Microcredentials

Level up your creative skills

Facilitate personal and professional development while advancing your skills in a specific discipline.

RISD CE microcredentials allow you to make a sustained commitment to your creative learning—in a shorter time frame than a certificate or degree program. Through a series of non-credit courses developed by subject matter experts, you’ll focus on specific art and design competencies to gain confidence, proficiency, and expertise to help you reach your goals.

Microcredentials help you develop and enhance your portfolio, expand professional skills, or explore a new career path, with the flexibility your schedule demands. Earning a microcredential demonstrates a level of interest, commitment, and ability that is valuable when exploring professional opportunities in the creative sector. You’ll earn a verifiable digital badge that demonstrates your experience to potential employers and peers.

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Get started on your microcredential today!

Explore RISD CE online certificates for additional program offerings. Compare programs to decide which is the right fit for you!

Choose your program

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CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATION

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INTERIOR DESIGN SOFTWARE

Important Information and Policies

General Policies & Enrollment

Academic Policies

Financial Policies

Program Completion & Digital Badges

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General Policies and Enrollment

Students enrolled in a microcredential must adhere to the general RISD Continuing Education policies, including those related to non-discrimination and misconduct, course changes and cancellations, use of student artwork, and more.

Registration Help & FAQs

All microcredentials are open admission, and no portfolio is required to apply. Students must be 18 years or older. Adult international students are welcome to enroll in a microcredential, however there is no residential option and microcredential students do not qualify for F-1 visa status. To succeed in our courses, we recommend that students have proficiency in the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking.

Use the “Apply Now” button on the microcredential program page to apply.

Microcredentials are built to accommodate students with professional and/or family responsibilities. Programs are designed to be part-time; there is no full-time student status in Continuing Education.

Completion time can vary by microcredential, depending on when you begin and how many courses you take at a time. Students who elect to take two courses at a time can complete a microcredential within three terms or six months. The pace is determined by the individual student’s needs and schedule, as well as course schedules and availability. We encourage students to complete their program within 2 years.

Students who do not take courses within their microcredential for a full year will have their status expired. After your status expires, you will not receive notice of updates to the programs, enrollment reminders, outreach emails, etc. To be reinstated, submit a Microcredential Reinstatement Application in the Student Portal. Your program page and Enrollment History + Transcript will be updated to reflect any changes to your microcredential program while your status was expired.

Due to the brevity of microcredential programs, leave of absence requests are not permitted.

Academic Policies

Any course over 18 hours (which includes all microcredentials courses) is graded with a letter grade. Grades are available via your Student Portal approximately two to three weeks after the end of the semester. You can view your grades and/or print an unofficial transcript by navigating to “My Enrollment History + Transcript.” Official transcripts will be made available via Parchment.

While microcredentials do not offer college credit, they prepare you for work in specific sectors or more advanced studies, and provide opportunities to create a portfolio of work in your area of interest.

RISD CE does not offer an option to audit courses.

Each microcredential requires students to complete five total courses (four required courses, plus a choice between two courses for the fifth course); there are no electives. Courses are taught by diverse, expert instructors—academics, creative practitioners, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders—who emphasize professional applications in their teaching.

We do not offer internships to satisfy program requirements, but we encourage you to seek out ways to practically apply what you are learning in the program.

Prerequisites are courses that provide skills and learning outcomes necessary to progress to a higher level course. Most courses in the microcredentials do not have prerequisites. If so, you will need to successfully complete any listed prerequisites to enroll in a course.

Due to the brevity of microcredential programs, course waivers and substitutions are not permitted.

Students who take applicable RISD CE courses with the intention of enrolling in a microcredential program at a later date have a one-year grace period in which to apply.

Financial Policies

The total program cost is indicated on the microcredential program page and on the microcredential guide. This cost is based on current tuition rates and subject to change over time. Students register and pay on a per-course basis.

You are responsible for purchasing your own art supplies, equipment, software subscriptions, and/or books. For most classes, the cost is under $125 (estimate), but may be higher for specialized classes.

Information about RISD Continuing Education scholarships is located on the Scholarship Opportunities page.

Program Completion & Digital Badges

Students must complete all courses in their program with a grade of C- or better to receive a microcredential, and any outstanding account balance must be paid in full. Badges will automatically be awarded from Credly upon completion of all required courses.

A digital badge visually communicates your experience, competencies and achievements efficiently and publicly. RISD CE students will earn a badge after completing all required courses in their microcredential. Digital badges are verifiable and include specific metadata to showcase your skills and experience. Badges can be shared on social media and online profiles to convey your career-readiness to potential employers or clients. Your microcredential badge from Credly will never expire.

See additional FAQs at Credly Badge Earner Support.

Questions? Contact us at risdce@risd.edu or 401 454-6200, or learn about academic advising opportunities.