Overview
Object-making, public art and social practices
Key details
- 180 credits
- 1 year programme
- Full-time study
School or Centre
Next open day
- 12 Apr 2023
- Book or view all open days
Application deadline
- Still accepting applications
A critical environment in which to discuss contemporary issues for making sculpture.
The study of sculpture is ever-expanding and includes object-making, public art and social practices, site and space, performance, sound, film and video. Rather than only considering the specific manifestations of sculpture, we prefer to think of it as a methodology from which to progress the production of art.
This means that the Sculpture programme at the RCA supports a diverse, experimental and expansive approach to the development of artistic practice. Students are encouraged to adopt a critical and reflexive approach to the production, development and display of their work. Important to the programme ambition is that students situate their practice within the social, political and economic conditions of the contemporary world; identifying what sculpture can contribute to ongoing material, critical, technological, and philosophical debates.
To that end, core staff and visitors demonstrate that research and experimentation are highly valued elements of study, and can lead students to imagine new materials and spaces, to innovate with technology, for impact towards social transformation, sustainability and political awareness and change.
The programme supports collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to the making and exhibiting of sculpture. Central to this interdisciplinary approach is the critique (and celebration) of the historical forms of sculpture, a legacy that we regard as a launch pad for rethinking the future.
Still accepting applications for 2023 entry. See the Eligibility and key dates webpage for round 3 details.
Explore further
Explore Festus, the RCA Sculpture programme's annual series of collaborative projects with external partners.
Read about a recent series of sculptures installed at Battersea Park by RCA Sculpture students.
Visit 2022.rca.ac.uk to view graduate work by our students.
Catch the replays from our November 2022 online Open Day.
Gallery
Facilities
The School of Arts & Humanities is located across our Battersea and Kensington sites.
View all facilitiesAll full-time students on fine or applied arts programmes are provided with studios or workspace, and access to specialist workshops. There are a number of bookable seminar and project spaces across the site available to all Arts & Humanities students.
Our alumni
Our alumni form an international network of creative individuals who have shaped and continue to shape the world. Click on each name to find out more.
Alumni stories
More details on what you'll study.
Find out what you'll cover in this programme.
What you'll cover
Programme structure
The programme is delivered across three terms and includes a combination of programme, School and College units.
Term 1
In the Sites and Situations unit, you identify the intention of your practice, its context and relation to site and material. This begins with an orientation of the culture and philosophy of the course, the location (city and building), facilities, staff and other students’ work. Sites and Situations embeds the central notion of thinking-through-practice. This is achieved through tutorials, critiques, seminars, panel talks and off-site activities. The unit supports you through the production of work, demonstrating the ability to develop a creative, innovative and individual practice. Through the unit, you will locate your work within a critical context that reflects current and emerging approaches to the production of sculpture and the wider arts and humanities.
Across Terms 1 and 2, you will participate in AcrossRCA, the College-wide unit. See below for more details.
Term 2
In The Expanded Field unit, you identify the future direction of your practice, its relation to materiality and immateriality. There is a focus on collaboration and an interdisciplinary context. This further embeds the culture and philosophy of the programme: experimentation, innovation and critical
reflection.
The Expanded Field encourages the development of an individual studio practice, within a wider matrix of professional relationships. This is achieved through collaborative off-site projects, workshops and a lecture series that is designed to support and encourage self-reflection, creative responses and a critical understanding of the creative economy.
In term 2 all School of Arts & Humanities students will participate in the Urgency of the Arts, School-wide unit. Through this unit we ask: what does arts and humanities research and practice have to offer in our current socio-political climate? The unit introduces students to a diverse range of perspectives, approaches and practices relevant to contemporary practice and thought in the Arts & Humanities. The delivery is devised to help you identify and query your own practices and disciplinary assumptions through encounters with others and within the various practices undertaken by students in the School, and to raise awareness around contemporary concerns. You will be supported in understanding the ramifications of your own work and practice within a broad cultural context, and to recognise its many potentially unintended readings and consequences.
Term 3
The Independent Research Project offers a point of synthesis through exhibition and subsequent critical reflection. The focus is on self-directed study. Staff will continue to support you to acquire advanced understanding of practice-led methodologies, critical reflection, production and presentation.
