Art & Design Short Courses
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Art & Design short courses take place throughout the year delivered live online and on campus in subjects including curating, contemporary art, graphic design and portfolio development.
Editorial Design
29 April, 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20 & 23 May 2025 – BOOK NOW
“Learn the craft and art of editorial design, which is defined as the presentation of information (text and image) in a coherent, relevant and innovative manner, allowing the reader access to subject matter of all kinds and on various platforms."
Adrian Shaughnessy and Astrid Stavro, Short Course Leaders
Typography
3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24 & 27 June 2025 – BOOK NOW
“Typography is part science and part art. This course aims to acquaint you with the core principles of typography (the science) and inspire you to develop your powers of typographic expression (the art).”
Adrian Shaughnessy, Short Course Leader
The Graphic Novel: Visual Storytelling
30 June, 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21 & 24 July 2025 – BOOK NOW
“How we start a story can prove difficult but to make this possible we are offering you a starting point. Composition, tone, colour, pacing and tempo are the things we have to engage with.”
Professor Andrzej Klimowski, Short Course Leader
Curating Contemporary Art and Design
Future dates to be announced – register your interest
“We provide a highly interactive environment in which participants develop their own curatorial practices and critical perspectives while building new networks and working collaboratively together.”
Linda Rocco, Short Course Convenor
Contemporary Art Summer School
Future dates to be announced – register your interest
“This course offers the unique opportunity to look at your practice differently. I want people to walk away with a new joy in their practice and a different way of looking at what they have been working on so far.”
Dr Despina Zacharopoulou, Short Course Leader
Architecture Summer School
Future dates to be announced - register your interest
"An intense and immersive architecture & interior design summer school offering design studio experience, visits, lectures and skills training."
Sabrina Morreale and Lorenzo Perri, Short Course Leaders
Present Futures: Virtual and Augmented Reality in Art
Future dates to be announced – register your interest
"Like no other course offered by an art school, this three-day collaboration between Acute Art and the RCA will offer tools to navigate the art world of tomorrow."
Daniel Birnbaum, Short Course Leader
Art and Design Portfolio Development
Future dates to be announced – register your interest
“The portfolio as a practice is inherently multidisciplinary. As a self-authored publication, a portfolio translates a body of work through thoughtful art direction, critical writing and content curation.”
Richard Nash, Short Course Leader
Register your interest for our short courses
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About our Art & Design Short Courses
RCA Short Courses
We have been running Art & Design short courses for more than 8 years and have attracted a global mix of participants from over 60 countries.
In academic year 2024/25 we continue to deliver short courses on campus and live online.
Key benefits
- Advanced level lectures and seminars by RCA academic faculty who teach on the postgraduate degree programmes
- Notable guest speakers and professional practitioners connected to industry
- Real time interaction with the course leaders to exchange ideas and receive feedback
- Learn about the RCA's most recent case studies and practices
- Opportunity to collaborate and connect with an international network of peers
- Certificate of achievement on completion.
Who should attend
Our short courses reflect our advanced level of teaching and are aimed at:
- Postgraduate or undergraduate students preparing for Master’s study
- Career changers or those interested in art and design
- Professionals seeking to develop specific knowledge and skills.
Online delivery
The majority of our art and design short courses are delivered in a live virtual environment.
Our online courses are rigorous and highly interactive.
Participants:
- Engage with the RCA’s esteemed academics and facilitators via the audio and video conferencing service Zoom
- Access resources on the College's learning platform Moodle
- Work with peers in breakout rooms in real time using visual collaboration tools such as Miro
On campus delivery
The RCA’s new state-of-the-art research and innovation Battersea campus was designed by Herzog & de Meuron and opened and opened in 2022, marking the most significant campus development in the College’s history.
We run the majority of our in-person short courses from the top floor of the Rausing Research & Innovation Building – which boasts eight floors of dedicated independent and confidential research space for areas such as materials science, soft robotics, advanced manufacturing, intelligent mobility and AR/VR visualisation.
'The top floor spaces have been specifically designed for the delivery of Executive Education. It's an incredible space with windows all around and 360 degree views across London - simply put, it's a really lovely, immersive, inspiring place to learn.' Hattie Allen, Executive Education Manager
7th Floor Executive Education event spaces in Battersea, London.
Custom short courses
Our experts can develop custom short courses and many of our existing short courses can be adapted, combined or customised for the particular needs of an organisation. The courses are ideally suited for groups of 15 to 30 or more participants.
Courses may be delivered online or at one of the RCA's central London sites, at your premises or other venues in the UK and internationally.
Contact us to discuss developing a custom programme:
Peter Christian, Head of Executive Education
Hattie Allen, Executive Education Manager
Art & Design Short Courses at the RCA
Contact us
Get in touch with Jo Chounta if you'd like to find out more about this or any of our other short courses.
short-courses@rca.ac.uk
