Royal College of Art announces LoveFrom Scholarship for underrepresented minority design students

The Royal College of Art (RCA) today announced the launch of its LoveFrom Scholarship. Up to two underrepresented minority students per year will be offered scholarships that cover tuition and some living expenses to study design courses that reflect LoveFrom’s multidisciplinary expertise. 

LoveFrom is a creative collective of designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists. The scholarships are inspired by a shared ethos of insatiable curiosity, devotion to excellence and an obsession with the traditions of creating and making. The collective was founded in 2019 by Sir Jony Ive, former chief design officer of Apple, and has studios in San Francisco and London. LoveFrom has gifted $1.5m to support scholarships that aim to increase representation by encouraging and supporting routes into industry for underrepresented minorities. 

“We are very proud to be able to support and encourage outstanding new talent at the Royal College of Art through the LoveFrom Scholarship,” said Sir Jony Ive, RCA Chancellor. “The scholarships deepen my long connection with the RCA, an extraordinary, historic and powerful creative institution with an international reputation for excellence in art and design. By supporting talented students who deserve to be able to study at the highest level, LoveFrom hopes to contribute to a community that shares our insatiable curiosity and obsession with creating and making.”

Students receiving the scholarship will also be mentored by Sir Jony Ive and the LoveFrom team. The scholarships are part of a programme of global LoveFrom Scholarships which support people from under-represented communities into art and design education, with other scholarships being awarded at the Rhode Island School of Design and California College of the Arts in the US.

Dr Paul Thompson, Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, said:

“As the world’s leading university for art and design, we want to continue to attract the most creative, innovative and talented students from a range of backgrounds. These scholarships form a vital part of our work to grow and diversify the RCA’s community of artists, designers, innovators, communicators, creatives and researchers, and I’d like to thank LoveFrom for their generous support.”

The LoveFrom Scholarship has been established via RCA USA with the support of LoveFrom and will be awarded to students within the RCA’s School of Design, providing viable and visible pathways into art and design. 

As part of its commitment to making postgraduate study open to people from all backgrounds, the RCA is increasing the number of scholarships available to students experiencing financial hardship. This growth has been supported by gifts from a large number of foundations, individuals and commercial organisations, including:

• The RCA Virgil Abloh Scholarship, which will support financially restricted, Black British students on any programme in the School of Design.
• The Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship, which supports UK students from Black African and Caribbean diaspora heritage, or mixed Black African and Caribbean diaspora heritage, across MA, MRes and PhD study.
• The RCA Logitech Scholarships, which provide scholarships for students on any course from underrepresented communities and facing financial hardship.
• The Märit Rausing Scholarships in Ceramics & Glass, which will award six annual scholarships of £35,000 each year over the next two decades, opening up higher level study in this area to people from a wide range of financial backgrounds.
• The Marks and Spencer Bursary, which supports MA Fashion students from the UK experiencing financial hardship.

For more information on applying for a scholarship at the RCA, visit: https://www.rca.ac.uk/study/application-process/funding-your-studies/rca-scholarships-and-awards/