The Fall semester of Junior year represents a crucial pathway out of the sophomore experience and into independent, self-directed work in sculpture. Junior Sculpture Studio, together with Research Studio, is designed to support student’s individual interests and incorporate the multifaceted and highly personalized condition of artistic research with studio methodologies. The semester will consist of two major critique sessions, alongside various demos, assignments, artist talks, and work sessions that direct students’ conversation and growth within the studio. The work sessions will consist of artistic pursuits specific to individual practices, formal small and larger group critiques, and 1 on 1 and small group studio visits with faculty, teaching assistants and peers. The sculpture department’s visiting artist lecture series is a vital component of this course and allows insight into the practices and work of professional artists. Additionally, a curated selection of material, and personally collected archives, digital and physical as well as various forms of media will prompt deeper investigations into artist practice throughout the semester, exploring the very nature of how to explore, research, and investigate the world around you.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Sculpture Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Sculpture

The Fall semester of Junior year represents a crucial pathway out of the sophomore experience and into independent, self-directed work in sculpture. Junior Sculpture Studio, together with Research Studio, is designed to support student’s individual interests and incorporate the multifaceted and highly personalized condition of artistic research with studio methodologies. The semester will consist of two major critique sessions, alongside various demos, assignments, artist talks, and work sessions that direct students’ conversation and growth within the studio. The work sessions will consist of artistic pursuits specific to individual practices, formal small and larger group critiques, and 1 on 1 and small group studio visits with faculty, teaching assistants and peers. The sculpture department’s visiting artist lecture series is a vital component of this course and allows insight into the practices and work of professional artists. Additionally, a curated selection of material, and personally collected archives, digital and physical as well as various forms of media will prompt deeper investigations into artist practice throughout the semester, exploring the very nature of how to explore, research, and investigate the world around you.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Sculpture Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Sculpture

The execution of two assigned design projects provides the framework for a thorough examination of the design process. This structured and intensive studio will focus on the relationship between the implementation of sound design methodologies and successful problem solving in the design process. This first studio experience is intended to provide the methodological infrastructure for the remainder of the M.I.D. thesis experience.

Preference is given to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

This core studio stresses middle scale landscape architectural design. A series of studio problems will explore urban public spaces. Students will endeavor to represent contemporary cultural and ecological ideas in land form. There will be an emphasis on constructive strategies, the use of plants in design and methods of representation.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This beginning glass major studio combines studio practice, critical discourse and contemporary issues through assignments, reports, and scheduled critiques. The course develops awareness of three-dimensional issues concerning material, concept, process and light to establish criteria for artistic striving. Students are required to develop the sketchbook as an essential creative tool.

Estimated Materials Cost: $200.00

This course is a requirement for Sophomore Glass students. Non-majors may enroll pending seat availability. Email the Department Head and instructor jointly to request permission.

Major Requirement | BFA Glass

Modular synthesizers offer a tactile approach to sound production that is consistently inventive by design. Emerging from the 1960s counterculture, they are a product of expansive thinking that challenged conventions in both instrument design and creative practice. Six decades later, the limits of possibility only increased. In Modular Synthesis Studio, we will learn and apply concepts of voltage controlled synthesizers to creative coding and embedded computing platforms. Imbued with the spirit of community, together we will design and build a one-of-a-kind RISD modular synthesizer by semester end, while also creating new sound-based works with the system. Assignments in this studio course will involve creative projects, class presentations, readings, and module fabrication. The class will provide students with a strong foundation in modular synthesis, audio programming languages, and the skills to develop physical and software instruments relating to their personal creative practices.

Students should bring a laptop computer and wired headphones to class.
Experience with programming and/or modular synthesizers recommended but not required.

Elective

Glass IIA is an intermediate studio course in which students continue their ongoing investigation of material processes. Emphasis is on developing personal concepts and imagery and visual research skills through investigations of regularly assigned topics. Students develop a substantial idea sketchbook, participate in scheduled class activities, and group critique.

Estimated Materials Cost: $200.00

Major Requirement | BFA Glass

Context: Industrial designers entering the professional world in 2026 face a landscape defined by rapid technological change, evolving business models, and increasing expectations that designers contribute beyond form and function. Organizations seek designers who can understand how companies operate, identify where value can be created, and translate insight into meaningful contributions.

This course is an intensive, project-based studio focused on how to identify and develop opportunities within real companies. Students will analyze organizations (with an emphasis on those that recruit and employ RISD graduates) to understand how they create and capture value, where they excel, and where they are vulnerable to change.

Through several short, cumulative projects, students will learn to interpret business models, identify unrealized potential, and develop design-driven proposals that respond to strategic needs. There will be emphasis on clarity of thinking and communication, and framing opportunities in ways that are meaningful to organizations and aligned with their priorities.

