TLAD Master’s Programs
In both of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design’s advanced degree programs—the Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)—you acquire a strong foundation in the theoretical context of art education while enjoying meaningful opportunities for pedagogical practice in art and design.
MAT program
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is an intensive, one-year (summer through spring) cohort teacher preparation program for artists and designers* culminating in the recommendation for teacher certification in Art (PK-12). The program interweaves theoretical concepts with scaffolded practical experiences, giving you opportunities to test out ideas in authentic learning environments throughout the year.
Our MAT is approved by the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and, as a result of the Interstate Compact, has reciprocity in at least 44 other states. It is, however, important for applicants to understand that while RISD awards the MAT degree and recommends its graduates for certification or licensure, the award of teacher certification is determined by individual states, each of which has its own specific requirements. Candidates must pass any teacher-certification test(s) required by individual states.
*Candidates who are US citizens or permanent residents are eligible to apply for the MAT.
MA program
The Master of Arts (MA) in Art + Design Education is a one-year (fall through spring) program for those interested in earning an advanced degree in art and design education outside the context of the traditional K-12 school art classroom (museums, community, nonprofit). This degree is ideal for those whose future goals meet at the intersection of art, design, education and community.
The MA program of study is individualized for each graduate student, with a balance of required TLAD courses, studio and liberal arts electives, professional practice internships and independent study. The program promotes rigorous inquiry balanced with explorations in community-based art teaching and learning. Ideally you will come into the program with an area of interest and the desire to personalize your degree.
A core component of the program is the completion of a research project and written thesis grounded in art and design education. MA candidates work with a faculty advisor to craft a program of study that circles around your research/thesis interests and utilizes the amazing art education programs that Providence and Rhode Island have to offer.
Academic year
Fall
Wintersession
Spring
Learning outcomes
Graduates of the MAT program are required to:
- articulate and reflect on key issues, trends and theories in art and design education.
- display competence in the development and implementation of high quality, inquiry-based art teaching and learning.
- demonstrate an understanding of culturally responsive teaching strategies.
- provide evidence of understanding and meeting Rhode Island Professional Teaching Standards (RIPTS).
- develop and implement a variety of instructional strategies that reflect an understanding of artistic, cognitive, linguistic, physical, emotional and social development in order to meet the needs of diverse learners.
- develop professional practices that underscore the significance of coming to know and value the school community (students, teachers, families, etc.) when planning curricula and pedagogical approaches.
Graduates of the MA program are prepared to:
- articulate and reflect upon key issues, trends and research questions in art and design education.
- display competence in the development of high quality, inquiry-based art teaching and learning experiences in various learning contexts.
- demonstrate an understanding of culturally responsive teaching strategies that meet the needs of diverse learners.
- develop professional practices that underscore the significance of coming to know and value community funds of knowledge when planning art and design education experiences.
- display competence in researching, writing and presenting a personal investigation in in art and design education (thesis project) that explores relevant issues in the field.
Curricular and pedagogical practices
TLAD offers many opportunities to grow as art and design educators in both curriculum development (what you teach) and pedagogical practice (how you teach).
Students enrolled in either of our two curriculum development courses (required for MAT students and electives for those in the MA program) gain experience designing art curricula and lesson plans grounded in big ideas, issues of social and ecological justice, meaning making, play, and so on.
MAT candidates develop long-term relationships with art teachers and students at two different public or charter schools in Rhode Island. You engage at first as a participant-observer and move gradually to complete teaching responsibilities. It is in these classrooms where you can bring their curriculum to life.
For MA candidates, collaborations with Project Open Door, the RISD Museum and various other local community arts organizations offer opportunities in curricular planning and art teaching. These experiences are structured primarily through TLAD graduate assistantships, independent studies or professional practice internships (paid or credit bearing).
Contemporary perspectives in art and design education
TLAD graduate programs push beyond traditional ideas about art and education (such as teaching based on technique, formal principles of art, and copying works by well-known artists). Rather, we see art and design education as a socially engaged practice that intersects with broad and contemporary issues: social and ecological justice, racial equity, gender and sexuality, relational ethics, community based practices, educational theory and more.
Through research, practice and theory, you engage various issues through the lens of art and design education—teaching children, teens, adults and educators through their work.
Project Open Door
Since 2005, TLAD has been fine-tuning Project Open Door—a pioneering program that mentors under-resourced teens with a passion for art and helps them prepare for and apply to college. TLAD graduate students and others from the RISD community have a unique opportunity to get involved in what is essentially a nonprofit, youth-based program housed in a college's academic department that envelops interested public high school students in intensive mentoring and other helpful resources at RISD.
