WHAT IS YOUR DEPARTMENT LOOKING FOR IN A GRADUATE CANDIDATE?
The Jewelry + Metalsmithing Department looks for committed, mature and informed candidates ready to pursue an advanced degree program. Our department is relatively small and faculty work very closely with students, so
it is essential that candidates have a clear understanding of the philosophy, expectations and structure of the program. Candidates must be able to actively and independently engage in their work within the curriculum, remain open-minded and responsive to feedback and dialogue, and take risks that may be uncomfortable in order to advance their individual creative practice and locate their work within a larger contemporary context.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET A GOOD FEEL FOR THE PROGRAM?
The best way to learn about the program and figure out if it is right for you is to attend the kIn Focus: Open House events sponsored by the Division of Graduate Studies. These events provide a wonderful overview of RISD’s graduate programs by providing general information on topics of broad concern (such as financial aid) and introducing candidates to current graduate students and faculty. Following the general information session, a current graduate student from our department will take candidates on a brief campus tour and ultimately escort them to our studios to meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator, who will answer more specific questions about the program.

HOW MANY APPLICANTS DO YOUR RECEIVE EACH YEAR AND HOW MANY SEATS ARE AVAILABLE FOR GRADUATE CANDIDATES?
J+M receives between 30 and 40 applications per year. We have 12 graduate students enrolled in our two-year program and each year we accept six new candidates.

WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS FOR REVIEWING AND SELECTING POTENTIAL CANDIDATES?
After reviewing each application separately, the Department Head and Graduate Program Coordinator discuss individual selections and compile a short list of applicants, along with a waiting list. We then conduct phone interviews with each candidate and invite selected finalists for on-campus interviews. Once all the on-campus interviews are completed, we make our final decisions and notify candidates of their acceptance to the graduate program. Any candidate who is wait-listed will be notified once our short-list candidates confirm their intentions.

WHAT DO YOUR GRADUATE STUDENTS DO AFTER THEY EARN AN MFA IN J+M? The majority of our graduate students remain within the discipline and/or the larger field of art. Many go on to establish independent studios (either individual, collective or both), producing one-of-a-kind gallery work and/or limited production pieces. Some go on to design for the industry and/or create work on commission. More recently, our graduates are opening galleries as well as securing teaching positions and artists’ residencies.