applicants for the college's art and design course must have a minimum of an ordinarylevel D3 in art in the Leaving Certificate. "We often get students who have brilliant points but they don't have art. It causes tears and heartache every year," she says. Art is not a required Leaving Certificate subject for Cork IT's course.
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology writes to applicants in March requesting them to submit a portfolio which is assessed on a pass/fail basis. If your portfolio passes the initial assessment, you will be called to an interview/ portfolio assessment in April which carries a maximum of 600 points (the portfolio can be further developed between March and April). These are then added to the Leaving Certificate points to allocate places.
Galway Mayo IT
Galway Mayo IT also operates within the CAO project system but here the project is scored and this score is added to the normal Leaving Certificate points to allocate places.
Applicants for the national certificate in furniture design and manufacture (course code GA015; Letterfrack campus) are sent a questionnaire. All candidates who return this completed questionnaire are called for an assessment. "The questionnaire is not assessed. It is used to identify and extract information on what students will bring to the assessment," admissions officer Ms Phil Lydon explains. The score for the work they present at their assessment is added to Leaving Certificate points to allocate places.
Letterkenny IT
Letterkenny IT: applicants for graphic design and industrial design courses have the option of attending a portfolio assessment. This was mandatory in the past. Students with a strong portfolio, who decide to go this route, will have their portfolio assessment marked out of 600 points and their score added to their Leaving Certificate points. Students who opt to be assessed on the basis of the Leaving Certificate alone will have their points doubled for the purposes of ranking for the two design courses.
Admissions officer Ms Irene Heavey says students who apply for the design courses will be contacted and asked to specify whether they want to go for a portfolio assessment or not. "That choice is binding," says Ms Heavey, "they cannot change their mind. They get a chance to make a decision once. They are out if they fail on the portfolio assessment." Her advice to students is that if they have a strong portfolio ready and they are weak academically, they would do better to choose the combination of Leaving Certificate plus the portfolio assessment. An ordinary-level D in art is required for the graphic design course, while an ordinary-level D in maths is required for the industrial design course.
Sligo IT
Sligo IT asks applicants for the national diploma in fine art to submit a portfolio in April. This is scored out of 600 and points are then added to the Leaving Certificate points to allocate places.
Students also had the option of submitting portfolios in December - an optional facility which allows students to obtain their portfolio scores early. This then allows them to change their course option if they do badly, or, on the advice of the college, to put in some additional work and resubmit their portfolio in April.
Waterford IT
WIT: A project is no longer required for entry to the national diploma in art and the national diploma in design (communications). Students must have a minimum of an ordinary-level B3 or a higher-level C3 in art in the Leaving Certificate.
Mr George Keogh, the admissions officer, says applicants who do not have art in the Leaving Certificate are not completely ruled out, as they can contact the college directly and they may be asked to submit a project. The numbers who fit into this category are very small, he says.
Apologies: The phone number given in yesterday's column for the Mature Students Guide 1999 (Curriculum Development Unit, Sundrive Road, Dublin 12) was incorrect. To obtain copies of the guide telephone (01) 453 5487.
Helpline:
Students, parents and teachers with queries about colleges, courses and application procedures are invited to call the College Choice helpline between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. today. Tel: (01) 679 2099