Update you browser

For the best experience, we recommend you update your browser. Visit our accessibility page for a list of supported browsers. Alternatively, you can continue using your current browser by closing this message.

Close
Menu Search
Programme finder
Research projects
Start-up companies

Press Resources: RCA Overview

Last updated 15 July 2024
RCA Battersea

RCA Battersea. Photo by Iwan Baan.

  • The RCA was founded in 1837 as the Government School of Design, before being renamed the National Art Training School, and becoming the Royal College of Art in 1896.
  • For ten consecutive years, the RCA has been ranked as the world’s number 1 art & design university [by the respected QS ranking] - attracting artists, designers and communicators from across the globe.
  • The RCA is research-led, and ranked as the most research-intensive specialist art and design university in the UK [under the Research Excellence Framework 2014 and 2021].
  • Our interdisciplinary, industry-facing Research Centres cover innovative areas as diverse as inclusive design for the challenges of ageing; the future of transport and mobility; sustainable materials and the circular economy; and design-led robotics and AI.
  • Studying at the RCA is the starting point for the world's creative leaders. We attract the best students, who come to the RCA as the world’s most influential postgraduate art and design school, to make change and push the boundaries of their fields.
  • With more than 20,000 RCA alumni all over the world, our graduates form a unique international network of artists, designers, creators and innovators. Every year RCA alumni are recognised as leaders in their disciplines, making national and international headlines for shaping the world we live in.
  • The RCA is home to more than 850 of the world’s leading academic and professional staff in fields such as art, humanities, communication, design and architecture.
  • Our award-winning graduate incubator, InnovationRCA has an outstanding track record of turning RCA ideas into successful, high-impact businesses, creating over 80 start-ups to date.