RISD’s mission, through its college and museum, is to educate students and the
public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, to discover
and transmit knowledge and to make lasting contributions to a global society
through critical thinking, scholarship and innovation.
The college’s strategic plan, NEXT: RISD 2020-2027, sets an ambitious vision for educating students for the future and bringing
creative practices to bear on the creation of just societies, a sustainable planet and new ways of making and knowing. RISD’s
immersive model of art and design education, which emphasizes critical making through studio-based learning and robust study
in the liberal arts, prepares students to intervene in the critical challenges of our time. Working with exceptional faculty and
in extraordinary specialized facilities, 2,500 students from 68 countries engage in 44 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree
programs. RISD’s 31,000 alumni worldwide testify to the impact of this model of education, exemplifying the vital role artists and
designers play in today’s society. Founded in 1877, RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) and the RISD Museum help make Providence,
RI among the most culturally active and creative cities in the region. Find more information at risd.edu.
RISD
HISTORY—As one of the first independent colleges of its kind in
the US—incorporated on March 22, 1877 along with the RISD
Museum—RISD has always been something of a maverick,
founded and nurtured by a small group of women more than 40
years before women in America even gained the right to vote.
That year Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf urged 34 members of the
Rhode Island Women’s Centennial Commission to invest their
group’s surplus funding of $1,675 in founding a school of art and
design (instead of building a public fountain—one of the other
options on the table). In doing so, they embarked on a radical
experiment under Metcalf’s able leadership and set a precedent
for RISD’s ongoing commitment to challenging expectations.
STUDENTS—In 2021/22, RISD enrolled 2,044 undergraduates
and 532 graduate students from the US and 68 countries
throughout the world.
Students of color accounted for 38% of the student body and
international students 36%. Average SAT scores are 719 for math
and 665 for evidence-based reading and writing. RISD oers
all applicants—domestic and international—the ability to be
reviewed without submitting results from the SAT or ACT.
LOCATION—RISD is located in Providence, RI—on the east
coast of the US, a three-hour drive north of New York City and
45 minutes south of Boston.
ALUMNI—RISD’s more than 31,000 alumni include world-
renowned artists, designers, architects, performers, illustrators
and leaders in a host of other professions. Ten have earned
MacArthur “genius grants” and graduates are frequently
recognized with other international honors, including
Caldecott Medals, American Institute of Architects awards,
Academy, Emmy and Sundance awards, Fulbright fellowships,
Guggenheim fellowships, National Design awards, Progressive
Architecture awards and the Rome Prize, among others.
Alumni include fine artists Janine Antoni, Jenny Holzer, Shahzia
Sikander and Kara Walker; visual storytellers Roz Chast,
David Macaulay, Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner;
filmmakers Seth MacFarlane, Ryan Trecartin and Gus Van Sant;
fashion designers Katie Gallagher, Nicole Miller and Marcia
Patmos; graphic designers Tobias Frere-Jones and Michael
Rock; architects Deborah Berke, Michael Gabellini and Michael
Maltzan; musicians and actors David Byrne, Martin Mull
and Tina Weymouth; and glass artists Dale Chihuly, Josiah
McElheny and Toots Zynsky.
Many alumni achieve success as entrepreneurs—including
Airbnb cofounders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia—while others
work for established companies such as Apple, Gagosian Gallery,
Google, Houghton-Miin, Marc Jacobs, Martha Stewart Living,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NASA, Nike, Pixar and SOM
Architects, among others.
( 68 )
Student body & alumni
16 BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS
(BFA) PROGRAMS IN:
Apparel Design
Architecture (+ BArch)
Ceramics
Film / Animation / Video
Furniture Design
Glass
Graphic Design
Illustration
Industrial Design
Interior Architecture
Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Textiles
6 CONCENTRATIONS
(“MINORS”) AVAILABLE IN:
Computation, Technology
and Culture (CTC)
Drawing
Theory + History of Art +
Design (THAD)
History, Philosophy and the
Social Sciences (HPSS)
Literary Arts and Studies
(LAS)
Nature–Culture–
Sustainability Studies (NCSS)
BROWN|RISD DUAL DEGREE
The five-year Brown|RISD
Dual Degree (BRDD) program
invites selected students to
pursue bachelor’s degrees at
RISD and Brown University
simultaneously.
New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC)
National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD)
Landscape Architecture Accrediting Board (LAAB) of the ASLA
National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)
Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDESE)
For more information,
visit risd.edu and RISD’s online Fact Book.
12 MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(MFA) PROGRAMS IN:
Ceramics
Digital + Media
Furniture Design
Glass
Graphic Design
Illustration
Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Textiles
11 OTHER GRADUATE
PROGRAMS—INCLUDING TWO
INTERCOLLEGIATE JOINT
DEGREE PROGRAMS—LEADING
TO THE FOLLOWING DEGREES:
Master of Architecture
(MArch I)
Master of Arts in Art + Design
Education (MA)
Master of Arts in Adaptive
Reuse (MA)
Master of Arts in Design
Engineering (MA, RISD-
Brown joint degree program)
Master of Arts in Global Arts +
Cultures (MA)
Master of Arts in Nature–
Culture–Sustainability Studies
(MA)
Master of Arts in Teaching
(MAT)
Master of Industrial Design
(MID)
Master of Interior Design
(MDes)
Master of Landscape
Architecture (MLA)
Master of Landscape
Architecture (MLA) + Master
of Marine Aairs (MMA, from
University of Rhode Island)
Degree programs
Additional facts & figures
Accreditation
FINANCIAL INFORMATION RETENTION &
GRADUATION RATES
FACULTY
/
million
/
ACCEPTANCE RATES
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