Overview
A transdisciplinary design practice
Key details
MA
- 180 credits
- 1 year / 45 week programme
- Full-time study
School or Centre
Current location
- Battersea
Next open event
- 29 Sep 2026
- Online Open Day
Next application deadline
- Applications closed, please check back soon
Career opportunities
- Graduates pursue careers across service design, innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship, driving meaningful change in consultancies, financial services, government, design agencies, cultural institutions, charities, and their own ventures.
Addressing real-world challenges and creating opportunities.
- Project-based learning in collaborative peer groups with dedicated tutors.
- Live briefs with leading organisations across sectors.
- Join a global community shaping the future of service design.
The MA Service Design programme prepares you to navigate complex social, organisational, and environmental challenges through a transdisciplinary, practice-based approach. Combining research-informed learning with hands-on practice, you’ll develop the mindset, capabilities, and confidence to lead innovation and create positive change.
Through lectures, seminars, workshops, fieldwork, studio activities, and regular tutorials, you’ll work on live briefs with commercial, public, and social organisations. Along the way, you’ll develop expertise in design research, systems thinking and collaborative methods to create real-world impact.
At the RCA, service design goes beyond improving services—it enables you to understand people, organisations, and systems to shape better futures. You’ll graduate with the ability to work across disciplines and sectors to drive meaningful innovation and lasting impact.
A critical outlook
Design is increasingly challenged to respond to complex, interconnected issues shaped by AI, environmental pressures, and social change. These challenges require approaches that combine deep understanding, critical thinking, and practical action across disciplines.
Service design enables designers to navigate complexity through empathy, trust, systems thinking, and creativity. It moves beyond solution-focused thinking to explore relationships, behaviours, and the wider impact of design decisions.
As one of the world's longest-established MA programmes in Service Design, the RCA has shaped the discipline through research, education, and practice. Today, our graduates are shaping the future of service design across business, consultancies, government, charities, and NGOs worldwide.
From September 2026, this programme will be part of the School of Communication & Design.
Location
Service Design MA will be delivered at the Battersea campus for 2026/27. From August 2027, Service Design MA will move to our Kensington campus.
Explore further and register your interest
Catch the replays from our latest online Open Day.
Watch portfolio advice from the programme team.
Applications for the September 2026 intake are now closed. To stay updated on application dates and updates for 2027 entry, please complete the Register your Interest form.
Student and alumni stories
Gallery
Staff
Facilities
The School of Communication & Design is currently based across Battersea, Kensington and White City.
View all facilitiesYou'll have access to the College’s workshops, with traditional facilities for woodworking, metalworking, plastics and resins, including bookable bench spaces. Computer-driven subtractive milling equipment is available, as well as additive rapid prototyping.
More details on what you'll study.
Find out what you'll cover in this programme.
What you'll cover
What will I learn?
The Service Design programme equips you with cutting-edge thinking and tools to provide human insight, engage with complex systems and create and prototype new futures to become an effective changemaker in the modern world.
The teaching and learning is mostly project-based in that students will develop their practice through working on projects in teams. This includes collaborations with commercial, public sector or social organisations who bring real issues and opportunities for future disruption or innovation.
Collaborating in teams, the students will move through the design process of deep research, issue reframing, creative concept generation, prototyping and user testing. In developing their practice, students are encouraged to take a critical and reflective view of Service Design to develop their confidence in contributing to the development of Service Design as a practice and subject.
How will I learn?
We aim to create a studio-based learning environment where you learn by doing projects in collaboration with your peers, addressing a range of real-world challenges, e.g. health inequality, the green transition, designing for cities, emerging technology and AI.
The project work is guided by regular sessions with tutors who work with you throughout each project. You will have the opportunity to describe relevant research, hypotheses and potential outcomes with tutors as your project develops.
The studio-based learning is complemented with a series of lectures and seminars, covering the theoretical principles, practical examples, and methods of service design.
Topics include the impact and future direction of service design, human and digital interactions, user research and the generation of insight, design ethics, total system design and approaches to prototyping and testing.
A public event is held towards the end of the Independent Research Project.
Programme structure
The programme is delivered across three terms and includes a combination of programme, School and College units.
The first two terms will take you from a foundation of the tools and methodologies through to advanced techniques and management skills which are applied through projects leading to the Independent Research Project in the third term.
