South Kensington’s Royal College of Art ranked world’s top university for art and design for sixth consecutive year

The Royal College of Art (RCA) has been ranked the number one university for art and design internationally for the sixth consecutive year according to the QS World University Rankings by subject 2020 – the largest world-wide survey of academic and industry opinion.

The RCA, based in Kensington Gore, South Kensington, leads the table of 200 of the world’s top universities for the study of art and design, ahead of much larger institutions around the globe.

The accolade firmly puts London at the top of the league for art and design, with the college among some of the capital’s leading institutions.

Dr Paul Thompson, vice-chancellor of the Royal College of Art, said: “Creativity, research and pedagogy are as strong as ever at the RCA, and this accolade is a testament to the quality and commitment of our staff and the enormous talent of our students.

“Part of our continued success stems from the ability to evolve, by continuing to support world-class art and design, but also embracing new areas of expertise and innovation from robotics and AI to computing and materials science.

“I would like to thank our students, academic staff and researchers for their enormous contribution and unparalleled passion.”

The QS University Rankings assesses the best international universities based on three assessment areas: academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. The rankings are based on the opinions of academics and employers.

Jack Moran, QS Spokesman, said: “Achieving exceptional renown from the global academic world and consistently positive feedback from employers about the quality of its graduates, the Royal College of Art continues its relentless run at the top of the QS World University Rankings by subject.

“As the UK higher education sector prepares for its post-Brexit existence, our latest dataset continues to illuminate the enduring quality of its constituent institutions.

“In all, 2,212 universities offering art and design programmes were assessed in the compilation of this ranking: a testament to both the analytical scope of QS’s Intelligence Unit and the unique educational experience provided by the RCA.”