Royal College of Art

Postgraduate art and design university in London, England

Royal College of Art

Royal College of Art in South Kensington

Motto|

Dieu et mon droit

Motto in English

| God and my right
Type| Public
Established|

* 1837 – Government School of Design
* 1896 – Royal College of Art
* 1967 – degree-awarding powers

Endowment| £38.5 million (2024)[1]
Budget| £104.9 million (2023/24)[1]
Chancellor| Sir Jonathan Ive
Vice-Chancellor| Professor Christoph Lindner
Students| 2,850 (2023/24)[2]
Undergraduates| 0
Location|

London

United Kingdom

Campus| Urban
Language| English
Website| rca.ac.uk

The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom.[3]: 118  It offers postgraduate degrees in art and design to students from over 60 countries.[4]

## History

[edit]

The Darwin Building in Kensington Gore

The RCA was founded in Somerset House in 1837 as the Government School of Design[5] or Metropolitan School of Design.[6] By 1848 there were more than 300 students attending classes each day.

> The numbers of pupils at present (June 1848) attending at Somerset House is about 80 in the morning, 260 in the evening, and about 50 females. The greater part of the students are the sons of tradesmen and of the upper class of artisans; the females are principally the daughters of professional men, or such as are being educated for governesses.[7]

Richard Burchett became head of the school in 1852.[8] In 1853 it was expanded and moved to Marlborough House, and then, in 1853[5] or 1857,[6][8] to South Kensington, on the same site as the South Kensington Museum. It was renamed the Normal Training School of Art in 1857[6] and the National Art Training School in 1863.[8] During the later 19th century it was primarily a teacher training college; pupils during this period included George Clausen, Christopher Dresser, Luke Fildes, Kate Greenaway and Gertrude Jekyll.[8]

In September 1896 the school received the name "Royal College of Art",[9] and the emphasis of teaching there shifted to the practice of art and design.[5] Teaching of graphic design, industrial design and product design began in the mid-twentieth century. The school expanded further in the 1960s, and in 1967 it received a royal charter (amended in 2021) which gave it the power to grant its own degrees.[10]

In July 2020, the Royal College of Art launched its first-ever online graduate exhibition, RCA2020.[11][failed verification]

## Campuses

[edit]

The RCA today has three campuses located in South Kensington, Battersea and White City.[12]

The Darwin Building in Kensington Gore, South Kensington, was completed 1960–1963. It is a short distance from the RCA's home 1896–1967 in the Henry Cole Building, now part of the V&A Museum. The Darwin Building was designed by a team of RCA staff members, H. T. Cadbury-Brown, Hugh Casson and Robert Goodden,[13] and since 2001 has been a Grade II listed building. It is named after painter Sir Robert Vere Darwin, known as Robin Darwin, who was the rector at the time the building was commissioned. Although there was modest development into the mews behind the Darwin Building, the restricted site meant further expansion had to be in another part of London.

In 1991 the sculpture department moved to a converted factory in Battersea. In the early 2000s the college conceived a substantial extension on the site, with a minibus service linking it to Kensington. After a redevelopment by Wright & Wright (budget £4.3m, floor area 2,500 sq m), the Sculpture Building opened in Battersea in January 2009.[14][15] In 2018 the RCA was granted planning permission to redevelop the Sculpture building into a new Arts & Humanities building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, with work planned for completion in late 2021.[16]

A masterplan was commissioned from Haworth Tompkins and phase one of their three-phase design was completed with the opening of the Sackler Building on 19 November 2009, to house the painting department. Its name commemorated a major gift by The Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation.[17][18][19] The Sackler Building was renamed as the Painting Building in 2022.[20]

Entrance

The Dyson Building, named in honour of James Dyson, whose charity donated £5m towards the £21m cost, was opened on 24 September 2012. It houses printmaking and photography, and contains an innovation wing where start-up designers can launch their businesses.[21][22] The Woo Building was opened on 30 September 2015, completing the Battersea project. It is named in honour of Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen Woo, who have funded scholarships at the RCA since the 1990s. It accommodates the Ceramics & Glass and Jewellery & Metal programmes. The building's anodised aluminium gates were designed by alumnus Max Lamb.[23][24]

In 2017 RCA White City became the third RCA campus, co-located with the BBC Media Village and accommodating the School of Communication, Animation and Digital Direction and Communication Design [25] in buildings designed by Allies and Morrison.

