What will I learn?
The Textiles MA at the RCA operates at the creative interface between materials, making and meaning. Practice-led research is at the heart of the programme: you ‘think through making’ by experimenting with materials and processes across physical and digital domains. The community brings together commercial designers, individual craft practitioners, gallery-based makers and smart textile innovators, creating a rich environment for critical questioning and exchange. Through individual initiatives, collaborative work, industry-oriented and interdisciplinary projects, you develop a personal creative identity. With a focus on radical experimentation, material exploration and transformation, the programme encourages an exploratory, non-linear and conceptual approach that embraces incidental and accidental discovery. You critically engage with the discipline while developing a responsible and ethical approach to textiles and material practice. Programme structure: Term 1 In Term 1, you take Textiles Alchemy, establishing a strong foundation for your practice through research, experimentation and exploration of colour, materials and processes. You identify and evaluate the skills and techniques most appropriate to your project while critically engaging with your material choices and contributing to the programme’s studio culture. Term 2 In Term 2, you take Textiles Make, developing deeper technical knowledge and specialist skills within your chosen area of practice. Through lectures, workshops, technical inductions, negotiated technical learning and independent study, you critically connect your making with your practice and explore current debates in textiles, including sustainability and responsibility, materials and craft, identity and politics, future materials and manufacturing, mixed realities and textiles as fine art. Also in Term 2, a choice of elective units allows you to shape your learning journey and bring your practice into dialogue with students from other programmes. You can explore interdisciplinary approaches, collaborate on complex design challenges or engage with socially and culturally relevant themes through shared projects and exchange. Term 3 In Term 3, you take the Independent Research Project, identifying, developing and presenting a cohesive body of work that demonstrates your Masters-level expertise. You set the scope of your project and manage your time and resources while developing a sustained trajectory of creativity, critical analysis, consolidation and resolution. Your work is supported through tutorials, seminars, workshops and negotiated technical learning, culminating in the collective Textiles Festival, where you publicly disseminate and critically reflect on your practice in relation to the wider discipline.Referring to the website: 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. 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.
