MA Design Futures

The Design Futures MA at the RCA equips you with research, strategic and entrepreneurial design skills to address complex social and environmental challenges through futures thinking. You develop a transdisciplinary approach to design practice, exploring research methodologies, complex systems and alternative futures before developing your own Independent Research Project. Through a flexible combination of core and elective units, you learn to work with diverse forms of knowledge, stakeholders and perspectives, visualise near and deep futures, engage people in debate, and develop purposeful strategies for more sustainable futures. Alongside your independent project, you build professional and entrepreneurial skills to help take your ideas into real-world contexts. Programme structure: Term 1 In Term 1, you take Research Methodologies, which introduces research and futures methodologies to support the imagination and realisation of alternative futures. You engage with diverse forms of knowledge, stakeholders and perspectives to develop a toolkit for future-focused research. You also take Complex Systems, which explores complexity, wicked problems, systems thinking, theories of change and leverage points for design. You work with secondary data and qualitative insights to understand contexts, identify root causes and explore opportunities for transformation and value. Term 2 In Term 2, you take Envisioning Futures, combining futures methods with advanced digital and analogue envisioning techniques to bring near and deep futures to life from a multi-species perspective. You also develop your Independent Research Project: Proposal, creating a research proposal that demonstrates the need for research, identifies gaps in knowledge and sets out how your proposed research will address them. During this term, you also choose from a range of elective units, allowing you to shape your own learning journey and work alongside students from other programmes, bringing your practice into dialogue with different creative approaches. Term 3 In Term 3, you undertake your Independent Research Project, bringing together the knowledge and approaches developed throughout the programme to propose and realise a substantial body of work addressing the ambitions of your research and professional practice. Your project may be individual or collaborative and is supported through tutorials, seminars and forums, with opportunities to share and professionally disseminate your work.Referring to the website: Please refer to the programme webpage for the most accurate and up-to-date information about the programme, its structure, modules and any updates or changes. About RCA: The Royal College of Art is the world’s leading postgraduate art and design university, providing students with unrivalled opportunities to develop their practice, build their networks, enhance their career and to deliver art and design projects that transform the world. For 12 consecutive years, the RCA has been ranked as the world’s number 1 art & design university in the QS World University subject rankings (2015-2026) - attracting artists, designers and communicators from across the globe.

Candidates are selected entirely on merit. We welcome applications from all over the world, as well as from mid-career designers and career changers.The selection criteria considers creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your portfolio or equivalent professional experience, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve the MA standard overall.Portfolio requirementsFor your application we want you to compile a single illustrated document (PDF, maximum ten pages and project proposal) showing us a diverse range of projects from previous studies, professional work or self-initiated work and you must include a project proposal. This should show clearly through writing and images of your own work your interest in pursuing Design as an interdisciplinary field that seeks to address current and future challenges.If you are currently a designer or design student, select a few of your most creative, original and ingenious pieces of work, including your process and decision making, the skills and tools used, as well as its purpose and final outcome. If you're not a designer or a student from a different discipline, don’t worry – show us how you’ve achieved excellence in your own field, communicate it in writing and/or visually, and make it personal, evidencing your unique creativity and how this might be relevant to Design. In both cases we are interested in how you think, what gets you excited, your desire to learn new skills, and your ability to build and grow ideas that contribute to the future of design and the planet.Project proposalWord count: 700 wordsFont: Minimum 10ptFormat: Include at the end of your portfolio PDFThe project proposal (700 words) is an indicative statement about what you intend to explore as a Design Futures issue on the programme. It is recognised that this will change and develop while you are studying. We want to understand your interests, your particular angle on this topic, the context, and how you would approach it. Avoid generic statements about global issues.Personal statementPlease provide a 300-word written personal statement that addresses the following points:Introduce yourself, your interests and your motivations for applying to the Royal College of Art, and to this programme in particular.Briefly summarise any educational background and professional experience to date that will support your application.Tell us what you want to do in the future.Video requirements