Term 1
Service Design Foundation introduces the theories and concepts underpinning service and service design practice. You will deliver a small-scale and analytically focused project in a team setting.
In Service Design Practice, you will apply service design tools and methods to deliver a ‘live’ project in dialogue with industry partners, to address a selected challenge in an area, e.g. health, sustainability, business innovation or social inclusion.
Term 2
In Service Design in Context, you will develop a project proposal for the Independent Research Project, by examining the relationship between practice and context, and the impact of service design projects on economic, technological, social, cultural and environmental systems and how these contexts shape the implementation of service ideas.
Also in Term 2, a choice of elective units will allow you to shape your own learning journey. You will have the opportunity to work alongside students from other programmes, bringing your practice into dialogue with the creative approaches of your peers. This could either be through tackling ‘wicked’ design problems from a range of different perspectives, by collaborating on themed interdisciplinary projects, or by exploring how mutual exchanges of ideas and interpretations can foster a socially engaged practice. A full list of elective options will be published in 2027.
Term 3
The Independent Research Project (IRP) is self-directed, with the aim to develop and establish yourself as a professional service designer in your chosen areas of expertise within the diverse spectrum of service design practice. You will develop strategic visions with practical deliverable design interventions to create new services and systems. This project will be the core of the public output of the programme and contribute powerfully to public discourse on the value and suitability of the services and interactions we experience.
This MA is delivered over 45 weeks.
Each year, students work on project briefs from a range of organisations.
Requirements
What you need to know before you apply
We invite candidates from around the world who have a passion for design as a transformational tool and wish to take that to a Masters level. Our selection process looks for a desire to take on challenging issues, to be curious in uncovering reality and bring creativity to finding and delivering new solutions.
The Service Design MA programme takes students with and without a design background who show the right qualities and the intellectual ability and desire for creative innovation as demonstrated through your portfolio. You should have a BA, BSc or similar or minimum of five years professional experience
Students may come from product, communication, digital and user experience design who wish to expand to their capabilities, be recent high performing graduates from other design disciplines as well as from computing and other technical disciplines, be budding entrepreneurs interested in launching new service-led business ventures and mid and senior professionals from industry and the public sector, with evidence of their creative talents as demonstrated by leadership of innovative projects.
What's needed from you
Portfolio requirements
We are looking for portfolios that show clear evidence of:
- Project topics that are challenging and aim to transform.
- Evidence of insight from user research, a sense of curiosity and willingness to uncover new insights.
- Empathy and understanding of people.
- Creative ideas that go beyond the expected and are built on user insight.
- The ability to craft new solutions that are desirable and impactful.
- An understanding of implementation and how concepts can be delivered in a sustainable and viable way.
- Examples that show your ability to shape and form services and experiences from a variety of physical, system or technological touch points to be beautiful and desirable to the user.
Personal statement
Please provide a 300-word written personal statement that addresses the following points:
- Introduce yourself, your interests and your motivations for applying to the Royal College of Art, and to this programme in particular.
- Briefly summarise any educational background and professional experience to date that will support your application.
- Tell us what you want to do in the future.
Video requirements
We ask that you upload a two-minute video recorded on your phone or laptop, speaking to us directly. High production qualities are not needed. We will review the work in your portfolio, so keep your video simple.
In your video, please explain your motivation to be a service designer and provide an example of your favourite service experience. Please then describe an aspect of Service Design you are most passionate about. Finally, briefly describe your favourite project in your portfolio and describe why you chose it.
This will be a chance to showcase your understanding of Service Design, your passion to study at a Master’s level and your ability to communicate the value and impact of your work.
English-language requirements
If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need the equivalent of an IELTS Academic or UKVI score of 6.5 overall (with a minimum of 5.5 in every component). 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 five 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 2027 entry on this programme are outlined below. From 2021 onward, EU students are classified as Overseas for tuition fee purposes.
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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. Deposits for 2026 entry will be confirmed in September 2026; 2026 deposit rates below for reference.
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Overseas and EU
Progression discount
For alumni who have completed an RCA Graduate Diploma and progress onto an RCA MA programme, a progression discount of £1,000 is available. For alumni progressing from an RCA Master's to another RCA Master's, a progression discount of £2,000 is available (£1,000 per year for part-time programmes).
* 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
Each year, the RCA scholarship programme supports hundreds of students. The following are examples of scholarships awarded for 2026/27, with additional awards added throughout the year.
