MA Innenarchitektur

To provide prospective students with opportunities to find out about the RCA experience and programmes we run a number of 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 Interior Design Programme engages you in exploring emergent ideas and issues concerning distinct aspects of the design of the interior. This incorporates research, practice and making work that explores the diversity of human occupation in numerous environments, extending from the room to the city. The programme encourages the view that the interior is an interface between its occupants and the built environment, and it supports the notion that the interior is an agent for social change.

The programme values speculation, analysis and rigour with regard to the thinking and making of all aspects of the design of interior environments. It challenges you to formulate your own rigorous and critically independent responses to these fundamental concerns. This is often undertaken via the reworking of existing structures, the creation of temporal installations and the formation of permanent interventions. All of these practices involve the construction and communication of particular spatial identities using space, objects and materials.

Programme structure

The programme is delivered across three terms and includes a combination of programme, School and College-wide units.

Term 1

You'll take an initial Primer unit, which will engage you in the exploration and synthesis of the principles and methods of critical ideas in interior space. It introduces you to ideas and the processes that will enable participants to synthesise thinking and research in the design of interior spaces. The work in this unit will be based on a focused exploration that affords you the possibility to challenge your thinking through research, design, and exploration in order to generate new meanings for buildings, objects, spaces and the elements within them.

You will also participate in Media Studies. The unit aims to increase your critical engagement with media and space. Through this unit, you will be supported to increase your cross-disciplinary communication and you will be challenged to expand your media practice beyond architecture’s reliance on media as pure representation.

Across Terms 1 and 2, you will participate in the College-wide unit AcrossRCA; see below for more details.

You'll also take an Elective unit.

Term 2

The Platforms unit engages you in the origination and development of your own project in relation to the thematic concerns of the programme platforms. Each platform in this unit is designed to emphasise a particular way of thinking or aspect of the design of the interior.

Platform themes are the provocations or generators of ideas that you will utilise in the development of your own research and projects. It is anticipated that you will use the platform's interests to assist in the determination of your own practice interests and ultimately your professional identities.

In term 2 all School of Architecture students be offered a School-wide Elective unit.

Term 3

The purpose of the Independent Research Project (IRP) is to enable you to apply the intellectual, technical and professional skills that you have developed throughout the programme to a challenging self-set brief. The project you are undertaking is one that is normally informed and advanced from the work previously undertaken in the previous platform unit.

Still working within the thematic concerns of the platforms, you are expected to have agreed on a research and project proposal, a brief, with your tutor that identifies the parameters of your project, including its aims, rationale, approaches and methodologies and possible resource implications.

What you need to know before you apply

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 portfolio and video, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high MA standards overall.

You will usually have a good undergraduate degree or other appropriate experience. Professional experience, either before during or after a first degree, may be a benefit. We welcome applications from candidates from other related backgrounds, such as architecture, furniture design, product design and graphic design.

For full entry requirements ,  key dates  and the application process  visit the RCA website.

Fees for new students

Visit the RCA website for tuition fees and for information on scholarships and funding opportunities.

Meet the RCA

We host a range on online and on-campus open days as well as recruitment event in cities around the world. These events can include 1-to-1 meets and portfolio advice, informal chats, presentations and sessions with staff, students and alumni. Check the  Check the RCA event webpage  for details of upcoming events.

Next on-campus open day: Saturday 27 January, 2024.

Make change at the world’s #1 university for art and design.

The Royal College of Art is the world’s leading art and design university, having been ranked for eight consecutive years as the world’s number 1 art & design university in the QS World University subject rankings (2015-2023). Our postgraduate programmes enable you to tackle complex issues, push the boundaries of your practice, build your networks, and find your voice as a professional in a changing world.

Committed to creating the next generation of artists, designers, researchers, creators, and innovators, the RCA’s world-leading academic staff will guide and challenge you to push the boundaries of your practice. As the world’s largest community of postgraduate art and design students, you will be part of a collective of inspirational creative peers opening up new opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration. The RCA offers a Graduate Diploma conversion program and Master’s, MPhil, MRes, and PhD degrees. Based on the four Schools of Architecture, Arts & Humanities, Communication, and Design, the broad range of disciplines on offer is based on a strong foundation of practice-based research and integrates STEAM subjects - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics - providing a unique and transformative experience.

"I mainly expected this experience to help me develop my architectural skills, however, it has given me much more than just that. It has transformed the way I think as an individual as well as an architect and helped me make decisions about my future career." Ameneh Solati, MA Architecture, 2015 -17

Our Global Creative Community

Students come to the College from across the globe and bring with them a wide range of backgrounds, educational approaches, and experiences - Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of our work, and our growing range of courses, nearly 25% of students now come to the RCA with a Bachelor's degree in a subject other than art and design. Studying here means you'll be part of a network of inspiring students in a city known for creative culture, and part of the RCA’s rich history since its formation in 1837. Both the RCA and London as a whole are hubs of activity; full of places where you can socialize, explore, and make new discoveries.

Our London campus is spread throughout the heart of one of the world’s most creative cities, with sites in the historic surroundings of Kensington, the future-thinking hub of White City, and the cultural quarter in Battersea. Our facilities and technical equipment are amongst the best of their kind in the world and support students in their explorations of the creative possibilities of both new and innovative and traditional craft skills.

Scholarships and funding

The RCA offers a wide range of scholarships and bursary schemes, open to UK and International students, and across our full range of courses. Visit our website for more information about our schemes and how to apply for them. There are also Government funded options for both our Master's degrees and our doctoral research Programmes (for UK students).

Where will the RCA take you?

Whatever your creative career aspirations, the RCA can help you realize them. A qualification from the world’s number-one ranked university for Art and design has proven invaluable to the careers and practice of thousands of graduates . You too could be part of our international network of creative individuals who have shaped, and continue to shape, the world surrounding us, and address some of the biggest global challenges of our time.