Executive summary

A national asset, the RCA attracts talent from all of Britain’s communities and is an important fountainhead for UK creative industries. For eight consecutive years we have been ranked as the world’s leading art and design university by the respected QS ranking.

The Strategic Plan 2022–27 sees the RCA introduce a number of bold academic initiatives, in particular a new framework for the Master’s programmes and the introduction of MDes and MFA degrees. These developments are some of the most significant for the RCA in 30 years and will dramatically widen access and participation, focusing yet more on talent rather than ability to pay.

Goal 1 of the Strategic Plan focuses on research and the value of new knowledge and insights created by the RCA to address diverse global challenges ranging from mobility and urbanism, the circular economy, the climate crisis and de-carbonisation to ageing populations and inclusivity. And how, in turn, these new research findings will rapidly become translated into new units of study in our taught programmes.

Goal 2 puts teaching excellence and student experience at the heart of the institution, with a new MA framework which will broaden access and align with the world of lifelong learnings.

Goal 3 outlines how the RCA works in partnership with industry and how we contribute as a civic university to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of society, in particular our role in UK innovation strategy and creative entrepreneurship.

A number of ‘enablers’ will help the RCA deliver these goals:

• Our Values
• Our People & Culture, including our anti-racism action plan
• Our Advocacy
• Our Finance & Investment
• Our Infrastructures

Student numbers are forecast to grow from 2,300 to 3,000 on London-based degree programmes, with additional growth through online courses. By 2027, we will have transformed what we teach, through the acceleration of our new research outputs into credit-based taught units within our MAs. We will have transformed whom we teach, through our widening participation programme and student support, and anti-racism initiatives; and we will have transformed how we teach, through the new flexible postgraduate taught models of delivery. Throughout all of this, we will have continued to work to make sure we attract, develop and retain the most talented people to work at the RCA.

We will have brought new purpose and meaning to our 1967 Charter through Goal 3, including our industry-based professional doctorate programme, and demonstrated that we work not only with industry, but also create and lead new industries and start-ups.