Design Futures (Taught)

The MDes Design Futures at the RCA equips you with research, strategic and entrepreneurial design skills to address complex social and environmental challenges through futures thinking. You immerse yourself in core units on research methodologies, complex systems and envisioning futures before developing your own independent research project grounded in ethical and resilient interventions. Alongside a wide range of electives including design resilience, ethics and innovation, you learn to visualise alternative futures, engage people in debate, and shape purposeful change through design practice and foresight.

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.

Course Modules

Term 1
In Term 1, you take Research Methodologies, which provides a toolkit of methods to tackle diverse and challenging future-focused issues.

You also take Complex Systems, which introduces concepts such as leverage points, wicked problems, causal loops, and systems thinking.

During this term you'll also choose one school-wide elective and one college-wide elective, enabling you to engage with cross disciplinary approaches from across the RCA.

Term 2
In Term 2, you take Envisioning Futures, combining futures methodologies with advanced digital and analogue design techniques to explore speculative, multi scenario futures.

You also work on your Independent Research Project: Proposal, developing your research question and planning your future project.

During this term you'll also choose one school-wide elective and one college-wide elective, enabling you to engage with cross disciplinary approaches from across the RCA.

Term 3
In Term 3, you take Independent Research Project: Realisation, where you deliver a body of work that explores your chosen future scenario or design question, supported through tutorials, seminars, and critique.

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.

https://www.rca.ac.uk/study/programme-finder/design-futures/