Riyadh University of Arts (RUA), Saudi Arabia’s pioneering institution dedicated entirely to creative and cultural education, has taken another major step in forging international collaborations by signing strategic academic partnerships with two leading United Kingdom institutions: the Royal College of Art (RCA) and SOAS University of London.
On 30 January 2026, the Saudi Ministry of Culture formalised an agreement with the Royal College of Art to co-design and develop academic programmes for RUA’s College of Architecture and Design as well as its College of Visual Arts and Photography. The partnership, signed at the opening of the third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, aims to elevate art and design education in the Kingdom by blending global expertise with Saudi cultural priorities.
Under this collaboration, RCA—which has been ranked the world’s number-one art and design university—will work with RUA to co-create undergraduate and postgraduate curricula in architecture, urban design, visual art disciplines and creative production, offering students a foundation rooted in both global best practices and local cultural identity.
Complementing this arts-education partnership, RUA also signed a strategic agreement with SOAS University of London to advance specialised programmes in heritage and cultural education. The SOAS–RUA partnership, announced in December 2025 and reaffirmed in recent statements, focuses on collaboration between SOAS and RUA’s College of Heritage and Civilization Studies to co-design and deliver academic programmes that promote excellence in heritage studies, cultural research, and interdisciplinary learning.
The SOAS agreement, signed during Saudi Arabia’s Digital Heritage Conference—a national forum on heritage innovation and preservation—positions RUA’s heritage faculty to benefit from SOAS’s deep experience in arts, humanities, and area studies. It reflects RUA’s commitment to blending global scholarly traditions with Saudi cultural heritage priorities.
Taken together, these partnerships underscore Riyadh University of Arts’ ambition to establish itself as a world-class hub for creative and cultural education, advancing academic excellence, research collaboration and professional development in support of the Kingdom’s broader cultural and economic transformation goals under its Vision 2030.