## Courses

[edit]

The RCA offers a Graduate Diploma pre-masters conversion programme, MA, MRes, MPhil and PhD degrees[26] in twenty-eight subject areas, divided into four schools: architecture, arts & humanities, communication, and design. The history of design programme is in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum; there are two double MA/MSc programmes with Imperial College London.[27]

In addition to formal qualifications the RCA also offers Summer school and Executive education courses throughout the year. English for academic purposes (EAP) courses are offered to applicants who need to improve their academic English ability to meet the college's entry requirements.

In early 2019, the RCA announced the launch of its new GenerationRCA programme. GenerationRCA -among other initiatives- will also "inject science disciplines into the mix of creative disciplines traditionally on offer." The new programmes will include Environmental Architecture and Digital Direction; with future programmes centred on nano and soft robotics, computer science, and machine learning, material science and the circular economy.[28]

## Rankings

[edit]

In 2024, the RCA was placed first in the art and design subject area in the QS World University Rankings published by Quacquarelli Symonds for the tenth year in a row, with an overall score of 98.5/100.[29] For the second consecutive year the RCA was also ranked first place in the History of Art category, which incorporates programmes teaching the history of design.[30]

In August 2015 it was ranked first on a list of master's courses in fashion by Business of Fashion, a fashion website.[31][32]

In April 2011 the RCA was ranked first on a list of UK graduate art schools compiled by Modern Painters magazine from a survey of professionals in the art world.[33]

In the Research Assessment Exercise of December 2008, 40% of the research output of the school received the highest (4* or "world-leading") assessment, the third-highest rating in the art and design subject area; over all subject areas only about fifty institutions received a higher rating.[34]

## International collaboration

[edit]

The college is an active member of the University of the Arctic.[35] UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.[36]

The Royal College of Art also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.[37]

## Alumni

[edit]

Main article: List of alumni of the Royal College of Art

See also: Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art and its predecessor schools have numerous notable alumni.

Among those who studied in the RCA predecessor bodies in the nineteenth century were Sir George Clausen, Christopher Dresser, Sir Luke Fildes, Kate Greenaway, Gertrude Jekyll[8] and Edwin Lutyens.

Alumnus Sir Ridley Scott being made an Honorary Doctor at the college during a ceremony in July 2015.

Alumni from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries include the sculptors Jean Gibson, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, painters Frank Auerbach, Sir Peter Blake, Frank Bowling, David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Gavin Turk and Charles Tunnicliffe, artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin and R. B. Kitaj, fashion designers Ossie Clark and Zandra Rhodes, industrial designers James Dyson, and David Mellor, film directors Tony and Ridley Scott, writer Travis Jeppesen, textile artist Nour Jaouda, designers Thomas Heatherwick and architect Sir David Adjaye, prominent member of the suffragette movement Sylvia Pankhurst, the musician Ian Dury, sound artist Janek Schaefer, and the actor Alan Rickman. The artist and graduate Gerald Holtom designed the CND symbol in 1958, which has become a nearly universal peace symbol.[38]

The Royal College of Art Society amalgamated with OSARCA (the Old Students Association of the RCA 1912) for the benefit of graduates and associates of the Royal College of Art.[39]

## Faculty

[edit]

Academic and research staff include:

Professor Neville Brody | Professor of Communication

|

Professor Johnny Golding | Professor of Philosophy & Fine Art
Nicky Hamlyn | Tutor, Visual Communication
Professor Peter Kennard | Professor of Political Art
Rut Blees Luxemburg | Reader in Urban Aesthetics and Senior Research Fellow
Flora McLean | Senior Tutor, Fashion
Professor Olivier Richon | Professor of Photography
Tai Shani | Tutor, Contemporary Art Practice

On February 25, 2021, Virgil Abloh joined staff as a Visiting Professor [citation needed] "to reinforce the importance of education and hands on mentorship of future generations."[40]

## Awards and prizes

[edit]

The Royal College of Art has several awards and prizes which it confers on its graduating students. These include the Sheila Robinson Drawing Prize.

