BFA | 4-year program
Through challenging assignments, critiques, lectures, demonstrations, fieldtrips and one-on-one conversations, faculty members in Ceramics help students to discover individual artistic strengths, develop a personal voice and express a range of experiences.
Learning outcomes
Graduates are prepared to:
- demonstrate proficiency in ceramic construction skills (hand-building, slip-casting, mold-making, and wheel-throwing) along with clay and glaze composition and effects of the firing sequence.
- develop work for different contexts, including indoor and outdoor installation, tile-work and tableware for restaurants.
- articulate the effects of ceramics in various environments (gallery, home, restaurant, architectural), including consideration of visual, functional, environmental and political aspects.
- understand the effects of new technologies on the field.
- identify and commit to focused study of a particular field in ceramics, such as sculpture, environmental arts, architecture, pottery or design.
Inspiring community
A small department with approximately 10 undergraduates and 8 grad students, Ceramics offers strong individual support from faculty mentors. Every year a wide range of professionals in the field visit to offer demonstrations and workshops, along with critical feedback and new perspectives.
Learning environment
Ceramics majors work in private and communal workspaces on the third floor of RISD's Metcalf Building, where the studio environment fosters a ready exchange of ideas among both undergraduate and graduate students. The department also supports an outward focus through everything from its relationship with the Providence-based industrial art nonprofit The Steel Yard to studios designed to connect students with members of the off-campus community. Ceramics majors often work on interdisciplinary projects with Architecture and Interior Architecture classes, install site-specific installations for various locations on campus and in the city, and design and fabricate tableware to complement a specific restaurant's cuisine and décor.
Undergraduate student work
Curriculum
Sophomores are introduced to sculpture and pottery through the processes of throwing, hand-building, mold-making, glazing and firing. Technique is integrated with ideas, aesthetics and personal expression in the context of contemporary and historical ceramic practice. Juniors move beyond the studio and into the world through commissions and community-engaged projects. Digital technology is central in the Materials Research class for clay, glaze and advanced kiln firing approaches.
Foundation year
- Drawing I
- Design I
- Spatial Dynamics I
- First-year Literature Seminar
- Theory and History of Art and Design I: Global Modernisms
Fall
- Non-major studio elective
Wintersession
- Drawing II
- Design II
- Spatial Dynamics II
- Topics in History, Philosophy and the Social Sciences
- Theory and History of Art and Design II: Premodern Worlds
Spring
Sophomore
- Moldmaking and Slipcasting
- Object as Idea in Clay
- Ceramics: Global Perspectives
- Liberal Arts electives
Fall
- Open elective
Wintersession
- Pottery
- Figure Modeling
- Liberal Arts electives
Spring
Junior
- Ceramics elective*
- Topics in Ceramic Material Science
- Liberal Arts elective
- Open elective
Fall
- Open elective
Wintersession
- Ceramics elective*
- Ceramic Sculpture
- Liberal Arts electives
Spring
Senior
- Senior Tutorial Studio
- Seminar: Source Presentation
- Ceramics elective*
- Liberal Arts elective
Fall
- Open elective
Wintersession
- Senior thesis
- Directed elective
Spring
* Students take three of the following four required major elective courses during junior and senior year:
- Advanced Pottery and Ceramic Production
- Ceramics and Print
- Clay in Context
- Digital Ceramics
Students work with their advisor to determine their specific course of study.
Thesis project
During senior year, students create an independent body of work, supported by individual tutorials with faculty, group critiques and discussions. Professional practice is emphasized, with coaching on presentation skills, documentation, marketing, exhibitions and residencies.
Application requirements
-
First-year applicants
You’ll begin and manage your RISD application process by completing the Common Application. There is a nonrefundable application fee
of $60 to use this service, plus a nonrefundable $10 fee to submit a required online portfolio via SlideRoom. Learn more about the first-year application here. Transfer applicants
Submit your RISD application form, and all other credentials, through the RISD Applicant Portal. The application fee is $60, plus a nonrefundable $10 fee to submit a required online portfolio via SlideRoom. Learn more about the transfer application here.
-
First-year applicants
Applicants must provide official transcripts of all secondary academic work through the most recent grading period. Your counselor may submit your transcript through the Common Application, Parchment, email or mail. If your academic credentials are not written in English, they must be translated into English by an approved translator prior to submission.
Transcripts can be submitted by school officials through Parchment, eTranscript, email or mail.
Transfer applicants
Applicants must provide official transcripts covering at least the last three full years of academic work completed. This should include all college transcripts and, if applicable, your secondary school transcript. If you attend a school where the language of instruction is not English, your academic credentials must be translated into English by an approved translator.
Transcripts can be submitted by school officials through Parchment, eTranscript, email or mail.
-
Test-Optional, SAT and ACT
RISD is offering all applicants (domestic and international) the ability to be reviewed without submitting results from the SAT or ACT. Students may opt into this process by selecting the test-optional option under the "Testing" portion within the RISD section of the Common Application. For students who choose to submit test scores, RISD will superscore your results, looking at your highest outcome across multiple test dates.
RISD’s institution code number for the SAT is 3726; for ACT the code number is 003812.
Transfer credits
Some Advanced Placement (AP), A-Level classes and International Baccalaureate (IB) credits can be used toward RISD liberal arts requirements. First-year students can transfer a maximum of nine credits from AP courses with a score of 4 or 5, A-Level classes with an earned grade of C or higher or Higher Level IB scores of 5, 6, or 7. RISD will not accept AP or IB credit from art or studio classes. View RISD's full transfer credit policy.
English language proficiency tests
All applicants who speak English as a second language, including US citizens, must submit results from any one of these three options: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or Duolingo (an online English test). Since English proficiency is a prerequisite for acceptance, applicants are required to meet a minimum score of at least 93 on the TOEFL, a 6.5 on the IELTS, or 115 on Duolingo.
Plan to take the TOEFL or IELTS well in advance of the application deadline since it may take three weeks for your scores to be sent to RISD by the test agency. Duolingo test results may take up to four days to be received by RISD.
The language test requirement may be waived for applicants who have studied in an institution where English is the language of instruction. You must email the Admissions Office at admissions@risd.edu to explain your school history and determine if you are eligible for a waiver.
-
Portfolio Submission
Your portfolio should present 12–20 examples of your most recent work that showcases your thinking and making. Once you've started your application to RISD in the Common Application, you will be directed to SlideRoom, a separate online platform, where you will upload your portfolio.
What to include
Your selected work should reflect a full range of your ideas, curiosity, experimentation and experience in creating and making. This can include work in any medium, in finished or sketch form, and can be the result of an assigned project or a self-directed exploration.We strongly recommend that you include some examples that involve drawing from direct observation (rather than from imagination, a photograph, or video). Drawing is a fundamental tool for visual makers from initial concept to execution, so it is valuable for reviewers to see examples of your experience with and approach to drawing.
While the majority of your portfolio should feature finished pieces, we suggest including some research or preparatory work in up to three—but no more than three—portfolio uploads/slides. This helps reviewers better understand how you develop your ideas.
Documentation
Finally, we strongly discourage including excessive visual elements and text descriptions in a single slide submission. These are difficult to view and are likely to exceed the allowed submission limit. Additional angles or detail shots of some works can be submitted across multiple slide submissions, combined into one composite including no more than 3 images or in a single video upload. Editing is an important part of curating your portfolio. You may need to devise creative solutions to best show your work within the limits of submission guidelines.Our recommended file formats are: jpeg, png, gif, mp4 and mov. These formats are most compatible with SlideRoom. Google Drive or zipped files are discouraged.
You may be interested in attending or watching the recording of one of our Portfolio Tips webinars for more advice on how to approach your RISD application portfolio.
The RISD Assignment is no longer part of the application
After extensive research and discussion, it has become evident that requiring the RISD Assignment functions as a barrier for applicants and is in direct conflict with RISD’s Social Equity and Inclusion action plan. To provide more access and equity in our admissions process, we have made the decision to remove the RISD Assignment as an application requirement beginning with the 2022/23 application cycle. We will continue to prioritize the portfolio when evaluating the visual component of an applicant’s candidacy.
-
First-year applicants
If you are applying as a first-year, RISD requires the Common Application Personal Essay (up to 650 words). You will find the writing prompts in the Writing section of the Common Application.
While we encourage you to adhere to the rules of good writing, we look for applicants who are not afraid to take risks in their expression. Please don't hesitate to use a writing style or method that may be outside the mainstream as you express a distinctive personal position in your essay.
Transfer applicants
Submit a written statement, up to 650 words, using the prompt indicated below. Remember, this is the limit, not a goal. Use the full limit if you need it, but don’t feel obligated to do so.
-
Provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve by joining us at RISD.
While we encourage you to adhere to the rules of good writing, we look for applicants who are not afraid to take risks in their expression. Please don't hesitate to use a writing style or method that may be outside the mainstream as you express a dynamic position in the samples you submit.
-
-
Letters of recommendation can be very helpful to your application. One letter is required, although as many as three may be submitted. Recommendation letters should be written by teachers or other professionals who have firsthand knowledge of your art or academic achievements and can comment on your potential as a student.
First-year applicants
Please use the Common Application to invite your recommendation writers to submit letters through that service. Letters may also be sent directly to our mailing address (see below) or emailed to admissions@risd.edu.
Transfer applicants
Please have your recommendation writers submit their letters directly to admissions@risd.edu. Letters may also be sent directly to our mailing address (see below).