Overiew of college visit to RISD:

taxguy · November 15, 2004, 9:59pm

The following is an overview of my visit to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

<li>Academics: RISD is one of the oldest art and design programs in the US dating back to 1870. It is widely considered to be one of the best if not the top art and design programs, which consists of 18 undergraduate major and over a dozen graduate majors. We were floored by all of the art facilities comprising over 40 buildings. When you consider that there are only about 1980 undergraduates and 320 graduate students, this is a huge number of buildings for so small a student population. </li>
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Each building is chuck full of studios, computer labs galore and more. Each major has up to date facilities. For example, glass majors have nice, new big kilns. Textile majors get state of the art looms that are found in top notch factories.

RISD also has hundreds of top notch visiting lecturers that lecture on their specialities. RISD Museum is one of the top art school museums in the country containing a wide range of artistic topics.

RISD gets some of the most talented kids in the country through a tough portfolio review process. Moreover, unlike that of other major art programs, RISD does seek academically qualified stuents too. Average SATs are 1200 and median GPA ( without GYM, music, art, etc.) is 3.3. A program that is heavily loaded with honors and AP courses get a bit of a nudge upwards. RISD gets over 2000 applications and admits about 800 of which 400 accept. Thus, 20% of their applicants get accepted.

Liberal arts are also fairly good,but kids can take many courses at nearby Brown University. In fact, there is a strong tie in with RISD and Brown, which will be discussed later.

I did ask about 8 kids how they liked the school. Every single one said that they loved the school! They even said that all their friends and roomates loved the school. This is buttressed by the fact that 93% of the freshmen return for their second year! This is almost akin to what a top ivy school would have.

The students that I interviewed, however, did warn me that RISD takes its art and design program very seriously. Average freshmen homework was 10 hours per week. When I stated that “10 hours per week wasn’t that much,” they responded with, “per class.” Thus, RISD freshmen can expect to put in about 40-50 hours per week of homework, which is more than what is expected from nearby Brown freshmen. In fact, in freshmen year, don’t expect any social life. RISD is a really tough, hard-working school,but the kids love it.

One problem is that RISD is very specific as to their majors. Double majors are not only frowned upon but are almost impossible to achieve. RISD does, however, have a special winter session that lasts 6 weeks that kids take one or two courses that they wouldn’t normally take in their major. These can be software courses or courses found in other departments such as glass blowing etc. Also during Winter break, many RISD upper classmen take courses for credit abroad. RISD has programs in many major countries, which adds to their educational scope.

A second problem is that there are almost two females for every guy, and these girls are cute! I think it is the exercise that they must get climbing all the stairs that keeps them in good shape (Lucky RISD and Brown guys). Even my wife commented on this fact.

I should note that RISD has an interesting arts library that had many thousands of digital images and sound clips for video editing and web design. This is a designer’s dream. RISD also has a great nature museum with lots of flowers, dead bugs, live pet gerbils, and many stuffed animals that students can check out and use as a subject for projects. This is quite an extensive resource.

Overall: I would give RISD an A to A+ for their academics.

2.Parking: RISD is located in Providence and right next to Brown. There were meters everywhere,but the good news is that most of them were broken. Assuming this was not the natural state of affairs, parking would be a major pain, having to constantly replenish quarters. I think that many students must be very familiar with the local meter maid and her $15 parking fines. They are in desparate need of parking garages.

I would give parking a C-. to a D.

<li>Food: We stopped by to grab a bite at the local RISD Cafeteria. They serve food all day long until around 1 AM. We arrived between normal food hours (3:30PM). I had a sandwich. I have to say that this was, by far, the best sandwich that I have ever had at a college cafeteria. The turkey was real, off- the- bird white meat; none of the pressed turkey that you normally find in most restaurants and cafeterias was present. They even had some t urkey pesto. In addition, RISD had this fabulous multigrain rolls that you cut to specifications that was “out of this world.” For dessert, we had our choice of 4 different flavoried smoothies or various types of tarts and pastries. Moreover, all of this was simply the “between meal snacks.” </li>
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Overall we REALLY liked the food a lot. I would give the food a solid A.

