<p>I want to get into the BFA program at RISD and take classes at Brown also. A friend of mine visited RISD and was told that taking classes at Brown while going to RISD wasn’t really feasable because the academic calendars didn’t mesh. Does anybody know if this is this true?</p>
<p>the calendars are slightly diff, but I dont really know how much that affects things.</p>
<p>RISD students are allowed to take courses at Brown. I don't know which ones, but I know it's possible.</p>
<p>RISD students are on a trimester system. I was told the only one that seems to work is fall since RISD starts a couple of weeks later than Brown. Kids can take classes, but I was told it is limited.</p>
<p>You can definitely make it work if you want to, but it's not as easy as they would like to make it sound. You should definitely have other reasons to come to Brown!</p>
<p>the OP wants to go to RISD</p>
<p>We have looked at RISD with the Brown option in mind. RISD has a formal relationship with Brown. They can use each other's facilities such as gyms and athletic events, can use each other's libraries, and even participates in each other's extra curricular events such as concerts and teams. In fact, in many ways, it is almost one school.</p>
<p>You can also take courses in each school; however, there are two catches to this:</p>
<ol>
<li>The course must have an opening. This is not as much a problem taking Brown courses as it is for Brown kids to take RISD courses because RISD courses are usually much smaller studio courses. However, if you get permission from the instructor, it is doable. It can be any course as long as you have met the prerequisite or with permission of the instructor. I think that you have to get permission from both schools. There is a set procedure for this.</li>
<li>Schedule conflicts: RISD courses are 7 hours I think. Thus, with different calendars and different schedules, this can be tough. I think RISD starts a week earlier than Brown etc. However it is DEFINITELY doable. About 15% of RISD kids are taking courses at Brown during any one semester. I don't know how many Brown kids take RISD courses. However, when I was visiting RISD with my daughter, I did run into a Brown kid taking a photography course, and he loved it! I also ran into a Brown kid taking woodworking. He looked like a very happy camper as well.</li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>The calendars are slightly off but it is possible for Brown students to take RISD courses and vice versa. My daughter is a Brown student and she is taking a RISD course this semester. It meets once per week for six hours. She has lot of outside hours to put in for it and goes to RISD to a desk she has set up there in a studio for that work. RISD started about two weeks later than Brown did. The schools are down the street from one another. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Didn't I read in the Brown catalog that Brown students can only take 4 classes at RISD? Does that mean per year? Per semester? Lifetime?</p>
<p>Brown students can take 4 classes at RISD during their undergraduate years. They can take additional classes if the equivalent classes aren't offered at Brown.</p>
<p>it's definitely a lot easier to take Brown classes as a RISD student than vice versa because Brown classes don't have studio time attached to them and are easy to schedule outside of your other requirements</p>
<p>This very question came up in a session for RISD parents last Saturday (during Parents Weekend). Here is the "official" word, as relayed by RISD administrators:</p>
<p>RISD students cannot take classes at Brown as freshmen due to the restrictions of the Foundation Year curriculum. (There's just no flexibility in the schedule that year.) However, each year thereafter, they may take one class per semester at Brown. About 15% of RISD students do take at least one class at Brown while they are at RISD -- usually classes that can be used to fulfill their Liberal Arts electives, since Brown offers a much wider array of subjects (music, math, science, etc.) Most frequently, RISD students take a foreign language class at Brown.</p>
<p>There must be room in the Brown course, so RISD students cannot register until the first day of class. The course must also fit into the RISD student's schedule. RISD students normally take 2 or 3 studio courses per semester, in addition to 2 or 3 more "normal" classes that meet two or three times a week for 60 - 90 minutes each session. Studios meet one day a week in a "block" of time that ranges from 4 to 7 hours. But depending upon what days the Brown class meets, it is possible to make the schedules work -- as evidenced by the large number of students that do it. And the Brown and RISD campuses are right next to each other, with no more than a 10-15 minute walk between buildings. </p>
<p>It is easier to take classes at Brown in the fall semester since the Brown and RISD schedules are very similar then -- although RISD classes start and end one week later than Brown's. During the spring semester, a RISD student taking classes at Brown would have to give up Spring Break -- as ell as RISD's Wintersession Break (in mid-February) -- because the two schools take different weeks off.</p>
<p>It is indeed harder for Brown students to take classes at RISD due to the small class sizes. Studio classes are especially hard to fit into the Brown schedule but many of the non-studio classes work well and Brown students do go to RISD. </p>
<p>RISD does not have a trimester schedule. It has two 13-week semesters, with a six-week Wintersession in between. During Wintersession (January through mid-February), students take just one or two courses (on campus or at other art schools), do internships, or study abroad.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the information. It's great to get the real deal before you send in your application.</p>