MA City Design
London, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
19 Jan 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
07 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 39,200 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* as the RCA received a high number of applications we encourage you to apply as early as possible to secure your place on your programme
** overseas and EU
Key Summary
About: The MA City Design course focuses on equipping students with the skills to shape urban environments within a global context.
You'll engage in modules that cover urban theory, design practices, and collaborative projects, encouraging innovative approaches to city planning and development.
This program typically spans one year full-time, allowing for an intensive learning experience.
Career Outcomes: Graduates of this program may find career opportunities in urban design, city planning, architecture, and development consultancy.
Potential roles could include urban designer, planning officer, or project manager, addressing the challenges of sustainable urban growth.
Our free in-person open days are the perfect way to experience what studying at the RCA is like. Opening times: 7 February 2026 – 10am to 4pm (UK time)
To provide prospective students with opportunities to find out about the RCA experience and programmes we run several on-campus and online open days as well as events in various countries around the world. You can find out about upcoming events or watch replays of past open days on the RCA website.
The MA City Design envisions new concepts of city and urban life by placing design speculation at the core of social innovation.
City life is undergoing momentous change. New forms of urban development and technologically driven forms of social innovation are transforming the way we live, work, reproduce and take care of the world around us, producing new lines of social solidarity as well as new sites of social conflict. Yet most of the methods used to research and design cities have resisted change, thus limiting our ability to perceive relevant changes and conceive radically different futures.
MA City Design believes in the unique capacities of design to conceptualise and propose new and original models of living in cities. It proposes an approach to city design education that unites architectural, social sciences and scientific research. The programme is site-focused and design-led and students have the potential to engage with NGOs, policymakers, government and industry.
Our Industry Advisory Group is a consultative forum that supports the continual improvement of the MA City Design programme and ensures its relevance to ongoing problems and issues in city-making globally.
Meet the RCA
We host a range of online and on-campus open days as well as recruitment events in cities around the world. These events can include 1-to-1 meetings and portfolio advice, informal chats, presentations and sessions with staff, students and alumni.
Check the RCA event webpage for details of upcoming events.
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.
What you'll learn
The MA City Design makes use of digital design, analysis and visualisation tools, including moving images, animation, and augmented and immersive design, as drivers of speculative innovation. Together with collaborative forms of knowledge production and exchange, the programme argues these are necessary for enabling the designers of cities to creatively imagine the future in just and equitable ways. Through invited guests, collaborators and site visits, students will have access to different stakeholders involved in contemporary urban transformation. These will range from industry and design practitioners to central and local government, or community and grassroots organisations.
Students of the MA City Design will have the opportunity to pursue a degree within a world-leading art and design institution, and to access the rich culture of radical and experimental interdisciplinary work at the Royal College of Art. Moreover, the programme will help students to establish a network of colleagues and mentors by offering them the opportunity of connecting to leading figures in City Design both in London and internationally through an innovative practice mentorship scheme.
The MA City Design at the RCA embraces an interdisciplinary, justice-oriented studio-based approach to rethinking the future of cities, blending architectural, social science, and scientific research. You explore urban design principles, planning, policy and digital tools from immersive visualisation and animation to collaborative knowledge production. Through critical engagement and technical experimentation, you learn to design for environmental and spatial justice and to negotiate between multiple city-makers, including NGOs, government and communities.
Programme structure
Term 1
In Term 1, you take Design Studio I: Conditions, which introduces you to the design-led, site-based model and collaborative research with urban actors. You work in groups to describe, analyse and represent urban conditions, using digital tools, site visits and stakeholder interaction to inform your investigation.
In the same term, you also take Seminar I: Positions, where you explore contemporary social issues (such as housing, public health or inequality) by listening to and reflecting on perspectives from urban communities, policymakers, and front-line changemakers. You develop a collective submission (e.g. film, podcast or blog) and maintain a logbook of seminar readings and reflections.
Also in Term 1, there is Media Studies, focusing on historical and contemporary media practices and research. You develop critical engagement through lectures, tutorials and workshops, producing innovative proposals using various media methods.
Term 2
In Term 2, you take Design Studio II: Propositions, where you create spatial interventions in your site of study in response to real-world challenges. You explore social innovation using digital representation, consult with NGOs or planning bodies, and develop a design brief and stakeholder strategy.
Also in Term 2, you do Seminar II: Transformations, which deepens your understanding of how cities change socially and politically. You read key theories, participate in student-led roundtables, and submit a 2,000‑word essay (which may be supported by visual or archival materials).
You also choose a school-wide elective from the options provided by the School of Architecture.
Term 3
In Term 3, you take the Independent Research Project. This builds on your studio work from Terms 1 and 2, allowing you to pursue a self-directed research theme. You present your work publicly (in a talk or exhibition) and submit a portfolio plus either a project component or a written thesis.
AcrossRCA (Terms 1 & 2)
During the first two terms, you participate in the AcrossRCA college-wide unit, collaborating with students from other programmes on a self-initiated themed project that addresses cultural, social, environmental or economic issues.
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 11 consecutive years, the RCA has been ranked as the world’s number 1 art & design university in the QS World University subject rankings (2015-2025) - attracting artists, designers and communicators from across the globe.
RCA offers a wide range of funding opportunities to support postgraduate study, including a variety of tuition fee and living cost scholarships.
Beyond financial support, many of these scholarships also provide networking opportunities with peers, partnership organisations and professional bodies to enhance your experience.
You can find more information about available scholarships and their eligibility criteria in the link below.
Students from over 70 countries come to the RCA. We welcome applications from talented, creative individuals from all over the world. Many are from backgrounds you might expect such as art, design, architecture, communications, media and humanities. Others come from disciplines as broad as engineering, social sciences, technology, toolmaking, medicine, business, law, physics, life coaching, economics, teaching, music, etc. The list is endless. What RCA students share is the potential, commitment and ambition to make change in the world through art and design.
What types of jobs to graduates go on to?
The RCA has consistently produced world leaders in the fields of creative endeavour – acting as a launchpad for the careers of major international figures.
Our alumni shape the world – whether founding their own studios and brands, pushing the boundaries of possibility through their start-ups or taking on impressive roles with global companies across a wide range of disciplines.
What if they want to start their own business?
Our creative students have ambitions of being their own boss and making their own decisions, so launch their own enterprises or studios either soon after graduating or any some time employed in industry. Many did not intend to start their studies considering themselves entrepreneurs but discovered an idea during their studies with their fellow students that they believe would make a successful business. InnovationRCA – the College’s centre for student and graduate enterprise and entrepreneurship – supports students and recent graduates to transform compelling ideas into successful businesses, providing incubation, intellectual property and commercialisation support.