<li>Dorms: We were lucky to have someone let us in to see their dorms. They were more spacious than that found in a typical freshmen college dorm. They were clean, and each person had their own fast internet connection. There was no sharing of internet connection. Each person also had their own drafting board. Each dorm had its own ping pong table, pool table etc.
All dorm rooms are either double or some singles. RIght now RISD guarantees freshmen housing,but there aren’t enough housing for others. However, they just purchased a huge new building, which will provide enough housing for sophomores and maybe others who want housing. I should note that there is plenty of reasonable off campus housing for students that are right nearby. Most upperclassmen take advantage of these.</li>
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Overall: I would give RISD a B+ in dorms

<li>Non- artistic,non-academic facilities: Obviously, Risd has fabulous artistic facilites,but what about the other non-artistic facilities? Frankly, I wasn’t impressed. RISD had a very small gym with weights and weight machines. They also had about 4 treadmills and no swimming pool. Overall,it was very underwhelming. However, RISD kids can and do use the nearby Brown facilites that include a fully equipped gym, swimming pool, ice skating rink etc. </li>
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I should note that RISD has started breaking ground for a new student union building. This should be ready by 2006, at least that is what I was told. If this is completed, this may change my scoring.

Thus, based on RISD’s own facilities, I would give it a D. However, if you include the fact that they are very tied in with that of Brown and can easily use the Brown facilites then it would be an A.

<li>Campus: RISD has no campus to speak of. However, when I think of a campus, I think of some big green area of trees and grass surrounded by buildings. Using this definition, RISD doesn’t have a campus per se. However, they do have about 43 building, all looking quite quaint that span about 8 square blocks. This isn’t a small school building wise. However, think of it as a city school.</li>
<li>Diversity: RISD has students from every state in the country and from over 44 foreign countries as well. I can’t imagine a more diverse student population.</li>
<li>Miscellaneous Considerations: First, let me note that RISD has a real tie in with Brown that is unlike that of other major art schools. Many art schools say that they are tied in with one school or another,but RISD really means it. They are right next to Brown. RISD and Brown kids can use each other’s facilities. Both RISD and Brown kids can take classes at each other’s schools, which greatly benefits both schools. However, although this certainly is possible and is accomplished by a number of kids, each school semester ends at different times. Thus, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Also, the classes have to have an opening. Since RISD class sizes are less than that of Brown, it is a bit harder to get into some of the RISD classes; however, many kids are taking classes at each school to the benefit of both populations. In fact, I met a Brown kid taking a photographic course, and he loved it. </li>
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Moreover, RISD and Brown are developing some joint interdisciplinary programs as well. I also understand that Brown manages the RISD endowmen,which is over 200 million. By the way, just to put this in perspective, RISD is the highest endowed “stand alone art school” in the nation. I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime in the future the two schools don’t merge. Why knows.

Second, RISD has an amazing placement/alumni office according to their statistics. Over 90% of their graduates get jobs in their field of study or in a related field. Another 5% go on to graduate school, and RISD is working with the other 5% to see if they wish a placement.

Third, College Hill, where RISD and Brown reside has a lot of quaint shops and reasonably priced restaurants of almost every variety. Not only were there the mandatory pizza restaurants,but many indian, sandwich, gyro, soup and salad, and other nice quality restaurants. If you have even been to Grenich Village in NY or by Berkeley, you would get an idea of the type of town that is very nearby.

Overall evaluation: I would give RISD an overall grade of A. If you are interested in art, design, or architecture, I can’t imagine a much better place to study this than at RISD. However, at a tuition of $27,500 per year, you almost have to take a gulp before you come here. This becomes especially a problem because art and design majors aren’t the highest paid professions in the US.

I should note that you should also visit the school. Your take may be different from mine. I have also published this in the alphabetical listing of school under RISD

taxguy · November 15, 2004, 10:10pm

Actually, there is one more think that I wanted to add,but CC only allows 10,000 words. RISD is the only art program that provides a five year program in certain majors such as graphic design, industrial design and a few others. Instead of getting a BFA from most art schools and art programs, you would get a BGA (Bachelors in Graphic Design) or BIA (Bachelors in Industrial Design). This is almost the equal of a masters.

mackinaw · November 16, 2004, 6:49am

Excellent, helpful summary, taxguy. I might be able to supplement your report in some areas. My daughter graduated from RISD in 2003, with a major in industrial design (ID). Shes now working in NYC at a job in which shes doing both ID and GD.

First re the connection with Brown. My daughter took several courses at Brown, mainly in language, sociology, and ecology. (Shes interested in ecological design.) In general its sometimes hard to coordinate between the two schools, but not really because the semester schedules are slightly out of alignment but more because RISDs studio courses are all-day affairs one day per week each. (In addition to the 40+ hours of homework per week, the students spend 30+ hours IN class per week.)

There are already some cooperative courses and programs. My daughter took one ID course that was joint with Brown engineering students, for example. Architecture has a similar arrangement. I think other programs do as well (e.g., graphic design).

