About RISD CE
Art and Design for Everyone
Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education (RISD CE) functions within the larger context of RISD, an institution with an unparalleled reputation for producing highly-skilled, successful, and internationally renowned creative practitioners. The mission of RISD CE is to provide an immersive and innovative art and design education for everyone, at all stages of life and all levels of experience. Serving thousands of students locally, nationally and globally, we offer hundreds of non-credit courses in all aspects of art and design, for adults, teens, and children year-round. Our students are diverse, coming from a wide range of geographic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
With more than 100 years of expertise nurturing critical making, thinking, and innovation in art and design we facilitate personal and professional development by engaging students in sustained exploration and learning in the creative disciplines. We offer a wide range of courses and our programming is flexible, designed to accommodate students’ learning interests, level of proficiency, and schedules, while always ensuring we provide robust, studio-based experiences that are current and relevant. These programs equip students with the skills, confidence, proficiency, and real-world experience to accelerate their creative lives and work.
Mission
At Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education we are committed to providing an immersive and innovative art and design education for everyone, at all stages of life and all levels of experience.
Vision
We inspire a passion for art and design through lifelong learning that supports active studio practice, professional advancement and creative growth. We help students develop the tools they need to reimagine their creative potential through our transformative, experimental and studio-based learning environments.
About RISD
Founded in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (or “RIZ-dee” for the acronym RISD) is one of the oldest and best-known colleges of art and design in the U.S. Each year approximately 2,300 students from around the world pursue a creative, studio-based education at RISD, which offers rigorous bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in 19 architecture, design, fine arts and art education majors. The college is located in Providence, Rhode Island, which offers its own vibrant art scene and is conveniently located between two other major cultural centers: Boston and New York.
Continuing Education
RISD CE offers hundreds of non-credit courses, workshops and lectures in all aspects of art and design for adults, teens and kids. We offer online courses year round, and in-person courses for youth in the summer. We are open admission—we welcome everyone!
Programs
RISD CE offers online, in-person and hybrid courses, and our programs are open admission. Online courses are offered year-round and most are asynchronous, meaning that students can access them from anywhere in the world, at any time of day or night. Courses can be taken for personal or professional enrichment, and many can also be taken as part of one of our adult certificate programs. In the summer, RISD CE offers a Pre-College Program for high school artists and designers, and camps for youth and teens. During the spring, summer and fall, RISD CE offers RISD’s Advanced Program Online, which is a certificate track for high school students as part of RISD’s Pre-Collegiate Programs.
Students
RISD CE serves approximately 4,600 individual students each year totaling over 7,500 enrollments. Approximately 3,600 individual students enroll in adult, teen and young artist RISD CE courses, 600 in RISD’s Advanced Program Online, 500 in RISD’s Pre-College Program, and 280 in credit-bearing summer courses. Over 1,100 students are enrolled in adult certificate programs and 300 are enrolled in RISD’s Advanced Program Online certificate track.
Faculty
Approximately 300 faculty members lead RISD Continuing Education courses and programs each year. Faculty members come from a variety of backgrounds; many are RISD alumni or graduate students, and most others include practicing professionals, renowned local artists and art educators.