School: Royal College of Art
Location: London, UK
Undergraduate program: None
Graduate program: Master of Arts
Number of students: 688 (in School of Design as a whole)
Number of faculty: N/A
Notable alumni: Sir James Dyson, Thomas Heatherwick, Sebastian Bergne, Paul Cocksedge, Raw-Edges Design Studio’s Shay Alkalay and Yael Mer (named Designers of the Future by Design Miami/Basel in 2009)
Website: rca.ac.uk, rca.ac.uk/schools/school-of-design/design-products/
Strengths: A mandate to build in students the desire to take risks, push boundaries and think originally, a diverse and skilled faculty to see that through
The overview: The RCA’s dynamic School of Design is a playground for rebellious thinking, providing an open-minded milieu that encourages students to think outside the box. Many of the profs and instructors are world leaders in their areas of expertise: Ron Arad and Tord Boontje have both done stints as head of Design Products, and James Dyson was the Provost until recently. The school is also nestled within London’s “Albertopolis,” a world-class collection of museums and institutions of higher learning.