>> go to Wintersession courselist

For six weeks between the fall and spring semesters, RISD offers students a complete change of pace. Wintersession, as this condensed semester is known, allows for an intense exploration of a particular discipline or an off-campus interest. It also offers faculty an opportunity to experiment with more innovative course offerings suitable to a shorter time frame — from performance art workshops to travel-study options.

Although many students look to Wintersession as a time to explore disciplines outside their majors, others head for New York, London, Milan or Los Angeles — wherever their particular fields take them for meaningful professional internships. Those who remained on campus for Wintersession may choose from a range of courses. Recent offerings have included the basic, such as “Animation I-A,” “Beginning Hot Glass” and “The Woven Blanket,” to the more esoteric, including “Art, Sanity and Insanity,” “Chains,” “Toaster” and “Eat, Drink and Be Merry: The Art of Food Writing” (taught by award-winning author Ann Hood).

Students venturing off campus recently have opted for “A Cultural Pilgrimage to the Heart of Europe,” “Creature-Creation” in Bali, “Signs and Symbols” in Ghana, “Los Angeles: An Architectural Tour” and some 10 other destinations, from the Caribbean to France, Italy, Scotland and Switzerland. All in all, Wintersession offers a respite from the routine and has proven to be the perfect prescription for recharging creative energy.