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MA - Master of Arts
Royal College of Art
Full Time
SEP-25
1 year
Select a course option
MA - Master of Arts
Royal College of Art
Full Time
SEP-25
1 year
MA - Master of Arts
Royal College of Art
Part Time
SEP-25
2 years
Select a subject
Select a an exam type
Join a Master’s programme jointly run by two world-leading centres of excellence for scholarship and creativity, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and Royal College of Art (RCA). Develop advanced knowledge, skills and approaches from the perspective of design history.
Our research-led teaching and experiential methods inspire and train future leaders in the field. Alumni of the programme are working successfully in various positions across universities, museums, cultural organisations, design firms and media outlets, as well as in independent practice.
We see the history of design as interdisciplinary and future-facing. We offer ground-breaking tools and approaches for studying the history and material culture of design in everyday life, across a global geography from c. 1400 to the present. Our research and teaching ranges from the early modern to the contemporary, with particular expertise in the UK/Europe, North America and Asia, and transnational and global connections. Our programme is strongly committed to inclusivity, decoloniality and social and environmental engagement.
We combine scholarly excellence with risk-taking to forge histories of design and material culture that are public-facing and experimental. We draw on a global outlook, whether placing local histories in a comparative context or tracing global networks through material culture.
You explore topics as broad as fashion and textile history; histories of architecture; digital materialities; material histories of medicine, science and technology; the material culture of everyday life; histories and practices of making, craft and embodied knowledge; environmental history, ecologies of design and the Anthropocene; history of theatre and performance; social and political history in relation to design; decoloniality and social justice through design history practice; and global history through material culture.
Candidates are selected entirely on merit and applications are welcomed from all over the world. The selection process will consider creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your application, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high MA standards overall. Candidates are selected entirely on merit and applications are welcomed from all over the world. The selection process will consider creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your application, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high MA standards overall. You should have a good first degree in an arts and humanities or an art, design, photography or performance practice background. If you have a different background, for example in the social sciences or professions, we encourage you to apply. We welcome applications from students of all ages, and view both prior academic and professional experience as valuable.
Students living in
Domestic
£16,550 per year
Students from Domestic
This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
£38,600 per year
Students from EU
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.
£38,600 per year
Students from International
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.
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