Jewellery+Metalsmithing

Craft

BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts

Major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing

Metal is one of the most difficult materials to master. But once you understand it, you’ll make some of the most beautiful objects imaginable, from wearable art to necklaces to sculpture. If this intricate, process-driven, materials-focused technical practice sounds exciting and innovative – and it is – you’ll flourish in one of North America’s top Jewellery and Metalsmithing programs.

Program Overview

Program

Major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing

Degree

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Campus

Fountain Campus

Program Length

Four years (see Degree Requirements)

Check minimum requirements

View Full Degree Requirements

Admission Deadline

Visit admission deadlines for details

Course + Content

NSCAD’s Jewellery and Metalsmithing program offers traditional methods, new technologies, and the chance to experiment under the direction of internationally-recognized practitioners. Throughout their time here, students will create avant-garde projects, aesthetically pleasing pieces, and functional objects. With the help of expert faculty, technicians, and visiting artists, over time students are able to tailor the program to their personal interests and intentions.

The university offers a broad-based metalsmithing education, including studies of art jewellery, holloware, product design, 3D printing, and metal business practice. Traditional methods and more contemporary approaches are combined for a wide-ranging, cutting-edge program including metals fabrication, casting, etching, enameling, electroforming, hydraulic press forming, stone-setting, chain-making, 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC milling.

FOUNDATION PROGRAM: You will start your NSCAD degree with an immersive Foundation studies program. This first year introduces you to all the disciplines and practices we teach at NSCAD, and it will equip you with the critical and creative skills you need to thrive in art and design school.

Foundation program details

In Studio

NSCAD’s metalsmithing studios and shops are amongst the best on the continent. Students have nearly unlimited access to NSCAD’s world-class facilities, including:

three interconnected jewellery studios with 40 large benches equipped with flexible shafts and torches
a casting area
finishing equipment
hydraulic presses
anodizing and electroforming set-up
patina and powder-coating facilities
3D printers, lathes, laser cutter, and micro welder

Explore our facilities

Careers

The university’s global network is available for internships, residencies, and opportunities during school and after it. Graduates have gone on to become entrepreneurs, jewellery designers, product concept artists, retail buyers, fashion industry workers, craft retailer, homeware designer, metalworkers and prop designers for theatre and film.

Tori Poynton

Jewellery designer Tori Poynton and founder of Tori XO sells her high-end gold and silver works at Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris to the likes of Taylopr Swift. When she moved here from her native Australia to study at NSCAD she fell in love with Nova Scotia.

Karin Jones MFA 2018

Karin Jones is a multidisciplinary artist with a background in jewellery. Karin’s recent work examines the ways in which historical narratives shape our identities. She is currently an instructor at Vancouver Community College’s Jewellery Art and Design program, where she is also serving as Department Head. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, Finland, Korea and Japan.

Rayce Min BFA 2024

After a foundation year at the California College of the Arts, Rayce Min continued his studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, with a focus on Jewellery Design and metalsmithing. As an emerging metalsmith, Min has participated in numerous national exhibitions. He has participated in and placed first in the 5th Emerging Artist Design Competition, organized by the Canadian Gemmological Association in Toronto, Ontario. Additionally, he was the winner of the 20th Annual National Jewellery Student Competition, organized by L. A. Pai Art Jewellery Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. He is also a finalist for the Tactile Chronicle: 2022 Silver Society of Canada NSCAD Student Competition and the Canadian Student Silversmithing Competition 2023.

Emma Piirtoniemi (BFA 2011)

Emma is a former technician at NSCAD and currently Operations Manager at Craft Nova Scotia. Emma is inspired by jewellery’s ability to convey big ideas on an intimate scale, and views the discipline as an accessible art form in contemporary culture. Her work is often installation-based as she aims to connect through jewellery in both wearable and non-wearable contexts, bringing the innate intimacy of tactile objects to non-corporeal space.