IADT

IADT is unique. It is Ireland’s only institute of art, design and technology with a specific focus on the creative cultural and technological sectors, when you visit IADT you’ll discover a campus alive with ideas, innovation and entrepreneurial activity.

Programmes in both the Faculty of Film, Art + Creative Technologies and the Faculty of Enterprise + Humanities are unique in that they combine practical, transferrable skills with academic learning. Because we believe in being active in research and practice, our students get to work with fantastic staff, many of whom are internationally acclaimed in their fields. Our fresh, modern campus in Dún Laoghaire is currently home to over 2500 students and staff with outstanding facilities and a lively, friendly atmosphere. We believe third level education is the most exciting adventure of all.

For almost thirty years IADT and the National Film School (NFS) has provided the highest standard of applied film education thanks to its world-class facilities and excellent staff. It is a place where story and craft are at the centre of what we teach.

With its roots as an art college in Dún Laoghaire, in 1997 the long-held ambition of Dún Laoghaire VEC (Vocational Education Committee), the staff of DLCAD (Dún Laoghaire College of Art and Design) and the wider community was realised in the creation of a fully-fledged third-level Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

The Department of Film and Media at IADT is home to the National Film School (NFS) and boasts the largest selection of film-related courses in the country – spanning undergraduate courses in Film and Television production, Animation, Photography and Visual Media, and Design for Film. Post-graduate courses include Screenwriting, Media Narratives + Storytelling, Producing and Direction Television and Kino Eyes (the Erasmus Mundus Joint MA in Film). A generation of award-winning Irish filmmakers owe their success to the skills IADT equipped them with as students.

The National Film School building was officially opened by President Michael D Higgins in November 2013. IADT and its National Film school (NFS) specialises in all aspects of film and television production – from ideation through to final delivery of the creative project. The NFS at IADT is, however, a creative transdisciplinary hub that brings together all the aspects of the modern screen industries. It includes CGI and VFX research, sound design, creative technology, VR, AR, UX design, 3D design, sculpting and fabrication, 2D Animation, costume, character and set design. Research groups at IADT create stronger networks between staff active in academic and artistic research and include Public Design Lab, Thought Lab, and XR Research Group.

Staff in the NFS possess considerable industry and academic experience; a high proportion of our staffing team continue to work as practitioners. Our world-class visiting lecturers have included Academy Award® nominees, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy Awards®, BAFTA, Césars, European Film Academy Awards, Camerimage and IFTA winners. The school was recently recognised as one of the top film schools in the world by Variety magazine.

IADT is also part of the Creative Futures Academy (CFA) which constitutes a partnership between three leading Irish creative institutions – NCAD, UCD and IADT – and offers short, part and full-time accredited courses in hybrid formats for practising artists and creative professionals who wish to upskill in arts, media and design.