Royal College of Art celebrates 11th consecutive year as the world’s leading university for art and design

The Royal College of Art has been ranked the number 1 university for art & design internationally for the 11th year in a row, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 – the largest world-wide survey of academic and industry opinion, with other UK institutions also being highly ranked.

The latest results demonstrate the College's reputation with an overall score of 97.4 percent.

As with previous years, University of the Arts London takes up the second place in the Art and Design rankings, with both UK institutions ahead of major international universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rhode Island School of Design and Parsons School of Design in the US, and European institutions such as Aalto University in Finland and Politecnico di Milano in Italy. Meanwhile, the Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music are named number 1 and number 2 in the Performing Arts rankings.

Professor Christoph Lindner, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, said: “Being recognised as the world’s top art and design university for 11 consecutive years is a significant achievement. This recognition is a testament to the incredible talent of the RCA's community - past and present - whose creativity and innovation are shaping the future of art and design. Set against the backdrop of London’s vibrant cultural landscape and thriving creative industries, the RCA continues to attract outstanding talent from across the UK and the world, which is vital for our success.”

The UK's strength in creative higher education directly feeds into the country’s reputation as a leader for its innovative creative industries and as a global destination for culture, and supports the UK's creative economy, which contributes £124 billion annually in GVA and employs over 2.4 million people.