The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture was established in Copenhagen on March 31, 1754, as a birthday present for King Frederik V. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts was the new name adopted in 1814. The Charlottenborg Palace, on the Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen, is still where it has always been. It is a state-run institution that provides instruction, professional development opportunities, and research in all areas of the visual arts. It has five major institutions namely:
- Kunstakademiets Billedkunstskoler, The School of Visual Arts
- Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole, The School of Architecture
- Kunstakademiets Designskole, The School of Design
- Kunstakademiets Konservatorskole, The School of Conservation
- Det Kongelige Akademi for de Skønne Kunster – The Royal Academy of Fine Arts

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design, and Conservation (Det Kongelige Danske Kunsakademi, frequently abbreviated as KADK), which has been the oldest architecture and art school in the world for more than 250 years, is the umbrella organization for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture (Danish: Det Kongelige Danske Kunsakademi, Arkitektskolen) or Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole.
Institutes | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture has five major institutions:
- Institute of Architecture and Culture
- Institute of Architecture and Design
- Institute of Architecture and Technology
- Institute of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape Conservation
- Institute of Visual Design
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts offers a wide range of educational opportunities. While the Bachelor programs are usually taught in Danish, it offers a variety of Master programs that are either offered in English or Danish.
Bachelor Programs
- Architecture and Design – Whole and Part
- Architecture’s Anatomy and Fabrication
- Complexity Handling in Practice
- Graphic Conservation
- Natural History
- Object Conservation
- Pictorial Art
- Product+ – Line of Study: Fashion design and textile/ Furniture, space and materials
- Taking Place
- Visual Design and Interaction

Master’s Programs
- Architecture & Landscape
- Architecture and Extreme Environments
- Art and Architecture
- Computation in Architecture
- Cultural Heritage, Transformation, and Conservation
- Fashion, Clothing & Textiles; New Landscapes for Change
- Furniture Design – Products, materials, and contexts
- Graphic Communication Design
- Master in Conservation
- Political Architecture: Critical Sustainability
- Settlement, Ecology & tectonics
- Spatial Design
- Strategic Design & Entrepreneurship
- Urbanism & Societal Change
- Visual Game and Media Design
Ph.D. and Research | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts offers three-year research courses in architecture, design, and conservation that are of the highest caliber. The Ph.D. program is a stand-alone addition to the Master’s degree program and is an internationally recognized research program. Students who complete the program are qualified to take on worldwide research, development, and teaching tasks in the public and commercial sectors. Furthermore, it has four research centers, namely:
- CITA – Centre for Information Technology and Architecture
- CINARK – Centre for Industrialized Architecture
- Centre for Visibility Design
- Center for Interior Studies
Collaborations
The Academy collaborates with a broad spectrum of domestic and international public and private businesses. KADK is renowned for its innovative collaborations that go well beyond the boundaries of the nation, an effervescent environment for growth, and a creative academic environment. There are several opportunities for cooperation between our professional surroundings, our students, and your business. Companies and organizations can work with the Royal Danish Academy on research and development to obtain access to the most recent research-based information as well as contribute to its creation. Additionally, the researchers are associated with academic and research centers throughout the globe.

The School of Architecture, the Danish Design School, and the School of Conservation were combined to form the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, and Conservation, which was established in 2011. Approximately 2,000 students are now enrolled in the Bachelor’s, Master’s, Ph.D., and continuing education programs of the Royal Danish Academy. The Academy is a center for research and education that has always undergone constant change. However, it does have a historical foundation in practice, art, and science to draw from. This makes it uniquely qualified to lead in creative innovation, technical advancements, ground-breaking research, and observable social effect. Academic study, creative research, and professional practice are combined under the umbrella of The Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation as three distinct approaches to learning, inventing and creating.
Professional practice is the hallmark of their approach to education. They work on projects and submit specific proposals that are directly related to the users. Many of the students also develop their skills through relevant internships both in Denmark and overseas. The three approaches are supported at the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design, and Conservation by a special learning environment where project teaching, theoretical teaching, workshops, and laboratories are all essential fundamentals shaping future architects, designers, and conservators.
Workshops and Labs
Effective educational programs must be developed under ideal conditions and in a supportive learning and development environment. The teaching, research, and innovation initiatives for the programs in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts actively utilize KADK’s workshops, labs, and study spaces. The instructional programs’ nerve center is the workshops. Here, research and study projects are developed, and students, instructors, and researchers get together to undertake 1:1 experiments and testing.

Graduates’ Projects | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Graduates from the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design, and Conservation are famous across the world for their originality and creativity, as well as their courage to adopt an unpopular stance. Candidates who are equally adept at the intricate, the creative, and the practical. The official website has a section where the themes and concepts of the newly graduated architects, designers, and conservators worked on in their graduation projects are uploaded. This is a good initiative by the university to showcase their students’ work while simultaneously providing them with a platform to find internships and jobs.
Citations
Artandeducation.net. n.d. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Visual Arts – Directory – Art & Education. [online] Available at: <https://www.artandeducation.net/directory/79590/the-royal-danish-academy-of-fine-arts-schools-of-visual-arts>
[Accessed 14 October 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. n.d. Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstakademiets_Arkitektskole>
[Accessed 14 October 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. n.d. Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Arts> [Accessed 14 October 2022].
Royal Danish Academy. n.d. Architecture. [online] Available at: <https://royaldanishacademy.com/architecture>
[Accessed 14 October 2022].
Royal Danish Academy. n.d. Educations. [online] Available at: <https://royaldanishacademy.com/educations>
[Accessed 14 October 2022].