## See also

[edit]

* Armorial of UK universities
* List of art universities and colleges in Europe
* List of universities in the UK
* Visual arts education

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Annual Report & Accounts 2023/24" (PDF). Royal College of Art. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
2. ^ "Where do HE students study?". Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) www.hesa.ac.uk. 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
3. ^ Alice Wignall (2012). The Guardian Postgraduate Guide. London: Guardian Books. ISBN 9780852651049.
4. ^ "RCA Annual Review 2013/2014" (PDF). pp. 4–5. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
5. ^ a b c Janet Foster (2000–2008). GB 1134 Royal College of Art Archive. AIM25: Archives in London and the M25 area. Accessed February 2015.
6. ^ a b c Albertopolis: Royal College Of Art. Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived 22 July 2011.
7. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge. Vol. V (First ed.). London. 1848. p. 366.
8. ^ a b c d e Anne Pimlott Baker (2004 ). Burchett, Richard (1815–1875). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed February 2015. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3956 (subscription required)
9. ^ "No. 26774". The London Gazette. 4 September 1896. p. 4987.
10. ^ "Royal College of Art Charter 2021" (PDF). RCA. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
11. ^ "Welcome to RCA2020". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
12. ^ College Buildings. Royal College of Art. Accessed August 2015.
13. ^ James Dunnett (2006). The Royal College of Art: a Study in Modern Architecture and Urbanism. Architectural Research Quarterly 10: 3–12. doi:10.1017/S1359135506000029 (subscription required)
14. ^ "Royal College of Art Sculpture Building officially reopens". Royal College of Art. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
15. ^ Bizley, Graham. "Wright & Wright's RCA sculpture department refurb". BD online 23 January 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2015.(subscription required)
16. ^ "Royal College of Art's Ambitious Battersea Expansion Plans Approved by Wandsworth Council". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
17. ^ "The new RCA Painting Building is now open". Royal College of Art. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
18. ^ "The Sackler Building by Haworth Tompkins". Dezeen 2 December 2009. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
19. ^ "RCA Sackler Building". AJ Building Study video. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
20. ^ "Renaming of the Painting Building". Royal College of Art. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
21. ^ "The Dyson Building by Haworth Tompkins". Dezeen 28 September 2012. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
22. ^ Hunter, Will (27 February 2013). "Royal College of Art by Haworth Tompkins". AR online 27 February 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2015.(subscription required)
23. ^ Jordan, Sarah (2 October 2015). "RCA opens state of the art Woo Building for jewellery and silversmithing students". Retail Jeweller 2 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
24. ^ "New Gates installed for the opening of the Woo Building Battersea". Retrieved 6 October 2015.
25. ^ "RCA White City". Royal College of Art.
26. ^ Royal College of Art. "Degree Programmes". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
27. ^ Schools & programmes. Royal College of Art. Accessed August 2015.
28. ^ Tamara Orlova-Alvarez; Joe Alvarez (29 January 2019). "The Royal College of Art Launches Its New GenerationRCA". Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
29. ^ "QS World University Rankings for Art & Design 2024 | Top Universities". Top Universities. 10 April 2024.
30. ^ "QS World University Rankings for History of Art 2024 | Top Universities". Top Universities. 10 April 2024.
31. ^ Liz Lightfoot (24 August 2015). UK fashion schools top global rankings, but are their students ready for work?. The Guardian. Accessed August 2015.
32. ^ Global fashion school rankings 2015. Business of Fashion. Accessed August 2015.
33. ^ [s.n.] (31 March 2011). Modern Painters Survey Ranks School as 3rd Best UK Graduate Arts Programme Archived 28 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. City & Guilds of London Art School. Accessed August 2015.
34. ^ RAE 2008 quality profiles: UOA 63 Art and Design. Research Assessment Exercise 2008. Accessed February 2015.
35. ^ "Members". UArctic. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
36. ^ "About Us". UArctic - University of the Arctic. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
37. ^ "north2north". UArctic - University of the Arctic. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
38. ^ "World's best-known protest symbol turns 50". BBC News. London: BBC News Magazine. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
39. ^ "RCA Society | RCA Society".
40. ^ Abloh, Virgil. "Royal College of Art on Instagram: "@virgilabloh 'It's with great honour I join the RCA as a Visiting Professor to reinforce the importance of education and hands on mentorship of future generations' Today we announce that @virgilabloh will join us as a Visiting Professor. Virgil's appointment will enable students from across the College to benefit from his wealth of experience as a leading figure in international fashion and design. Both as Artistic Director of @louisvuitton's menswear collection and Chief Executive Officer of his own fashion house @off____white. Head to the link in our bio for more details! As Visiting Professor he will present masterclasses and talks throughout the year as well as share unique employment opportunities with our students and alumni. #GenerationRCA"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.

## Further reading

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal College of Art.

* Christopher Frayling (1987), The Royal College of Art: 150 Years of Art & Design.

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