Royal College of Art receives £6.1m for glass and ceramics scholarships

London’s Royal College of Art (RCA) has received an endowment that will award six annual scholarships of £35,000 each year over the next 20 years. These Märit Rausing Scholarships in Ceramics & Glass have been provided by Julia and Hans Rausing.

The scholarships will be open for the next academic year and will be for suitably qualified UK students who apply to study MA Ceramics & Glass at the RCA. This is a one year, 45-week course. The funding will cover full fees and contribute towards living expenses and materials, opening higher level study to people from a wide range of financial backgrounds.

The donation of £6.1m has been made in honour of Hans’ mother Märit and is the largest scholarship gift made to the RCA. The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust is an independent, grant-making charitable fund supporting organisations and charities in the UK.

RCA Vice-Chancellor Dr Paul Thompson said, “The Märit Rausing Scholarships in Ceramics & Glass will make an incredible difference to our students, as well as to the fields of ceramics and glass, which have been under real pressure from course closures and loss of facilities in recent years. We are very grateful to Julia and Hans Rausing for this generous gift.

“Financial circumstances should not be a barrier to world-class education and these scholarships will enable us to offer more places to gifted individuals whose passion and skill lie in Ceramics & Glass.”

Julia and Hans Rausing commented, “Ceramics and glass are some of the most tactile and expressive materials available to the artist and the MA at the RCA allows students to fully develop their skills, share ideas and to find their own voices in a beautiful artform.

“We are pleased to collaborate with the RCA and launch this new scholarship programme at one of the finest art institutions in the world. In the words of the RCA, the MA looks to launch a new generation of artists and designers to enrich our world in imaginative and meaningful ways.

“We hope recipients of the scholarships over the next two decades will go on to join the enviable list of former RCA students who have enjoyed flourishing careers in a discipline loved by Märit.”

The Ceramics & Glass MA at the RCA provides a creative interface where personal concerns and global perspectives intersect. Students are encouraged to question, examine and respond to social, cultural and material challenges. The areas of research studied arise from the broad scope of the two disciplines, and inform what is taught on the programme. Advances in technology are explored, while traditional methodologies are challenged to create new and unique approaches.

Previous students include Ashraf Hanna, artist and a ‘Best In Show’ winner at the British Glass Biennale.

For more information about the MA course visit: https://www.rca.ac.uk/study/programme-finder/ceramics-glass-ma/

Main image: Glassblowing at the RCA.