RISD BFA Printmakers are artists who can expect to maintain ongoing studio work in printmaking with the flexibility to expand studio practice into new areas. Students are prepared to participate in the world of print publishing as printers, publishers and project coordinators. Graduates go on to work in other areas beyond Printmaking such as graphic and digital design. They are also able to work in various exhibition venues, galleries and not-for-profit settings. Students are encouraged to stay in contact with the department for continuing support, especially as they apply for grants, residencies and graduate school. Pursuit of the terminal degree of MFA is an important factor for entry into the professional fields of post-secondary education and many exhibition opportunities.

As with all RISD undergraduate applicants, we look to accept incoming freshman into a year of an intensive Foundation program that have a facility for drawing from observation and a strong academic record.

The department strives to make our students Printmakers who understand their craft and to trascend the craft. Sophomore year Printmaking majors spend the first year of the program mastering the four major technical areas; intaglio, screenprinting, lithography, and relief. Semester-long courses present these techniques through demonstrations, lectures and museum visits.

The Junior Printmaking year stresses the search for meaning and content. Advance print electives and out of major studio electives revolve around two semesters of a Junior critique workshop. Students are encouraged to experiment in and out of the major and question any assumptions that were established in the sophomore year. Extensive individual and group critiques help students to identify content, concepts and working methods.

Senior year Printmaking students have individual workspaces and work intensively with faculty critics and visiting artists on advanced studio work. The goal is to follow through on researched, highly developed personal projects. This work is proposed, executed and evaluated under the supervision of the faculty critic.

Work is evaluated at regular intervals throughout the final year. Students are encouraged to understand ongoing work as a process, not a product. The year culminates in a degree project. This work expected to show integration of artistic ideas and means of making.