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University · London · United Kingdom

Royal College of Art

In research, Royal College of Art stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,034 of 10,521 worldwide), Arts and Humanities (#580 of 1,998 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#4,114 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Museology, Human-Computer Interaction and Arts and Humanities — Museology is 63.9× its share of world research.

rca.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#10,118
of 28,054 · #15,325 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#371
of 1,094
Research works
1.5k
▲ 40% vs 2013–17
Citations
16k
11.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
18.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
43%
world 28%

What is Royal College of Art known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #3,034 of 10,521 20.5%209 #4073
Arts and HumanitiesField #580 of 1,998 24.9%76 #1559
Social SciencesField #4,114 of 6,365 18.5%78 #3944
Physical SciencesDomain #9,419 of 12,888 15.3%116 #12460

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Royal College of Art sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#4,073 #3,034
  2. Arts and Humanities#1,559 #580
  3. Social Sciences#3,944 #4,114
  4. Physical Sciences#12,460 #9,419
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Royal College of Art specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Museology takes 63.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. MuseologySubfield · 28.7 works64×
  2. Human-Computer InteractionSubfield · 22.9 works30×
  3. Arts and HumanitiesField · 75.5 works7.1×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.17× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.16× its world share, 3 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.41× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.86× its world share, 11 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.74× its world share, 50 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.61× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.76× its world share, 42 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.61× its world share, 11 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.49× its world share, 6 worksMaterials SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 0.25× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.00× its world share, 10 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.18× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 0.37× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 7.14× its world share, 76 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.48× its world share, 17 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.50× its world share, 5 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.96× its world share, 8 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.18× its world share, 24 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.69× its world share, 78 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 7.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Royal College of Art?

Ranked on the composite score, Cyriel Diels, David Crowley and Linda Reynolds lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal College of Art.

  1. 1 Cyriel Diels United Kingdom · #196,563 worldwide 109 citations · 23 works
  2. 2 David Crowley United Kingdom · #332,049 worldwide 41 citations · 20 works
  3. 3 Linda Reynolds United Kingdom · #401,677 worldwide 34 citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Roger Coleman United Kingdom · #419,882 worldwide 85 citations · 16 works
  5. 5 Christine M. E. Guth United Kingdom · #428,834 worldwide 10 citations · 23 works
  6. 6 Christopher Frayling United Kingdom · #526,368 worldwide 2 citations · 22 works
  7. 7 Rachel Garfield United Kingdom · #553,168 worldwide 41 citations · 17 works
  8. 8 Jeremy Myerson United Kingdom · #681,215 worldwide 22 citations · 15 works
  9. 9 Raymond Durgnat United Kingdom · #699,351 worldwide 1 citations · 19 works
  10. 10 Teal Triggs United Kingdom · #745,708 worldwide 2 citations · 30 works
All ranked researchers at Royal College of Art

Which keywords describe research at Royal College of Art?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Sustainability, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Studies, Virtual Reality, Participatory Design, Globalization, Embodiment and Aesthetics.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Sustainability37▲ 4.1×25 topics
  2. Globalization28▲ 3.8×26 topics
  3. Artificial Intelligence22▲ 4.5×18 topics
  4. Cultural Heritage22▲ 11×18 topics
  5. Cultural Studies21▲ 15×11 topics
  6. Innovation21▲ 5.4×13 topics
  7. Virtual Reality20▲ 11×14 topics
  8. Participatory Design20▲ 106×2 topics
  9. Embodiment19▲ 28×5 topics
  10. Education19▲ 3.0×18 topics
  11. Aesthetics18▲ 66×4 topics
  12. Identity18▲ 6.7×14 topics
  13. User Experience16▲ 52×3 topics
  14. Digital Media15▲ 24×3 topics
  15. Feminism15▲ 14×7 topics
  16. Creativity15▲ 67×2 topics
  17. Fashion14▲ 92×3 topics
  18. Health Behavior Change14▲ 75×2 topics
  19. Design Research13▲ 140×1 topic
  20. Interaction Design13▲ 140×1 topic
  21. Design13▲ 22×4 topics
  22. Urban Development13▲ 9.7×7 topics
  23. Sociology13▲ 26×2 topics
  24. Material Culture13▲ 82×2 topics
  25. Clothing13▲ 174×1 topic
  26. Neuroscience12▲ 11×9 topics
  27. Activism11▲ 75×4 topics
  28. Knowledge Management11▲ 5.5×4 topics
  29. Engineering Design10▲ 39×2 topics
  30. Well-being10▲ 7.0×6 topics
  31. Biomimetics10▲ 99×1 topic
  32. Design Thinking10▲ 99×1 topic
  33. Craftivism9▲ 207×1 topic
  34. Handicraft9▲ 207×1 topic
  35. Neoliberalism9▲ 7.0×10 topics
  36. Co-Creation8▲ 53×2 topics
  37. Entrepreneurship8▲ 6.0×3 topics
  38. Human-Computer Interaction8▲ 13×7 topics
  39. Creative Economy8▲ 60×1 topic
  40. Cultural Policy8▲ 53×1 topic

Which research topics does Royal College of Art publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Innovative Human-Technology Interaction, Fashion and Cultural Textiles, Design Education and Practice and Crafts, Textile, and Design.

Innovative Human-Technology Interaction: 13 fractional worksFashion and Cultural Textiles: 13 fractional worksDesign Education and Pra…10Design Education and Practice: 10 fractional worksCrafts, Textile, and Des…9Crafts, Textile, and Design: 9 fractional worksCultural Industries and Urban Development: 8 fractional worksDigital Media and Visual Art: 7 fractional worksInnovative Approaches in…7Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development: 7 fractional worksVirtual Reality Applications and Impacts: 5 fractional worksCreativity in Education and Neuroscience: 5 fractional worksArt Therapy and Mental Health: 5 fractional works
Human-Computer InteractionMuseologyMechanical EngineeringUrban Studies4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Innovative Human-Technology Interaction Human-Computer Interaction 13 works
  2. 2 Fashion and Cultural Textiles Museology 13 works
  3. 3 Design Education and Practice Mechanical Engineering 10 works
  4. 4 Crafts, Textile, and Design Museology 9 works
  5. 5 Cultural Industries and Urban Development Urban Studies 8 works
  6. 6 Digital Media and Visual Art Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design 7 works
  7. 7 Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development Management of Technology and Innovation 7 works
  8. 8 Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts Human-Computer Interaction 5 works
  9. 9 Creativity in Education and Neuroscience Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 5 works
  10. 10 Art Therapy and Mental Health Conservation 5 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available42.8%not open57.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.5%domestic only81.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Royal College of Art's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 40% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in London

All research institutions in London

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.