About RISD

students walking on the sidewalk in front of the red brick Waterman Building on RISD’s campus

RISD is a nonprofit college and museum founded in in the city of Providence, RI. Today , students from countries engage in more than full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, supported by a committed faculty and worldwide network of more than , alumni.

By cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD equips artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world.

Student-to-faculty ratio (all students, Fall )

:

Average class size (undergraduate classes, Fall )

Undergraduate students (degree-seeking, Spring )

,

Graduate students (Spring )

Domestic students of color (undergraduate, Fall )

%

International students (undergraduate, Fall )

%

First-Year-to-Sophomore Retention Rate (undergraduate, Fall )

%

Six-Year Graduation Rate (undergraduate, Fall )

%

Want more information? Explore our fact book.

For detailed data regarding admissions, enrollment, student demographics and diversity, finances, and more, you can search the online RISD fact book, which is updated regularly by our Institutional Effectiveness office.

Access our interactive fact book

Our history

Started by a group of women well before any woman had the right to vote in the US, RISD has always embraced art and design’s capacity to stoke curiosity and spur progress.