With a collection of more than 100,000 objects—from ancient to contemporary art—and interesting cultural programming, the RISD Museum is an inviting resource available to students at no charge. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with knowledgeable curators and get behind-the-scenes access to incredible works of art and design. Few other art and design schools can match the size, scope, quality and educational programming of the RISD Museum, which is also a popular destination for the regional public.

Home to fascinating resource materials and a staff of experts excited to help inform your creative work, RISD’s beautiful library is also an award-winning example of adaptive reuse. Its specialized collection offers more than 150,000 circulating books focused on art, design, architecture and more. The library also houses a Visual + Material Resource Center, the RISD archives and a special collection of almost 20,000 rare books, periodicals and artists’ books.

From Foundation year on, you’ll make use of the Nature Lab, where you can analyze the structure of minerals, sketch rare species or use a compound microscope to discover the variety of life contained in a single raindrop. By looking closely at the natural world, you’ll experience the true power of observation and inform your own work.

If you choose to pursue an experience abroad, you’ll find support through RISD Global, our hub for global discourse and cross-cultural literacy. Whether you travel to study a specialized craft during Wintersession, choose from among a range of exchange programs during the academic year or take a course overseas during the summer, you’ll see how exciting and inspiring the world can be when you let your imagination roam.

Through collaborative reflection with peer tutors, you'll gain confidence and skills in written, spoken and visual communication, whether you're working on an academic paper, artist’s statement, cover letter, critique presentation, or any other project at the intersection of arts and language.

This interdisciplinary fabrication lab is available to all members of the RISD community, offering the opportunity to explore new and emerging technologies. Co-Works invites students in all disciplines to experiment, research and collaborate outside of the standard curriculum.

A key part of the educational and social fabric on campus, ever-changing exhibitions and frequent openings offer exciting opportunities for you to share your work with the wider community and to see the work being produced in all major departments. Whether you participate in a department-specific exhibition, propose or curate a group show or invite fellow students to see work in progress during an Open Studio night, these events are a great way to tap into the inspiring creative currents on campus.

As neighbors on College Hill, RISD and Brown share a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship. While RISD’s dynamic liberal arts classes are specially designed to enrich contextual understanding for artists and designers, the scope of Brown’s course offerings—from foreign languages to computer science, math and urban studies—allows you to further engage in subjects of particular interest. Both RISD and Brown students have the opportunity to cross-register for courses at the neighboring institution at no extra cost.