The Independent Research Project supports you with the specific conceptual and material demands of exhibiting and sharing your work and uses this to prepare you for the diverse professional practices of contemporary art.
Assessment will be based upon the Portfolio of Practice. A reflective document that looks at the key elements of development which led to your research and exhibition. Also, how has creative identity been forged for future practice? The Portfolio of Practice will include the ideas and context from which the work emerged, including experimentation, decision making, conceptual ambition, (im)materials and meaning.
AcrossRCA
Situated at the core of your RCA student experience, this ambitious interdisciplinary College- wide AcrossRCA unit supports how you respond to the challenges of complex, uncertain and changing physical and digital worlds by engaging you in a global creative network that draws on expertise within and beyond the institution. It provides an extraordinary opportunity for you to:
- make connections across disciplines
- think critically about your creative practice
- develop creative networks within and beyond the College
- generate innovative responses to complex problems
- reflect on how to propose ideas for positive change in local and/or global contexts.
AcrossRCA launches with a series of presentations from internationally acclaimed speakers that will encourage you to think beyond the discourses of art, architecture, communication, and design, and extend into other territories such as economics, ethics, science, engineering, medicine or astrophysics.
In interdisciplinary teams you will be challenged to use your intellect and imagination to respond to urgent contemporary themes, providing you with an opportunity to develop innovative and disruptive thinking, critically reflect on your responsibilities as a creative practitioner and demonstrate the contribution that the creative arts can make to our understanding and experience of the world. This engagement with interdisciplinary perspectives and practices is designed both to complement your disciplinary studies and provide you with a platform to thrive beyond graduation.
Requirements
What you need to know before you apply
Candidates are selected entirely on merit and applications are welcomed from all over the world. The selection process considers creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your portfolio, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high MA standards overall.
You must have a good first degree in sculpture or a relevant subject, as well as being able to display a facility with materials and techniques. You’ll also be knowledgeable about the history and cultural relevance of the disciplines pertinent to the arts and humanities, as well as be able to hold and articulate a view of your own work in relationship to that. You should be able to critically reflect on your work, to question received modes of production and frameworks, and metabolise academic, social and philosophical encounters.
What's needed from you
Portfolio requirements
We want to see that you are critically engaged with the work you are making, that you are able to draw on processes and approaches to Sculpture – and art in general – that are relevant to your research interests. The portfolio should demonstrate that you are able to communicate the ideas that impact on your work coherently.
The Sculpture programme includes a rich and diverse range of practices, we are looking for students that are able to help us better understand how sculpture is relevant today. That is, how sculpture can have a meaningful impact on the changing social, technological and physical environments that we encounter every day.
In the portfolio please submit clear and well considered documentation of your work, including title, date, size and materials. You have five slots and each can accept four supporting items. You may use these slots to show how a work developed and evolved from start to completion.
We want to understand:
- How you approach the conception and making of your work?
- How you position your practice in a contemporary context?
- What are the issues, concerns and themes you explore in your work?
Video requirements
The Sculpture programme approaches Sculpture as an expanded, self-reflexive, critical activity that draws on interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches as well as a wealth of varied historical, material and conceptual positions.
The programme is committed to broadening the understanding of our discipline in all its forms. Our students are here to begin to establish what kind of artists they want to be with the ultimate aim of enabling a sustainable professional practice as engaged practitioners.
In this two-minute video, please respond to the above statements and elaborate on the questions previously asked about your work and practice as documented in your portfolio.
English-language requirements
If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need the equivalent of an IELTS Academic score of 6.5 with a 6.0 in the Test of Written English (TWE) and at least 5.5 in other skills. Students achieving a grade of at least 6.0, with a grade of 5.5 in the Test of Written English, may be eligible to take the College’s English for Academic Purposes course to enable them to reach the required standard.
You are exempt from this requirement if you have received a 2.1 degree or above from a university in a majority English-speaking nation within the last two years.
If you need a Student Visa to study at the RCA, you will also need to meet the Home Office’s minimum requirements for entry clearance.
Fees & funding
For this programme
Fees for new students
Fees for September 2023 entry on this programme are outlined below. From 2021 onward, EU students are classified as Overseas for tuition fee purposes.
Home
Overseas and EU
Deposit
New entrants to the College will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit in order to secure their place. This will be offset against the tuition fees.
