RISD believes that a general education in the liberal arts is an important complement to the art and design programs students enroll in here. In general, in order to graduate, all undergraduate students are required to take a total of fourteen liberal arts courses, including required introductory courses in English composition and literature, art/design/architectural history, and history, philosophy, and the social sciences. The goals of RISD’s liberal arts programs are to develop and strengthen reading, writing, speaking and critical skills; to provide a broad background in art historical, historical, literary, cultural and social studies to augment and deepen a student’s professional studies; and to establish skills and habits of life-long learning.
