The world’s best fashion schools get ranked

Last year, renowned industry website the Business of Fashion released its first ever university rankings, marking fashion schools on a combination of global influence, long-term value and learning experience. With colleges rated both for their BA and MA fashion design courses, the top spots were unsurprising – London frontrunners Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art claimed the respective number one scores.

This year, things have changed – with their MA course soaring by a massive 9.3 points to from 85.7 to 95, CSM is now top in both categories. RCA comes second for its MA, while The Royal Academy in Antwerp (the school that gave the world the infamous Antwerp Six) has been knocked from third place by IFM Paris. Previously fourth, London College of Fashion move down to fifth place.

When it comes to BA courses, the shake-up has been considerable. After CSM comes Kingston University, which last year placed third. Previously in second place, Tokyo’s Bunka Gakuen has been knocked down 11.5 points all the way back to eighth place, with Helsinki’s Aalto University (previously unranked) soaring into third. NYC’s Parsons drops from fourth to fifth, while The Royal Academy Antwerp enters the list at fourth place.

The study is based on responses from over 10,000 students from 54 schools across 17 countries. Explore the full rankings over on Business of Fashion.