MAT accreditation
RISD’s MAT program is accredited by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). RIDE’s Rhode Island Educator Preparation Index provides a summary of data related to our MAT program, including the total number per year of people who have completed the program, the total number of those who have secured teacher certification in Rhode Island and who are employed in the state. Title II federal reporting requires all teacher preparation programs to publish its program completion data, which is available for TLAD’s MAT program via the link above.
Additionally, RIDE requires that all teacher preparation programs post how they are preparing students to meet the requirements of the Right to Read Act. To meet these requirements, please be advised that in RISD’s TLAD program, our MAT students complete the approved BRIDGE-RI course to demonstrate awareness.
Want a closer look? Discover our graduate admissions events.
Hosted each fall by the Admissions team, our in-person and online events give you an excellent intro to RISD graduate programs, life in Providence, how to apply and more.
Application requirements
Application form
Submit your RISD application form, and all other credentials, through the RISD Applicant Portal. The application fee is $60.
Academic transcripts
Initially, you must provide unofficial transcripts of all undergraduate and/or graduate study indicating satisfactory completion, or evidence of anticipated completion, of an undergraduate degree program from an accredited college or university. You can upload your unofficial transcripts to the RISD Applicant Portal.
If your academic credentials are prepared in a language other than English, they must be translated into English by an approved translator before submitting. Enrolling students will later be required to submit official transcripts.
Portfolio
Applicants to graduate studio programs must submit 10–20 examples of visual work, with certain programs providing more specific ideas or portfolio requirements.
Use SlideRoom to submit your graduate portfolio .
Specific program instructions
Digital + Media
Your portfolio should contain 10 samples total, which can be a combination of media (e.g., images, video, sound). You may submit up to five videos as project documentation or excerpts of time-based media. In your portfolio you are encouraged to submit at least one video that clearly demonstrates your research and/or work process. Total runtime for all videos should be no more than five minutes.
Please do not submit multi-page PDF files. Each sample should be accompanied by text identifying the medium and year, as well as a four-sentence description explaining the concepts that inform your work (50 words maximum). If you include collaborative projects, you must clearly identify your individual contribution.
Furniture Design
RISD’s MFA in Furniture Design emphasizes critical making—an approach that integrates conceptual thinking with hands-on material experimentation. Through iterative processes involving tests, models and human-scale objects, students explore the possibilities of form, technique and function. The program encourages engagement with contemporary issues, fostering work that is both materially grounded and culturally responsive. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, disciplines and creative perspectives.
Portfolios should prioritize resolved 3D work. We recommend avoiding overcrowded layouts, excessive renderings or overly detailed conceptual or technical descriptions.
For those applying to the 2-year track, a high level of resolution is expected in the ability to synthesize and materialize conceptual and creative ideas.
For the 3-year track, we look for candidates who can clearly demonstrate your research and conceptual interests, along with current technical skills and material proficiencies—regardless of how developed those may be at the time of application. The emphasis here is on potential for growth, and we recognize that applicants may be at different stages in your technical development.
In addition to the portfolio, you may submit an optional self-made video (maximum 20 seconds) that captures an aspect of your making process or approach. While professional production quality is not required, the video should offer insight into how you bring an idea to life—whether through a simple or complex project, large or small. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your engagement with the process of making—you are encouraged to interpret this in a way that reflects your individual interests.
Industrial Design
Industrial Design’s MID programs nourish interdisciplinarity and diversity as a way of inspiring a rich exchange of alternative perspectives and approaches. Your 10-20 image portfolio should contain a wide range of project examples that tell a clear story of who you are as a thinker/artist/researcher/designer.
Jewelry + Metalsmithing
The rigorous studio-based orientation of the Jewelry + Metalsmithing graduate program leverages traditional skills and fabrication techniques to critically approach new territories and ways of making. Jewelry + Metalsmithing prefers that you upload each page of your portfolio as a high-resolution .jpg file. Your portfolio should be 10–15 pages that illustrate your technical skills, material knowledge and conceptual interests. Images of work worn on or interacting with a body are highly encouraged.
Please include detail images when relevant. If you would like to include images of your design development process (drawings, renderings, models and technical process), please limit this to a single page. Do not put more than three images on any single page of the portfolio.
In describing images included in your portfolio, please include title, materials and dimensions of the work. You can add other important contextual information when uploading your files in Slideroom.
Landscape Architecture
All applicants to the Master of Landscape Architecture degree programs must submit a portfolio and an additional video essay. Your portfolio should contain 10 individually produced and carefully chosen images of work that reflect your interests in landscape and the discipline of landscape architecture.
Applicants to the MLA-1 program who have no prior design training may include photographs, sketches or written work that conveys their ability to observe, identify and explore spatial conditions within the landscape. All other applicants should include a selection of work that demonstrates your interests and development in design.
Label all work to indicate if it is academic, professional or personal. If you present a team project, clearly identify your individual contribution. The portfolio should include a minimal amount of text.
Prepare a short video of yourself telling us:
- the most important reason you are motivated to study landscape architecture.
- at least one goal you hope to achieve in your graduate education.
- why you think RISD is the best place to achieve your goals.
In the video, please show yourself speaking on screen. Avoid reading from a script or overdubbing. We encourage you to be authentic and heartfelt in your response. This essay will function as the beginning of a conversation that will continue if you enter the program at RISD.
The video does not need to contain the same information provided in your written essay. It should be casual in nature, not overproduced or over-edited. Cell phone videos are accepted. Maximum length: 2 minutes.
Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
Your portfolio should consist of 20 images exhibiting the depth and breadth of your studio experience. Ten images should represent work that reflects your investigations within a single medium. Seven images should represent your confidence in handling a variety of media. Three images need to be samples of drawings.
Master of Arts in Art + Design Education (MA)
Submit a portfolio of 20 images that most clearly represent your creative practice as an artist or designer.
Statement of purpose
Master of Arts in Teaching | MAT | Submit a statement (500–700 words) describing why you desire to become a K-12 art educator and to enter the TLAD MAT program specifically. Please be sure to address the following questions within your statement:
- Why do you want to become an art educator and enter the TLAD MAT program specifically?
- How do you feel your academic, studio, and work experiences have prepared you for RISD’s graduate program in art teacher education?
- How will your own identity as an artist/designer contribute to your practice as an art educator in the classroom?
- What, in your opinion, is the purpose of art education in K-12 schools?
- What do you believe high-quality K-12 art education looks like?
Master of Arts in Art + Design Education | MA | Submit a written statement (500-750 words) describing your interest in art and design education and your desire to enter the TLAD MA program specifically. Please be sure to address the following questions within your statement:
- Why do you want to become an art educator and enter the TLAD MA program specifically (especially as opposed to a MFA program)?
- What are your specific interests related to art and design education?
- How might these specific interests contribute to the thesis research you would engage in within this program?
- Our MA program is unique in that students customize a program of study. How you would customize your MA program to maximize the resources of RISD, Brown and Providence, and that would support your potential research interests at the same time?
- How do you imagine the MA will support your future goals and interests after graduation (i.e., where do you see yourself in the future and how will this MA help)?
Additional supplement (optional)
The programs listed below ask for this additional written supplement (optional):
To gain a better understanding of our applicants, we ask candidates to prepare a written response to the following prompt. While the word limit is 500, do not feel obligated to reach this number. Use as little or as much space as you need.
(500 word limit) RISD is a community of determined and engaged makers. This common bond invigorates our campus, and the backgrounds, lived experiences and curiosities of our students deeply enrich our community. Describe an aspect of your background or life experience that defines who you are. How has this influenced your creative process?
- Architecture
- Ceramics
- Digital + Media, Glass
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Interior Architecture
- Jewelry + Metalsmithing
- Landscape Architecture
- Painting, Photography
- Printmaking
- Textiles
- Teaching + Learning in Art + Design
Letters of recommendation
You must submit three letters of recommendation. These should be written by teachers or other professionals who have firsthand knowledge of your art or academic achievements and can comment on your potential in your chosen field of graduate study.
You may invite your recommenders to upload their letters through your applicant portal. If your recommenders are unable to submit using this method, they may email their letters to admissions@risd.edu or mail them to Graduate Admissions at:
Admissions Office
Rhode Island School of Design
20 Washington Place
Providence, RI 02903
Tests
English language proficiency test
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)
- Duolingo (an online English test)
Since proficiency in English is a prerequisite for acceptance, applicants must attain an acceptable score on their chosen test; RISD requires a minimum result of 93 on the TOEFL, a 6.5 on the IELTS, or a 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 contact Admissions to explain your school history and determine if you are eligible.
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are not required as part of the application process.
International applicants
All graduate application requirements are the same for international and domestic students. Some things to keep in mind:
- If your academic credentials are not written in English, they must be translated into English by an approved translator prior to submission.
- 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).
Special instructions for MAT program applicants
Requirements:
- A four-year undergraduate degree (BFA or BA with studio major) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 from an accredited college or university
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in the studio coursework
- If applicant completed master’s degree, must show evidence of meeting these same cumulative GPA requirements
- A minimum of 39 credit hours in the following domains: literacy (12 credits), history of art and design (12 credits), humanities/sciences (9 credits) and 2 courses (6 credits) from any of the domains
- Since the MAT program prepares candidates to earn art teacher certification for pK–12 schools in the US, enrollment is restricted to American citizens and permanent residents who hold a green card
Please note: In order to fulfill degree requirements, MAT students are required to complete practicum and student teaching assignments in K–12 public schools at various points in the program. This will entail undergoing and successfully meeting the standards (or requirements) of one or more state or national background checks. Candidates who have any questions about this process may contact the Teaching + Learning in Art + Design department.