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Summary
Rhode Island School of Design is a private institution that was founded in 1877. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,975, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 49 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Its tuition and fees are $39,777 (2011-12).
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is a private, four-year school located in Providence. When the institution was created during the Industrial Revolution, it was named as a design school to indicate its importance to economic development in an area where textiles and jewelry manufacturing industries were flourishing. Now, although there are design majors offered, RISD is considered an art school. RISD offers nearly 20 bachelor’s and master’s programs, with fine arts being the most popular major. The school is home to one of the top-ranked master’s programs in fine arts, which can include a range of specializations, such as photography, sculpture, metals/jewelry, graphic design, glassware, and more.
The RISD campus has an extensive art museum with rotating exhibits and a nature lab with animals, plants, and specimens for students to study and reference in their art. On campus, RISD students can explore dozens of clubs, including student government, and off campus, they can check out the restaurants and interesting architecture of the state capital. There are no RISD varsity athletic teams on campus, although students can participate in many recreational sports, including “midnight soccer.” Notable RISD alumni include Seth MacFarlane, who created the animated series Family Guy, in which he also voices the main character Peter.
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Since its founding in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has earned a reputation as the preeminent art and design college in the United States. RISD's mission embodies the original charter statement from 1877 but now encompasses its global reach and that of the RISD Museum of Art: The mission of Rhode Island School of Design, through its college and museum, is to educate its 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. With more than 22,000 alumni, an endowment of over $260 million, and approximately 525 faculty who are outstanding artists, designers and architects, RISD currently enrolls 1,940 undergraduates and 420 graduate students in 16 undergraduate and 16 graduate programs in the fine arts, architecture, design and art education. Under the leadership of President John Maeda, RISD seeks to develop the creative leaders needed to drive innovation in the 21st-century creative economy. In addition to an intensive Foundation Studies program and work in their studio majors, RISD undergraduates earn a third of their credits in liberal arts subjects - from art history to literature, philosophy, social sciences and more - designed to provide added meaning and context to their studio work. RISD students and faculty also have access to the rich collections and teaching resources of the RISD Museum, which houses over 80,000 works of art, and to the collections at the Fleet Library at RISD and the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab. RISD is located in Providence and shares the city's College Hill neighborhood with Brown University. The neighboring institutions also share a dual degree program and cross-registration of students, who can take classes on both campuses. RISD has a freshman retention rate of 95% and a historical retention rate of 90%. Undergraduate Departments: Apparel Design, Architecture, Ceramics, Furniture Design, Film/Animation/Video, Glass, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Studies, Jewelry + Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Textiles Graduate Departments: Architecture, Digital + Media, Furniture Design, Ceramics, Glass, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, Jewelry + Metalsmithing, Landscape Architecture, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teaching + Learning in Art + Design, Textiles |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1877 |
| Religious affiliation | N/A |
| Academic calendar | 4-1-4 |
| Setting | urban |
| 2010 Endowment | $279,116,777 |
Applying
When applying to Rhode Island School of Design, it's important to note the application deadline is February 15, and the early action deadline is December 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due February 15. The application fee at Rhode Island School of Design is $60. It has an an acceptance rate of 34.3 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | N/A |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 34% |
| Application deadline | February 15 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | February 15 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Rhode Island School of Design is 9:1, and the school has 75.0 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Rhode Island School of Design include: Illustration; Industrial and Product Design; Graphic Design; Fiber, Textile and Weaving Arts; and Architecture. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 94.8 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 9:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 71% - High | ||||||||||
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Student Life
Rhode Island School of Design has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,975, with a gender distribution of 31.8 percent male students and 68.2 percent female students. 60.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 40.0 percent of students live off campus.
| Total enrollment | 2,406 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | N/A |
Campus Info & Services
Rhode Island School of Design offers a number of student services including placement service, health service, and health insurance. Rhode Island School of Design also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Rhode Island School of Design.
| Students who have cars on campus | 0% - Low |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Rhode Island School of Design, 60.2 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $13,447.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $39,777 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $11,652 (2011-12) - High |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
