Royal College of Art gets top global art and design accolade for ninth year running

When it comes to long-standing accolades, The Royal College of Art (RCA) can have few rivals. The London institution has been ranked No 1 university for art & design internationally for the ninth consecutive year. 

That’s based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, the largest worldwide survey of academic and industry opinion, no less.

The latest results “demonstrate the College’s reputation by scoring 100% for academic reputation, and 93.5% for employer reputation,” the QS survey noted.

It’s been a busy 12 months for the RCA, opening a new Design & Innovation campus in Battersea designed by Herzog & de Meuron; joining forces with King Charles and its Chancellor Sir Jony Ive to develop new start-up businesses tackling the climate crisis, landfill waste and the loss of biodiversity via the Terra Carta Design Lab; and it has delivered global partnerships across industry and civil society “that will inform elements of the way we live and thrive well into the future”.

Dr Paul Thompson, Vice-Chancellor, said: “The fact that the RCA has been ranked as the top art and design university in the world for the past nine consecutive years is testament to the talent, flair and skill of our staff and students.

“In the coming year, we’re more focused than ever before on championing the interdisciplinarity and impact of our research, knowledge exchange, innovation and world-leading teaching in addressing global challenges.”