GREAT Scholarship
In partnership with the British Council and the GREAT Britain Campaign, the RCA has announced the third year of GREAT Scholarships. For 2026/27 we are offering two scholarships to students from India and Turkey.
Eligible programmes: Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Overseas fee status
Value: £10,000 toward fees
House of Fraser Bursary
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: £10,000 toward fees
Leathersellers' Bursary
For students using leather in their practice
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home or overseas status
Value: £6,000 towards living costs
RCA President & Vice-Chancellor’s International
Round 1 and 2 programme applications will be automatically assessed for one of these scholarships. If you are successful, you will be told about this at the same time as receiving your RCA programme offer.
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: Applicants from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, USA
Eligible fee status: Overseas fee status
Value: £9,000 toward fees
RCA President & Vice-Chancellor’s UK Scholarship
Round 1 and 2 programme applications will be automatically assessed for one of these scholarships. If you are successful, you will be told about this at the same time as receiving your RCA programme offer.
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: £5,000 toward fees
The RCA Sanctuary Scholarship
For full details please see here: www.rca.ac.uk/study/apply-to-study/funding-your-studies/rca-scholarships-and-awards/the-rca-sanctuary-scholarship/
Eligible programmes: Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home or overseas status
Value: Full fees & support package up to the value of £20,000 pa (depending on the awardee’s circumstances)
The RCA UK Cost of Living Scholarship
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: £5,000 towards living costs
The RCA UK Disabled Students’ Scholarship
For students who identify as D/deaf or disabled
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: £6,000 towards living costs
The Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship
For students identifying as Black or Black British - Caribbean, Black or Black British - African, Other Black background, Mixed - White and Black Caribbean, Mixed - White and Black African
Eligible programmes: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA), Interior Design MA, Environmental Architecture & Urban Design MA, Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, V&A/RCA History of Design MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Animation MA, Digital Narrative Arts MA/MFA, Information Experience Design MA, Visual Communication MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Intelligent Mobility Design MA/MDes, Service Design MA, Textiles MA, Creative Education MEd, Communication MFA, Master of Research RCA MRes, Design Futures MA, Arts & Humanities MFA, Design Practice MArch
Other criteria: None
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: Full fees and maintenance
The Virgil Abloh Award
Eligible programmes: Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Service Design MA, Textiles MA
Other criteria: Students with Black African or Caribbean diaspora heritage, or mixed Black African or Caribbean diaspora heritage
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: £5,000 for living costs
The Virgil Abloh Scholarship
Eligible programmes: Ceramics & Glass MA, Contemporary Art Practice MA/MFA, Curating Contemporary Art MA, Jewellery & Metal MA, Painting MA, Photography MA, Print MA, Sculpture MA, Writing MA, Design Products MA/MDes, Fashion MA, Service Design MA, Textiles MA
Other criteria: Students with Black African or Caribbean diaspora heritage, or mixed Black African or Caribbean diaspora heritage
Eligible fee status: Home fee status
Value: Full fees and maintenance
Even if you do not currently see a scholarship for which you meet the eligibility criteria, we encourage you to apply to be considered for financial support.
Unless otherwise stated, you must apply in either round 1 or 2, and have received an offer of study on an RCA programme to be invited to make a scholarship application. Therefore, we strongly recommend you apply for your programme as early as possible but no later than the round 2 deadline.
More information
Additional fees
In addition to your programme fees, please be aware that you may incur other additional costs associated with your study during your time at RCA. Additional costs can include purchases and services (without limitation): costs related to the purchase of books, paints, textiles, wood, metal, plastics and/or other materials in connection with your programme, services related to the use of printing and photocopying, lasercutting, 3D printing and CNC. Costs related to attending compulsory field trips, joining student and sport societies, and your Convocation (graduation) ceremony.
If you wish to find out more about what type of additional costs you may incur while studying on your programme, please contact the Head of your Programme to discuss or ask at an online or in person Open Day.
We provide the RCASHOP online, and at our Kensington and Battersea Campuses – this is open to students and staff of the Royal College of Art only to provide paid for materials to support your studies.
We also provide support to our students who require financial assistance whilst studying, including a dedicated Materials Fund.
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.
Experience
The social media content shown here reflects past and current student activity and is provided for illustrative purposes only. Experiences on the programme may vary and are subject to change for future students.
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