RISD students definitely do have access to Browns athletic facilities (not just informally but also formally).

Looks like tuition has been climbing a fair bit the past couple of years. You might also note that art/design students also have lab/studio fees for many of their courses and more important than that they can have serious expenses for tools and supplies ($200-$300/mo). Imagine sending your kid off to school not only with the usual PC, but a quarter-inch drill, a dremel, a variety of wrenches, hammer, saw, screwdrivers, files, etc. A big toolbox.

Despite the rigor of the program, RISD has a low drop-out rate. One reason for this is that they have a liberal leave of absence policy. If a student burns out or runs out of money or just needs a break, she can take a leave of absence for up to 10 years and be readmitted automatically with no questions asked.

Also despite the rigor of the program, the students are highly cooperative with one another. Some of this stems from the first year (foundation year) when students tend to develop a were all in the same boat mentality. The crits in studio courses tend to be very honest but not mean-spirited putdowns.

One thing you didnt mention is Providence. It is a very lively place. For its size it has many quite fabulous restaurants. (A great place for parents to visit!) One reason may be that there is a Johnson & Wales culinary school there. Another may be that Providence has turned into a mecca for people to come from miles around for shopping and entertainmment. (Tough place to get a hotel room -- book in advance, especially when Brown or RISD have events scheduled.)

I would like to try to clear up one thing about majors. Its true that RISD doesnt have double majors. But students really do have a chance to take many courses outside their own major, especially after the first couple of years. Though my daughter was an ID major, she also had courses in illustration, jewelry, metal (casting), ceramics, and graphic design, as well as a couple of interdisciplinary courses such as the senior-year concept studio.

Their basic philosophy, however, is to produce graduates who are thoroughly trained in their major field. All RISD undergrads have a common foundation year: three studio courses and two humanities courses per semester, plus one elective wintersession course, in which most students try out a studio course in their intended major. (My daughter tried out illustration, and liked it, but was advised by the instructor as follows: You get this major. You dont have to major in it. She wanted to work in 3-D but more in an applied area rather than sculpture. And she liked the ID facilities and this is a strong field at RISD.)

Students choose their major by April of their first year.

Then, the second year at RISD is a foundation again -- this time for the major field. All majors in that field take the same set of basic studio courses, focusing on concepts, methods, and skills. They can again use the wintersession to experiment some more. Wintersession courses, which last 5-6 weeks, are treated as equivalent to a semester-long course.

By third and fourth year, they have mostly courses in their major but students have more chance to take elective courses outside their majors. They do, of course, continue to have some humanities courses -- non studio. But anybody going to a school like RISD had better be prepared for the idea that some 65-70% of all courses are studio courses. RISD is no place for the general liberal arts major!

There are also ample opportunities for summer or semester or wintersession courses abroad. My daughter spent a summer in Milan after her junior year, studying ID. At least one of her courses her 4th year also involved a project in NYC (the class redesigned the waste-management system for the City of New York). (One of my daughters drawings from that class was published in Metropolis Magazine, which wrote a story about that class.)

So, while RISD students definitely graduate with strong training in one major art or design discipline, they do get exposure to other fields. The tough part for some students is making that initial choice of majors before the end of the first year. Thats a trade-off that goes with RISDs focus on having students coming out with high-order skills in their fields.

taxguy · November 16, 2004, 11:42am

Actually, I did leave something out that I should have added.RISD has 17 very specific majors. They do NOT have some of the more avant-guarde majors such as digital design or multimedia design or even advertising design. I am told that a student can probably take courses this area,but there is surprisingly no undergraduate major, as one would find in schools like Pratt. Thus, you really need to check out the RISD curriculum before you apply to see if it meets your needs.

taxguy · December 7, 2004, 10:56am

As I see other art programs, I am reminded of one big disadvantage of RISD: lack of flexibility. Although, you can take courses in other departments during Winter session ( which is encouraged by them), it is difficult to take course outside of your major during the year. RISD does NOT have what I call an interdisciplinary approach to their art in a number of ways. Thus, you won't see interdisiplinary undergraduate programs such as digital media.

This should be contrasted to schools like Mica (Maryland Institute College of Design) which strongly fosters interdisciplinary programs. Pratt is sort of interdisciplinary too. I do get the feeling that RISD is a bit rigid in their approach. Thus, as I mentioned above, you really need to check out the curriculum of all art programs that you are investigating, and ask about their flexibility to take courses outside of your major.

mackinaw · December 7, 2004, 10:15pm

" . . . it is difficult to take course outside of your major during the year."