Working individually and in teams, students will engage a range of companies and industries. Each project culminates in a concise, professional presentation that articulates a clear opportunity and a compelling design response.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Analyze and clearly describe how a company creates and captures value

• Identify strategic opportunities, risks, and unmet needs within existing organizations

• Develop design proposals grounded in business, user, and organizational context

• Communicate ideas through structured, professional presentations

• Work collaboratively to synthesize findings, insights, and designs

The course is organized as a sequence of short, cumulative projects. Each project follows a common framework:

• Understand the company and its business model

• Identify areas of strength, weakness, or unmet needs

• Define a meaningful opportunity

• Propose a design intervention aligned with that opportunity

• Present findings in a clear and compelling format

• Projects increase in complexity over the semester, culminating in a final presentation that integrates analysis, insight, and design proposal.

In addition to developing strategic and analytical skills, students will gain experience engaging with companies they may encounter in internships or full-time roles.

By learning how to evaluate organizations, recognize where they can contribute, and clearly articulate their value, students will strengthen their ability to navigate the transition from academic work to professional practice.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design

During this course, we will explore mobility design through the examination of natural environments, systems, processes, and organisms, with the intent to design a more circular and less harmful human-planet relationship. Students will embark on a creative and rigorous exploration of various biodesign methodologies, including the biomimicry design tools put forth by the RISD Nature Lab, as pathways toward innovative materials, products, manufacturing methods, services, and experiences. These materials and methods will be placed in context to support the Hyundai Motor Group’s research on the future of mobility, creating design solutions that demonstrate our discoveries’ real-world applications and potential impacts.

Particular focus will be placed on advanced research techniques, such as microscopy imaging, 3D scanning, material & process development, quantitative experimentation & testing, consultation with scientific experts, and referencing scientific research.

The advanced studio curriculum and assignments will provide structured support for a deep dive into student-directed biodesign research. Bi-weekly demos build the technical skill set students need, including a further exploration of biomaterials, generative modeling, AI workflows & ethics, additive manufacturing, life cycle analysis, experiment design, public speaking, and product photography. Guest lecturers and reviews will provide bi-weekly feedback and guidance in addition to that of the teaching team. Frequent check-ins support students in their larger research arc, including a focus on broader design frameworks of Design Justice and user interviews. Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to have their work reviewed and critiqued by designers and engineers at Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia, & Genesis). The final outcome of the semester will be students’ documentation and write-up of their research process and outcomes, which will remain in the Regeneration Studio online archive, as well as an advanced and functional prototype. The final review for this course will also include student presentations to design leadership at Hyundai Motor Group.

A close partnership with the RISD Nature Lab and the ID Department will provide access to the expertise and equipment necessary to complete student-driven research topics. This course features a series of guest lectures, field trips, and demonstrations throughout the semester to provide insight into the quickly expanding field of biodesign and regenerative design.

Elective

During this course, we will explore mobility design through the examination of natural environments, systems, processes, and organisms, with the intent to design a more circular and less harmful human-planet relationship. Students will embark on a creative and rigorous exploration of various biodesign methodologies, including the biomimicry design tools put forth by the RISD Nature Lab, as pathways toward innovative materials, products, manufacturing methods, services, and experiences. These materials and methods will be placed in context to support the Hyundai Motor Group’s research on the future of mobility, creating design solutions that demonstrate our discoveries’ real-world applications and potential impacts.

Particular focus will be placed on advanced research techniques, such as microscopy imaging, 3D scanning, material & process development, quantitative experimentation & testing, consultation with scientific experts, and referencing scientific research.

The advanced studio curriculum and assignments will provide structured support for a deep dive into student-directed biodesign research. Bi-weekly demos build the technical skill set students need, including a further exploration of biomaterials, generative modeling, AI workflows & ethics, additive manufacturing, life cycle analysis, experiment design, public speaking, and product photography. Guest lecturers and reviews will provide bi-weekly feedback and guidance in addition to that of the teaching team. Frequent check-ins support students in their larger research arc, including a focus on broader design frameworks of Design Justice and user interviews. Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to have their work reviewed and critiqued by designers and engineers at Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia, & Genesis). The final outcome of the semester will be students’ documentation and write-up of their research process and outcomes, which will remain in the Regeneration Studio online archive, as well as an advanced and functional prototype. The final review for this course will also include student presentations to design leadership at Hyundai Motor Group.

A close partnership with the RISD Nature Lab and the ID Department will provide access to the expertise and equipment necessary to complete student-driven research topics. This course features a series of guest lectures, field trips, and demonstrations throughout the semester to provide insight into the quickly expanding field of biodesign and regenerative design.

