Secure your place for 2026

Date

5 November 2025

Read time

2 minutes

Welcome to the World’s No.1 University for Art & Design.*

Students come from across the world to the Royal College of Art in London to be part of an internationally renowned postgraduate community. Gain unrivalled opportunities to enhance your practice, build networks, solve global challenges and develop your career.

* QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Art & Design

Date

5 November 2025

Read time

2 minutes

Postgraduate study

The Royal College of Art offers Graduate Diploma, Master's and MPhil/PhD programmes in the arts, design, communication, architecture and the humanities. Our students also come from a broad range of backgrounds including science, technology, engineering, social sciences, business and healthcare.

Use our Programme finder to explore your chosen subject.

Programme finder

January 2026 intake

A number of programmes have an intake in January 2026 including the Design Practice MArch, Architecture MPhil/PhD and Graduate Diploma Art & Design (Design specialism).

Start a degree in January

September 2026 intake

Applications for our September 2026 intake are open now.

See eligibility and key dates

Events for prospective students

Register for online and on-campus open days, portfolio Q&A sessions, campus tours and the chance to meet the RCA globally and in the UK.

Online Open Events

Online Portfolio Q&A Week: 1 - 5 December 2025

In-person events

Join us for a campus tour and experience what life at the RCA is really like. Explore our facilities, meet our community, and get a feel for studying here. Visit the link for more information and to see upcoming tour dates.

Meet the RCA around the world

RCA staff regularly host and attend events around the world for prospective students. Find out where you can meet the RCA around the World.

Canada
Toronto: 14 & 15 November

Saudi Arabia
Jeddah: 22 November

South Africa
Johannesburg: 25 November

United Arab Emirates
Dubai: 21 November

Open events

RCA Student Profiles 2025

Browse profiles of our class of 2025 on the RCA Student Profiles website.

With profiles from over 1,600 postgraduate students across the RCA’s four schools – Architecture, Arts & Humanities, Communication and Design – as well as programmes run by the Intelligent Mobility Design Centre and Academic Development, discover the art and design world’s newest talent and latest innovations.

Student Profiles 2025

Why choose the RCA?

Group of architecture students in the studio

Teaching and research expertise

The opportunity to learn from world-leading academic staff. We’re the only specialist art and design university where all of our permanent teaching and research staff are also research active and included in the RCA’s submissions to the UK Research Excellence Framework.

Renowned alumni

Our 30,000+ alumni are leaders in their disciplines, making national and international headlines. Alumni include:

Hoor Al Qasimi
Hurvin Anderson RA
Christopher Bailey CBE
Sir Peter Blake
Sir Frank Bowling
Sir James Dyson OM
Dame Tracey Emin RA
Sir Anthony Finkelstein
Thomas Heatherwick RDI, CBE
Dame Barbara Hepworth
Lubaina Himid RA CBE
David Hockney OM
Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq
Asif Kapadia
Julian MacDonald OBE
Henry Moore OM
Erdem Moralioglu MBE
Morag Myerscough
Dame Magdalene Odundo
Chris Ofili CBE
Dame Zandra Rhodes
Bridget Riley
Peter Schreyer
Sir Ridley Scott
Douglas Stewart
Philip Treacy OBE

Our alumni

A diverse creative community

The RCA is the world’s largest postgraduate-only art and design university, representing an exciting talent base and opportunities to build your network and collaborate. An RCA student might be a career-changer, or come straight from an undergraduate course. We typically welcome students from over 70 countries.

Interdisciplinary connections

Our College and School-wide projects, activities and challenges help our students find like-minded creatives to solve major global problems, grow their networks, or find future business partners. Find out more about AcrossRCA.

Build your career

Find out more about how the RCA can help move your career to the next level with our Graduate Careers Report.

Royal College of Art Graduate Careers Report 2024

“This course has really given me the free reign to focus on what I was trying to do, for all this time without having a focus.”
Damien Shipley-Marshall Graduate Diploma – Communication
“It was a place where curiosity was absolutely encouraged, without limit and without borders, that was a very appealing place to be… With the RCA you’ve got a badge that opens doors.”
Judah Armani Service Design graduate, Founder at InHouse Records
“There is such an amazing range of staff and tutors and the fact that everyone kind of came from different backgrounds makes it a richer experience.”
Lucy Hardcastle Information Experience Design graduate, Founder & Creative Director at Lucy Hardcastle Studio
“The college was incredibly formative to me and plays a big part in the way that I operate now as a designer and as an architect. The multi-disciplinary spirit at Heatherwick studio often reminds me of the RCA.”
Andre Kong Architecture graduate, Associate & Project Leader at Heatherwick Studio
“As an independent filmmaker what I acquired from RCA has given me confidence and confirmation in what I can achieve in my career going forward.”
Duncan Senkumba Animation graduate, Animator & Director
“There is at the RCA a sense of community that I hadn’t witnessed in French universities. Being surrounded by talented artists and creators is also very inspiring”
Anna DuFour Montuori Curating Contemporary Art graduate, Arts Project Officer
“I came to the RCA because I was at a point where I felt like I needed to establish a visual identity for myself… It has completely reshaped my process and helped me to think much more conceptually than I ever have before.”
Sosa Yande Graduate Diploma Art & Design graduate, Artist
“The staff made me realise that I could be more ambitious, more sure of myself and to grab the next dream project (in my case, a book) and make it happen. The RCA has most definitely opened doors for me – and showed me where the doors are.”
Laura Robertson Writing graduate, Author and freelance writer
“Throughout my career I realised that Royal College of Art was a constant reference by my favourite artists, and professionals. The choice seemed clear.”
Hugo Pereira Sculpture graduate, Visual artist

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Meet our 2023 graduates a year after the RCA

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RCA2024 showcased the work of graduating RCA students and the global impact our graduates have made across art and design.