Master of Research [M.Res] [RCA Communication Design Pathway] From Royal College of Art

The MRes RCA Communication Design Pathway will introduce students to practice-led interdisciplinary and experimental research processes, methods, and methodologies that inform and underpin communication design research. It will also help to position a student's research proposal within a social, historical, cultural, and theoretical discourse through evidencing primary research, proven research methods including visualization, and engaging critically with reflective practice and evaluation.

The focus of the Pathway is to explore the nexus between social science, art, and design methods such as those found within social semiotics, discourse analysis, visual ethnography, multi-modal analysis, narrative analysis and storytelling, reception theory, and how they might be applied to independent research proposals, R&D consultancy or live project briefs. Communication theory is at the core of this offer, engaging critically with different perspectives and sensory (e.g. visual, aural, and haptic) forms.

Students enrolled on the MRes RCA Communication Design Pathway will join a vibrant and dynamic research community situated within the context of a burgeoning research and knowledge exchange (RKE) culture in the School of Communication. Our RKE in the School is focused on broad thematic areas of the transformation of publishing, the shaping of experience, and the construction of identities. Linked to these are internationally renowned innovation research labs and hubs, such as the Creative Exchange Hub and the Book Futures Lab, which also build on the Schools robust industry networks. In addition to drawing upon the Schools core Masters programs in Animation, Information Experience Design, and Visual Communication, students will engage with the broader context of the RCAs leading research and will be exposed to the range of cutting edge art and design research undertaken by our staff and MPhil/Ph.D. students.