The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a university in London, England, housed in the Darwin Building in Kensington Gore, South Kensington. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate art and design institution, offering the degrees of M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D..

The college was founded in 1837, and was then known as the Government School of Design. It became the National Art Training School in 1853, and in 1896 received the name The Royal College of Art. After 130 years in operation, the RCA was granted a Royal Charter in 1967, which gave it the status of an independent university with the power to grant its own degrees.

The current enrollment tally measures roughly 900 students, all taking fine art, applied art, design, and communications courses.

The Rector of the RCA is the historian and critic Sir Christopher Frayling.

The Royal College of Art played a major role in the birth of the modern school of British sculpture in the 1920s, with students including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, and in the development of Pop Art in the 1960s with students including Peter Blake and David Hockney.

The college also has an international reputation for its teaching in the fields of automotive design, photography, industrial design and interior design, fashion, ceramics and silversmithing. Degrees in the History of Design are offered in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, close to the college.

Also close by are the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal College of Music, Imperial College and Hyde Park.

Notable alumni

• Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyll
• Victor Ambrus, illustrator
• Frank Auerbach, painter
• Christopher Bailey, designer
• Peter Blake, painter
• Victor Burgin, 1986 Turner Prize nominee
• Gillian Carnegie, 2005 Turner Prize nominee
• Patrick Caulfield, 1987 Turner Prize nominee
• Ossie Clark, fashion designer
• Jake and Dinos Chapman, 2003 Turner Prize nominees
• Susie Cooper, ceramic designer
• Tony Cragg, 1988 Turner Prize winner
• Richard Deacon, 1987 Turner Prize winner
• Roger Dean, artist
• Len Deighton, historian and author
• Conrad Dressler, sculptor and potter
• James Dyson, vacuum cleaner designer
• Tracey Emin, 1999 Turner Prize nominee
• Mary Gillick, sculptor
• William Harbutt, sculptor and inventor of Plasticine
• Thomas Heatherwick, designer and sculptor
• Barbara Hepworth, sculptor
• David Hockney, painter
• Peter Horbury, automotive designer
• Laurence Housman, playwright
• Phil Janssen, graphic designer and animation director
• R. B. Kitaj, artist
• Edwin Lutyens, architect
• David Mach, 1988 Turner Prize nominee
• Kenneth Martin, sculptor
• Mary Martin, sculptor
• Henry Moore, sculptor
• Malcolm Morley, 1984 Turner Prize winner
• Chris Ofili, 1998 Turner Prize winner
• Michael Pinsky, artist
• Brothers Quay, stop-motion animators
• Bridget Riley, artist
• Sir Ridley Scott, film director (brother of Tony)
• Tony Scott, film director (brother of Ridley)
• Uday Shankar, choreographer
• Chris Svensson, car designer
• Storm Thorgerson, photographer and designer
• John Tunnard artist
• Charles Tunnicliffe, painter
• Sidney Tushingham, painter and etcher
• Richard Wentworth, sculptor
• Alison Wilding, 1992 Turner Prize nominee
• Joash Woodrow, painter
• Jon Wozencroft, graphic designer and cofounder of Touch Music
• Carey Young, 2003 Beck's Futures nominee
• Paul Wraith, Automotive Designer

External links

• Royal College of Art website

Educational institutions established in 1837 | Art schools in London | Art schools in the United Kingdom | Higher education colleges in the United Kingdom | Universities in London

Royal College of Art | Royal College of Art