Home
Overseas and EU
Progression discount
For alumni and students who have completed an RCA Graduate Diploma and progress onto an RCA Master's programme – MA, MA/MSc, MFA, MDes, MArch, MEd or MRes – within 10 years, a progression discount of £1,000 is available.
* Total cost is based on the assumption that the programme is completed in the timeframe stated in the programme details. Additional study time may incur additional charges.
Scholarships
Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded for a specific programme and entry point and cannot be deferred without consent from the academic Programme and scholarships panel.
House of Fraser Bursary
Supporting students on any MA programme from the UK (Preferably is a Scottish national), experiencing financial hardship
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship, Full time, Student preferably of Scottish origin
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
Value: £10,000
Leverhulme Arts Scholarship
Supporting MA Sculpture, Painting, Contemporary Art Practice, Print and Photography students experiencing financial hardship
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship, Full time
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
Value: Up to seven full tuition fee scholarships for new students
Rose Finn-Kelcey Bursary
Supporting Sculpture, Painting, Contemporary Art Practice, Print and Photography MA students.
Eligibility criteria: Full time
Eligible fee status: Any
Value: A tuition fee bursary of £5,000
Sir Frank Bowling Scholarships
The Scholarship supports 21 UK MA, MRes and PhD students every year from across all RCA MA, MRes and PhD disciplines.
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship, Students with Black African and Caribbean diaspora heritage, or mixed Black African and Caribbean diaspora heritage
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
Value: £21,000
The Paul Desty Scholarship
A Scholarship supporting MA Painting and Sculpture students with demonstrable financial need.
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
Value: One full tuition fee scholarship valued at £15,000
The RCA Cost of Living Bursary
The RCA Cost of Living Bursary supports living costs for home students across all MA programmes.
Value: Bursaries of £5,000 each, for use towards living costs
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
The RCA Disabled Students Bursary
The RCA Disabled Students Bursary supports living costs for home students with a declared disability across all MA programmes, recognising the contribution that UK students with disabilities make to the RCA
Value: Bursaries of £6,000 each, for use towards living costs
Eligibility criteria: Students with a diagnosed physical or sensory disability, or specific learning difficulties.
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
The Vice-Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship (UK)
The Vice-Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship supports academic excellence by rewarding talented home applicants with the highest scoring portfolios on application to RCA, with a partial fee scholarship
Value: Scholarships of £2,500 each, to be offset against fees
Eligibility criteria: Academic excellence
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship is aimed at international students applicants from selected countries and territories, and on selected programmes
Value: Scholarships of £3,500 each, to be offset against fees
Eligibility criteria: If oversubscribed, this bursary is awarded on academic merit or financial need.
Eligible fee status: International fee status, from: Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA
The Vice Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship (International)
The Vice-Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship - International supports academic excellence by rewarding talented applicants with the highest scoring portfolios on application to RCA at Round 1 and Round 2 of applications, with a partial fee scholarship.
Value: Scholarships of £2,500 each to be offset against fees
Eligibility criteria: Academic excellence
Eligible fee status: International fee status
The Rothschild Foundation Scholarships
Supporting Environmental Architecture, Sculpture, Writing and Innovation Design Engineering students from the UK from underrepresented communities, with disabilities, or in financial hardship
Eligibility criteria: Financial hardship, Students from under-represented communities, Students with a diagnosed physical or sensory disability
Eligible fee status: UK fee status
Value: Two scholarships valued at £30,000 each
More information
External funding
There are many funding sources, with some students securing scholarships and others saving money from working. It is impossible to list all the potential funding sources; however, the following information could be useful.
Payments
Tuition fees are due on the first day of the academic year and students are sent an invoice prior to beginning their studies. Payments can be made in advance, on registration or in two instalments.
Start your application
Change your life and be here in 2023. Applications now open.
The Royal College of Art welcomes applicants from all over the world.
Before you begin
Make sure you've read and understood the entrance requirements
Visit the requirements pageCheck you have all the information you need to apply.
Read our application process guideConsider attending an Open Day, or one of our portfolio or application advice sessions
See upcoming sessionsPlease note, all applications must be submitted by 12 noon on the given deadline.
Ask a question
Get in touch if you’d like to find out more or have any questions.
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