MFA: Glass

At RISD students approach glass as both an artist's material with remarkable expressive range and a studio discipline imbued with limitless potential, incorporating sculpture, architecture, design, craft and decorative art. In the two-year MFA program, they develop a distinctly personal aesthetic through source research, vigorous studio experimentation, regular critiques and a series of graduate seminars on contemporary art theory and criticism.

RISD's Glass faculty, a highly respected group of practicing artists and dedicated educators, help students to hone practices that demonstrate a deep understanding of both contemporary art issues and the rich history of art and glass.

current enrollment
graduate students: 7
post-baccaulaureate: 1
undergraduates: 23

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Glass Department website

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• Do graduate students get ready access to RISD's glass facilities?

  Yes, graduate students have full access to our specialized facilities, which include a hot shop, cold shop, kiln room and plaster room. Given its popularity, the hot shop runs on a schedule of three-hour work periods, with graduate students allocated six to nine hours of glory hole time per week.

• Do you offer any type of graduate assistantship?

  Yes. Several positions are available in the Glass Department, including teaching assistant, technical assistant, office assistant and visiting artist coordinator, among others. In awarding these paid positions, we consider each student's skills, experience and level of interest.

• Do graduate students have access to visiting artists?

  The Glass Department hosts approximately 10-15 visiting artists per year and all graduate students are encourage to arrange for individual studio meetings with each visiting artist. Lectures and discussion groups led by visiting artists are equally integral to the graduate curriculum.

• How much interaction will I have with undergraduates in the department?

  As an MFA candidate, you will have your own studio in RISD's graduate complex downtown, where grad students in various fine arts programs are housed. However, since our hot and cold shops are open to all glass majors and other students taking glass classes, you can have as much or as little contact with undergraduates as you would like. Most grad students appreciate and benefit from exchanging ideas with fellow glass majors and others at all stages of their RISD education.

link to general questions on Graduate Studies at RISD

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“Although Glass is a relatively small department, our graduates have gone on to make a huge impact on studio glass worldwide. We're also very international in scope, with many students studying here from abroad and frequent foreign exchanges with glass programs in Europe, Australia and Asia.”

Bruce Chao '73 GL/MFA '75, Professor

Rachel Berwick, Department Head / Professor

Bruce Chao, Professor

Jocelyn Prince, Graduate Program Coordinator / Assistant Professor

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