V&A/RCA History of Design embraces a history that is public-facing, experimental, and committed to scholarly excellence, as befits our location in the public museum and the art school. We see history as practice-based and bring a distinctly global outlook to historical questions, placing local histories in a comparative context and tracing global networks through material culture.

The Programme offers:

  • methodological and theoretical training in history through material culture, alongside specialist expertise in the history of design, performance, and photography
  • a unique learning environment within RCA and V&A communities of expertise
  • collections-based teaching and research
  • an emphasis on engaging, effective communication to diverse audiences
  • opportunities for collaboration within the V&A, the RCA, and externally
  • academic assignments alongside live public projects
  • exchanges in New York and Paris