National College of Art and Design · Ireland
Fashion Design
A three-year design degree in Dublin.
- Where
- DublinIreland
- Degree
- BA
- Length
- 3 years
- Taught in
- English
- Starts
- Autumn 2027
- Apply by
- 1 February 2027
- Admission
- SelectivePortfolio
- EU/EEA fee
- Not recorded yet
More facts
- Degree
- BA
- Length
- 3 years
- Taught in
- English
- Starts
- Autumn 2027
Deadlines
-
5 November 2026, 12:00 Irish time
CAO application facility opens for 2027 entryDetails
Published twice: the last line of the CAO Timetable of Events reads "5th November 2026 - CAO application facility opens for 2027 applications", and the CAO Handbook 2027 gives "CAO online application facility opens on 5 November at 12:00 noon". Nothing can be submitted before midday.
Source -
1 February 2027
CAO normal closing date; studio courses take no late applicationsHard deadlineDetails
Source -
12 February 2027
Portfolio submission closes (17:00 Irish time), for all studio coursesHard deadlineDetails
Source
All dates for this programme (3 more)
-
20 January 2027, 17:00 Irish time
Discounted application fee ends - 35 EUR becomes 50 EURDetails
Applying after this costs more. Not a barrier, and a needless cost.
The discounted online fee ends at 17:00 (CAO Handbook 2027, Timetable of Events and Table 1.1). Missing it costs 15 EUR, not your place: you can still apply at the normal 50 EUR until 1 February. The fee ladder is in Table 1.1 of the CAO Handbook 2027 and is the part most often got wrong: early online (discounted) 35 EUR by 20 January, normal online 50 EUR by 1 February, late online 65 EUR by 1 May, Change of Mind nil. Amending your course choices between 5 February and 1 March costs a further 10 EUR. Application fees are non-refundable and CAO states that no extension to any closing date is allowed.
Source -
5 May 2027, 12:00 Irish time*
Change of Mind opens - free, and unlimitedDetails
Free, and it lets you rewrite the list entirely — which is why the 1 February deadline is less frightening than it looks. CAO Handbook 2027 gives 5 May at 12:00 as the "expected date".
CAO publishes this as "5th May (12:00) - Online Change of Mind facility becomes available (Free)". The CAO Handbook 2027 gives this day and time but marks it "(expected date)", so treat it as provisional. You may use it as many times as you like to introduce, remove or reorder courses, but each Change of Mind "cancels and supersedes all previous course choices in any category in which changes are made", so the list you leave behind is the list that is read. Restricted-entry courses cannot be introduced here.
Source -
6 July 2027*
IB results releasedDetails
After Change of Mind has closed. An IB applicant straight from school competes in Round One, with Irish school leavers.
Source
* Last year’s date, not yet confirmed.
What it is
Fashion design, taught through the design process as it applies to the fashion industry: from a personal visual language to a final-year collection, with an optional Studio+ placement year.
What you need
- IB Diploma with 24 points (CAO's 2026 criteria; 2027 not yet published), with English and Irish; NUI exempts most students born or schooled abroad from Irish.
Requirements in full
How places are decided
- Ranked on portfolio score; CAO points are not used once you meet the minimum entry rule.
Sources (2)
- Fashion Design at NCAD — checked 2026-09-26
- IB applicants at NCAD