RISD Graduate Degrees / M.ARCH I: Architecture

RISD's three-year Master of Architecture program offers an intense course of study in an art school context. Emphasizing the design studio, the curriculum demands ingenuity, clarity and focus, and challenges those with varying degrees of experience in architectural studio work.

Graduate students take the three-semester core studio program, which involves group and individual efforts, digital production and hands-on building of structures. Technical and professional courses are complemented by advanced electives in representation/fabrication, history/theory of architecture and technologies/ethical practice. Courses are integrated with the Bachelor of Architecture curriculum and graduate students are also offered cross-listed Landscape and Interior Architecture, Graduate Studies and Liberal Arts courses, in addition to electives in the other fine arts and design disciplines taught at RISD.

current enrollment
graduate students: 96
undergraduates: 128

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Is it important that RISD's architecture program is accredited?

Yes. All accredited schools of architecture in the US (and Canada) offer degrees that are compatible with professional licensing requirements. This is as true of a university-based program as it is of an arts-based program like RISD's. In other words, the MArch degree carries the same value and licensing opportunities whether you attend RISD or one of the more traditional university-based schools of architecture.
Then how does RISD's program differ from other architecture programs?

In addition to such vital items as pedagogic intent and philosophy, the primary differences are in the spectrum of course offerings and the size of the college. RISD offers a relatively small program with a high proportion of full-time to part-time faculty, neither of which holds true of some university-based programs. Through cross registration at Brown University, RISD offers a broad range of research-based and liberal arts courses, and in addition provides a strong array of fine arts, design and studio courses. This includes such obvious things as painting, sculpture and graphic design, but also less obvious options such as metal-working, glass blowing, textiles and digital media.
Do the students who choose RISD differ from other architecture students?

RISD students are highly diverse, drawn from throughout the world and visually and culturally literate. They are open-minded, with few of the pretensions or unfounded demands sometimes found in students at other schools. It is important to understand that the Department of Architecture integrates graduate students from diverse backgrounds and undergraduate students with strong visual training in studio courses, comingling visual literacy, energy and hunger for experimentation with intellectual discipline and maturity. The result is quite powerful for both sets of students.
Is green design part of the curriculum?

Yes. We understand architecture as part of a dynamic system in constant homeostasis, not as an act of resistance to the forces of nature. This approach is evident in the way design is approached – using an organic, iterative model – and in the curriculum through such initiatives as the Solar Decathlon, studios on wood and bamboo as sustainable resources, and a series of projects in Mexico, Costa Rica and Africa. Course offerings address student and faculty interest in and commitment to environmentally cautious, architecturally stunning work.

link to general questions on Graduate Studies at RISD