Elective

Is there are right way to design and a wrong way? In this studio, we will explore that question as we forge new paths to creativity by dissecting and rebuilding the design process itself. We will be questioning everything about how we design: purposely doing things “incorrectly”, borrowing approaches from unrelated disciplines and drawing inspiration from fellow creative makers in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. We will then put everything back together and test our newly minted design methodologies by creating new objects.

As a point of departure, we will explore our current design process through three experiments to test how our design process impacts our designs. In the second part of the semester, we will each build a newly constructed design process and then use it to address a concern of our choice through design. Throughout the semester, we will be working in both groups and individually, with inspiration from the Nature Lab, the RISD Museum and a few short readings.

If you want to be partners in your learning, if you are interested in both a bird’s-eye-view of design and hands-on, no-limits experimentation, this is the studio for you!

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

This first semester of graduate study emphasizes varied experimentation, extensive visual source research, maximum productivity and conceptual growth. Students are expected to develop professional associations with artists outside the glass department in addition to the department's faculty and its scheduled roster of Visiting Artists and critics.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $500.00

Major Requirement | MFA Glass

Graduate Typography I through III (GRAPH-332G/342G/352G) are a sequence of courses that focus on the subject of typography. This sequence covers the fundamentals of typography, its theory, practice, technology and history. Studies range from introductory through advanced levels. Grad Typography I includes: the study of letterforms, type design, proportion, hierarchy, legibility, and structures for composition of multiple type elements. Aspects of contemporary practice and theory are integrated into research and discussion.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Graphic Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)

This course introduces the Graduate Thesis project starting with the development of a research question through secondary research reading methods. This question has its assumptions articulated and verified through experimental making and primary research methods that engage specific audiences for qualitative discourse.

Enrollment in this course is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

This course introduces the Graduate Thesis project starting with the development of a research question through secondary research reading methods. This question has its assumptions articulated and verified through experimental making and primary research methods that engage specific audiences for qualitative discourse.

Enrollment in this course is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

Students in the MFA program pursue individual work under advisement of resident faculty, visiting artists and critics. This tutorial experience has been organized to nurture student work toward a set of goals and outcomes through routine conversations with faculty and their cohort. The priority is to assist students with recognizing new objectives in their practice.  Faculty work with students to develop new or hone existing skills to set priorities and meet  goals and deadlines. At the MFA level students will experience a deeper sense of individualized mentorship.  While advising students on the material aspects of their work, faculty will simultaneously  guide students toward new conceptual, theoretical and or philosophical frameworks for their work.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Sculpture Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Sculpture

In this second-year course, the emphasis is on clarifying student's specific area of interest, format of the work, its context, and personal concepts. Students will begin to develop a writing style and practice that parallels the richly developed language of their visual work, laying the foundation for their graduate written thesis.

This course is a requirement for second-year Graduate Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Textiles

Description

Rivers are layered landscapes that reflect how different societies have related to the land, natural resources and to one another. Shifting values about stewardship, control, extraction, and restoration have become physically manifested in the landscape through the intentional and unintentional shaping of the river landscapes. In this interdisciplinary studio, students will be asked to consider the relationship between textiles and landscape architecture practices to address, reconcile and interpret the complex ecological and cultural histories of rivers. Weaving and other structural textile techniques will be explored as both a metaphor and a physical strategy to weave together the multiple cultural narratives of a river as well as consider how to support the diverse river ecologies and the unique experiential qualities of being at the water's edge. The Blackstone River will provide the geographical, cultural and ecological lens for the studio. Some of the overarching material, formal and performative questions we may ask in the studio are: How can fibers be used to stabilize the water's edge, direct flows and provide habitat for riparian plant and animal species? Can the woven materials become unglued from the ground plane to shape the human aesthetic experience of the water's edge? Can textiles be used to interpret or reveal the multiple stories, histories and layers of the landscape? How can basket weaving traditions inform the way we manage the landscape? How can woven materials be integrated with living plant material, mycelium, and soil? How can the density of a textile aggregate and disperse to respond to different site conditions or to shape the pattern of plant growth? How long should the materials persist? Could they be designed to degrade overtime? What is the relationship between traditional craft practices and digital fabrication or scripting? Can community groups be involved in the construction and installation of the textiles as a way of rebuilding a connection between people and place?

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This course builds on the foundations gained in previous studio and course work to further design development abilities. The studio will require the integration of the student's emerging knowledge of site analysis, mapping & documentation, innovative tectonics and systems, applicable theoretical issues, relevant cultural precedents, and material investigation into a cohesive design agenda.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

This course builds on the foundations gained in previous studio and course work to further design development abilities. The studio will require the integration of the student's emerging knowledge of site analysis, mapping & documentation, innovative tectonics and systems, applicable theoretical issues, relevant cultural precedents, and material investigation into a cohesive design agenda.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies