Rhode Island School of Design Overview
Located in Providence, Rhode Island, Rhode Island School of Design is a private not-for-profit institution. The city atmosphere of Providence makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.
What Is Rhode Island School of Design Known For?
- Students who want to work more closely with their professors have an easier time at RISD since the student to facuty ratio is 9 to 1.
- The 1% student loan default rate at RISD is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
- The master's degree is the highest award offered at RISD.
- In 2017-2018, 43% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, RISD bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $51,100 a year. That's about 25% more than their peers at other schools.
- It takes the average RISD student 4.2 years to graduate. This is pretty good when compared to the national rate of 4.4 years.
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Rhode Island School of Design Rankings
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at RISD.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards RISD has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Best Precision Production Schools | College Factual |
#1 | Best Woodworking Schools | College Factual |
#2 | Best Textile & Apparel Studies Schools | College Factual |
#9 | Best Family, Consumer & Human Sciences Schools | College Factual |
#22 | Best Design & Applied Arts Schools | College Factual |
#61 | Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools | College Factual |
Where Is Rhode Island School of Design?

Contact details for RISD are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 2 College St, Providence, RI 02903-2784 |
Phone: | 401-454-6100 |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/risd1877 |
Twitter: | http://twitter.com/#!/risd |
How Do I Get Into RISD?
You can apply to RISD online at: www.risd.edu/admissions/
Admission Requirements for RISD
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | recommended |
Recommendations | recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | considered but not required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into RISD?
Approximately 33% of accepted students are men and 67% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 36%, and the acceptance rate for women is 24%.
Average Test Scores
About 68% of students accepted to RISD submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 610 and 700. Math scores were between 640 and 770.
Can I Afford Rhode Island School of Design?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At RISD, approximately 31% of students took out student loans averaging $7,321 a year. That adds up to $29,284 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at RISD is 1.4%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Rhode Island School of Design Undergraduate Student Diversity
Gender Diversity
Of the 1,736 full-time undergraduates at RISD, 34% are male and 66% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Rhode Island School of Design students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 376 |
Black or African American | 77 |
Hispanic or Latino | 163 |
White | 458 |
International Students | 518 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 144 |
Geographic Diversity
Rhode Island students aren't the only ones who study at Rhode Island School of Design. At this time, 34 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 65 countries are represented at RISD. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, South Korea, and Canada.
Online Learning at Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
Major | Bachelor’s | Master’s | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|
Design & Applied Arts | 144 | 15 | 159 |
Fine & Studio Arts | 92 | 36 | 128 |
Architectural Sciences & Technology | 44 | 72 | 116 |
Systems Theory | 69 | 24 | 93 |
Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 50 | 6 | 56 |
General Architecture | 33 | 0 | 33 |
Woodworking | 21 | 9 | 30 |
Textile & Apparel Studies | 26 | 0 | 26 |
Sustainability Science | 0 | 21 | 21 |
Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Teacher Education Subject Specific | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Cultural Studies & Analysis | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 479 | 205 | 684 |
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By DanielPenfield under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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