Taxguy, you've commented on the limited flexibility regarding double majors before, and I responded to that before. But your statement above is a serious overstatement. With the exception of 1 illustration course that she took during a wintersession, my daughter (while majoring in ID) took all of her non-ID courses during the regular semester: ceramics, photography, graphic design, metal casting, jewelry, concept studio, etc. These were, however, almost all taken during her junior and senior years, as there is little flexibility prior to that. The first year, as at most art schools, is given over to the foundation program, which is (with the exception of wintersession) common for all RISD students regardless of major. The second year is mainly devoted to foundation in the major. After that, there's a chance to branch out more. The major also incorporated a couple of interdisciplinary design courses.

We didn't get the impression that Pratt was much different from RISD in terms of the flexibility of the program.

The most flexible program that we saw was Cooper Union. A lot of Cooper students don't even know for sure what their major is til their senior year. That has its pluses and minuses. (Cooper is also by far the most difficult art school to get into -- think 6% acceptance rate, or something on that order.)

taxguy · December 7, 2004, 11:58pm

Mackinaw, I certainly may be incorrect in this. However, I was recently told by an admission's counselor specifically that outside of the Winter semester, it is much harder to take courses outside your major UNLESS there is space available . Maybe there is usually space available so that my worries are unfounded. That would be a good question to ask your daughter However, RISD does, at least in appearance and in its curriculum , seem to have limited flexibility.

mackinaw · December 8, 2004, 9:45am

Hi Taxguy. I can well imagine that some courses fill up (as they do at my own university) and so students have to be strategic about planning their schedules. I know that one course that my daughter hoped to take, called the "Chair Studio," was in high demand and short supply and I believe they used a lottery for it. But overall, I don't think my daughter was significantly constrained in access to courses outside of her major.

Another factor, however, could be whether prereqs for a given course can be waived, say if a student wants an advanced course in an area for which they haven't taken the introductory one. Typically in such a situation the student would need permission of the instructor, based on being able to show that she has the necessary background. In that sense, the (for lack of a better term) guild-like organization of the different major fields can limit access to students who want to get advanced training in two fields. And that's where I think your concerns are valid. While RISD has certainly been moving rapidly into the newer technologies in recent years (I think my daughter's class was the first in which all ID students had to have a computer and they introduced a variety of mandatory CAD and other courses to the program), it still needs to resolve how it wants to approach new media in a cross-disciplinary way.

What RISD does best is prepare students with a strong foundation as well as strong training in their major discipline and exposure to several others. Interestingly, my daughter is finding that her skills in graphic design (GD) are at least as important as her skills and interests in industrial design (ID) on the market. Obviously, the two go hand in hand in some respects when one is preparing and selling/promoting designed goods. One of her best friends from RISD who now is a roommate in NYC and also majored in ID, is specializing in photography now. So students do pick up a variety of (marketable) skills at RISD.

mackinaw · December 8, 2004, 10:14am

Addendum: RISD and Brown have been working to create new inter-university and interdisciplinary initiatives that may also be of interest to you. Here is a link: <a href="http://risd.edu/campus_initiatives_brown.htm%5B/url%5D">http://risd.edu/campus_initiatives_brown.htm</a>. You can also download the full report of the planning committee for this at that site.

The basic proposal under consideration now involves:

· a Center for Emergent Arts, Design, and Science (CEADS) that would build on current efforts by uniting faculty in the sciences, arts, design and media;

· a multidisciplinary program of Arts in the Public Sphere to examine the aesthetic, philosophical, social, political and economic factors shaping public art and to explore interpretive strategies to draw the public into meaningful encounters with art;

· and a Providence Center for Urban Design and Innovation, which would use the physical, social and economic conditions of the Providence region as the basis for research and study designed to provide the city with new information, innovative ideas and alternative perspectives.

cama · December 8, 2004, 10:41am

Taxguy,
I read your request on another thread about getting info on what Pratt is really like. D is very busy getting ready for final crits and will be home after Dec. 17 from Pratt. What specific questions would you like answered? I will foward them to her when she comes home. Your very thoughtful reviews on schools you have visited have been well thought out and much appreciated. I think it was you that gave my D some good advice on FIDER programs (through your wife). Actually D will be changing her major from Interior Design to Communication Design after fouondation year. Thanks, and I would like to help you with Pratt questions anyway I can.
Cama

taxguy · December 8, 2004, 12:10pm

Cama, I will post my questions about Pratt on the Pratt board. I will also be visiting Pratt around April with my daughter Allison. Thus, you will see my "take" on the school as a result of the tour. I do hope that your daughter likes Pratt. I am wondering why she changed majors? She was really "gung ho" on Interior Design and went to Pratt because it was FIDER accredited. What changed her mind?
Mackinaw, I did notice your link to the combined program with Brown. I do wonder what that will be like and whether people get join degrees. I guess that I will need to call RISD about it.

