Research is vital to the institution's mission and the university is committed to fostering opportunities for research which advances the visual arts.
Research at NSCAD University includes research activities relating to the production of original works of art in all media and the production of scholarly publications relevant to the history, theory, and criticism of, and education in, the visual arts and culture.
The 2003 Strategic Plan approved by NSCAD's Board of Governors outlines the university's objectives with respect to research (p.4):
The University recognizes that research output is crucial to all future development. In order to maintain and develop the staff base at NSCAD to allow teaching and research to be conducted at the highest level, during the next five years, NSCAD will:
- make research a major emphasis in the University
- increase the numbers of temporary visiting researchers/teachers without reducing the full-time core faculty base
- apply for Federal and private funds to fuel the research effort
- increase significantly the size of the graduate school( including an increase in regular faculty appointments in targeted areas)*.
- increase the total amount of research time available and increase financial support to employees (Regular Full-Time and Regular Pro-Rated faculty*) in the university, and optimize the productiveness of that time
- improve and redevelop academic support central to the maintenance and development of the research ethos, including: the library; the NSCAD University Press; the art gallery; Continuing Studies*; increased accommodation for visiting researchers/teachers
*added by Research Committee
NSCAD will develop a research culture which:
- recognizes the relationship of research to practice, scholarship, and to education
- recognizes the importance of both research process and research outcome
- acknowledges the role that research may serve in the wider community
- encourages both beginning and senior researchers
- includes appropriate assessment and monitoring mechanisms according to requirements in the Unit I Collective Agreement and that are consistent with the principles of academic freedom.
- will accommodate and encourage both individual and interdisciplinary projects
- maintains a mechanism for appointing Research Associates
- establishes a system of support for the development of new research proposals
NSCAD has the longest history as a free standing university of the arts in Canada offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in the practice of art, craft, and design and in historical and critical studies. Through research activities undertaken by faculty and students, the university makes a significant contribution to Canadian culture and to the nation's cultural industries.
In support of research and research training in art, craft, and design, and historical and critical studies, NSCAD University:
- ratified a 2003 Strategic Plan which includes a stronger focus on research and research training
- provides research time to all members of Regular Full-Time and Regular Pro-Rated faculty during the regular academic semester
- provides research time through a non-teaching semester
- provides sabbatical leave opportunities for Regular Full-Time and Regular Pro-Rated faculty for the purposes of research
- extended the mandate of the Vice-President (Academic) to include the "Research" portfolio
- established a process for recognizing Honorary Research Associates
- worked with its Faculty Union to recognize appointments to full-time research positions: Research Fellows
As a university of the arts, the focus of research activities are more clearly identified than for a university with a wider range of program offerings. The strategic research foci identified below will build on traditional strengths and will also develop innovative research concentrations.
Research in Historical and Critical Studies is integral to all of the university's other research activities in that it adds depth to the practice-based disciplines but also stands alone as a research module essential to the mission of the university. Research activities in Historical and Critical Studies include the publication of scholarly books and articles, curatorial projects and exhibition catalogue essays, the delivery of papers at scholarly and/or specialist conferences, the delivery of public lectures to general audiences, and the publication of articles and essays in scholarly as well as popular mainstream art, film and media studies journals and magazines or other publications relevant to the faculty member's research. NSCAD wishes to foster and advance the study of the history of, and the contemporary context for the arts and will seek to appoint new faculty members with a range of expertise in historical and critical studies. The Strategic Plan outlines the development of a new graduate program in Art History when appropriate new resources are available.
i. Product Design and Development
Research activities in this module will use and develop new technologies along with traditional and adapted materials and applications in order to further the design and fabrication of contemporary products. Activities will include the application of computer assisted drafting and computer assisted manufacturing technologies, the development of digital documentation, visualization, and handling technologies, and the customization of design and fabrication methodologies. Relationships to research in a number of other sectors including the bio-medical and bio-mechanical will be included in this research area. The Strategic Plan outlined the development of new programs in the area to include a Bachelor of Design (Interdisciplinary) which is now approved and a Master of Design which is in the final stages of approval.
ii. Cultural Information
Cultural information is a product and research in this area will focus on developing innovative solutions to making cultural information digitally available to a global audience. These projects will, in part, investigate the application of emerging Web Services technologies from the commercial sector in combination with "best-of-class" open source guidelines, protocols, and standards in the cultural sector. Research and development activities will be designed to move to the application and commercialization stages with the production of high quality commercially viable products and services for the consumer of cultural information. A Masters' level Museum Studies program which focuses on technology and cultural information is in the final stages of approval.
iii. Film and New Media
New image and sound tools provided by digital technologies have and will continue to revolutionize the vocabulary and methodologies of the screen arts, the way screen arts are viewed and experienced, and ultimately, the society that has made cinema a primary artistic expression for the last 100 years. Research activities in this module will use and develop these new media technologies in co-evolution with their creative application. NSCAD is currently developing a Masters level program in Film Production.
Research in this module will support and develop excellence in practice-based disciplines to advance knowledge, encourage innovation, foster collaboration where appropriate, and enhance the quality of production. The results of research in this module will be exhibited, published, produced or otherwise disseminated and will help to ensure that the overall standard of cultural production in Canada is significantly advanced.
Interdisciplinary research uses distinctive components of two or more disciplines in the search for or creation of knowledge or artistic expression. The University recognizes that interdisciplinary work is common in complex areas such as the visual arts.
In support of research, NSCAD will:
- employ a Director to focus and energize the research activities of the university
- continue to seek support through the Canada Research Chair program
- continue to develop applications for research funding from private and public sectors
- foster the development of inter-institution and inter-sector collaborations consistent with the university's mandate
- consistently update the Strategic Research Plan with respect to the research mandate
- continue to engage in hiring practices that give attention to the potential for contributions to research
- expand the School of Graduate Studies
- continue to participate in the assessment and nomination of senior students for admission to graduate programs at NSCAD and elsewhere
- continue to support NSCAD graduate students through SSHRC, CIHR and other Graduate Student Scholarship Programs
- continue to work to increase available time and resources to support faculty research and to ensure productiveness related to research activities
The planning and approval process related to research at NSCAD involves the individual researchers, the university's Research Committee, the Office of the Vice-President (Academic Affairs and Research), the university's system of academic governance (Academic Council), the Office of the President, and the Board of Governors.
For further information, contact:
Prof. James Moy
Provost and Vice-President
Office of Academic Affairs and Research
NSCAD University
5163 Duke Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3J6
Phone: 902 494 8125
Fax: 902 425 4664
*Approved by Academic Council: February 13, 2006
*Approved by Board of Governors: March 9 2006