mackinaw · January 11, 2005, 7:36pm

One piece of good news is that RISD is about to add 500 more housing spaces, by redeveloping propoerty across the river from the main campus and near some other facilities that they own in Providence. With the expanded enrollment in recent years, the strain on on-campus housing has been severe, and only first year students were guaranteed it.

Here's a link: <a href="http://www.risd.edu/campus_initiatives_housing.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.risd.edu/campus_initiatives_housing.htm</a>

mackinaw · February 5, 2005, 12:40pm

Taxguy, this new board appointment may also help to facilitate developments in new media (though board members are not directly involved in most college planning). Shows further commitment in this area, perhaps a step toward asking for some $$$ to promote this initiative.

<a href="http://research.microsoft.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?id=1061%5B/url%5D">http://research.microsoft.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?id=1061</a>

taxguy · February 5, 2005, 12:45pm

Mackinaw, well that was an interesting announcement about the new trustee. I always felt that " New Media or Interactive Media studies" wasn't up to par with the rest of the RISD programs. Ratings by US News and World Report supports this belief in that RISD was rated 10th in the US, where they are in the top 5 in most other artistic disciplines. This appointment may well change all that around.

mackinaw · March 3, 2005, 11:07pm

Did you visit RISD|Works when you visited? <a href="http://www.risdworks.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.risdworks.com/</a> Displays/sells works by RISD students, faculty, and alumni. A nice little store just a short walk across the river from the main campus, a good place to hang out for a half hour or so. Some neat stuff.

mackinaw · March 13, 2005, 3:22pm

Taxguy, I just noticed that RISD did recently introduce a graduate (2-year, MFA) major in digital media, with its first class entering in 2003-2004. This has not (yet?) led to the introduction of such an interdisciplinary major at the BFA level. See <a href="http://digitalmedia.risd.edu/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://digitalmedia.risd.edu/index.php</a> . Apparently it involves collaboration across disciplines and institutions.

taxguy · March 13, 2005, 3:34pm

Machinaw: That was indeed interesting. My daughter wanted to major in it as an undergrad,which RISD didn't have. However, I am beginning to believe that RISD's approach may be the better approach. Having a good artistic background in one of the related areas of digital media ( such as graphic design, annimation etc) might be the better way to go. Majoring in Digital media can always be accompllished at the graduate level.

mackinaw · March 13, 2005, 4:08pm

Taxguy, it's interesting to see this evolution in your thoughts about this. At the same time I think there are ways that this "new thinking" has to seep into the undergrad curriculum, even without a specific major. There is just so much new technology out there!

My daughter also had some concern that RISD begin to introduce some new, cross-disciplinary thinking in the area of green design, or eco-design. This may not involve just the teaching of specific techniques but would rather entail an emphasis on certain principles in the choice of materials and methods of production -- in urban design, industrial design, architecture, and interior design, for example. She was able to provide some of this herself through her selection of courses at Brown, the types of projects she opted to do, and also the interdisciplinary "concept studio" that she took in her senior year (which had as a class project the redesign of the waste managment system of NYC). RISD has been doing some reviewing of what they might do to introduce green concepts into some of their programs such as ID. While her current job doesn't allow her to practice this much, she's involved now (and is a co-director) in an organization called "O2" in NYC that brings together practicioners in many design fields to promote such activity: <a href="http://o2nyc.org/%5B/url%5D">http://o2nyc.org/</a> . She may also seek a graduate degree with an urban or green design focus in a couple of years.

mackinaw · April 2, 2005, 8:58am

Here's an interesting new multi-year event -- link of RISD/Harvard to Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project.

<a href="http://intranet.risd.edu/pdfs/Silk_Road.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://intranet.risd.edu/pdfs/Silk_Road.pdf</a>

<a href="http://www.risd.edu/campus_initiatives_silkroad.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.risd.edu/campus_initiatives_silkroad.htm</a>

mackinaw · May 2, 2005, 10:52am

<a href="http://dm.risd.edu/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://dm.risd.edu/index.php</a>

Digital Media lecture series + program at RISD

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