Summer Intensives

Online and studio courses (transfer credit)

Tailored to college students and adult working professionals, RISD Continuing Education offers a selection of summer courses that are eligible for three (3) transfer credits.

Summer 2026: June 22 – July 26

This summer, we will offer 5-week, three-credit courses in a variety of formats:

  • In-Person, RISD Main Campus—NEW for 2026!
  • Online, Asynchronous
  • Online, Asynchronous with live sessions (check course listing for dates/times)

Course descriptions for Summer 2026 will be available in January 2026. Click here to see past Summer Intensive offerings (online only).

Students painting with acrylics in a studio classroom.

Summer 2026 registration opens January 2026!

Before registering, review important summer intensives information.

Eligibility

These intensive courses are offered to current college students looking to earn transfer credit and adults 18+ who have graduated from high school and are seeking personal enrichment or professional growth. Courses are designed to be accessible to a variety of skill levels. Proficiency in English is a prerequisite for registration and applicants who speak English as a second language will be asked to upload a test score report (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo).

RISD Students: All courses offer three transfer credits with pre-approval using the appropriate Prior Approval for Transfer Credit form.

Format

Summer intensives are taught by RISD faculty. Courses are instructed in English and are offered in a variety of instructional formats: choose between our flexible online options, or immerse yourself in the classroom at RISD’s Providence campus. Courses are academically rigorous and students should expect to spend about 27 hours per week engaging with course content.

Questions

If you have any questions about whether summer intensive courses are right for you, contact RISD Continuing Education: risdce@risd.edu or 401 454-6200.

JOIN CE’S MAILING LIST

Policies

Important summer intensives information:

General Policies and FAQs

Instruction Methods

Academic Policies

Financial Policies

A student working on a laptop computer at a desk.

General Policies and FAQs

Summer intensive courses follow RISD Continuing Education policies.

Students should expect to log into the online learning portal a minimum of once per day and be prepared to actively engage in the course content, critiques and requirements. Our attendance policy requires students to attend any required live sessions regularly and punctually and actively participate in the course.

The essential elements for success in summer intensives are a passion to create, a willingness to try new ideas, being open to working differently and a strong work ethic. This is an intensive program and students may need additional academic support such as private tutors and/or other wellness resources not provided by the program. Each student will be assessed and graded on their engagement and performance, so it’s important to be prepared and limit competing priorities. Be sure to communicate with your instructor about any questions, concerns or understanding of the class expectations and assignments. For suggestions on how to engage with an online course, view our Online Student Guide.

Instruction Methods

Courses are offered in a variety of instructional formats to meet the needs of learners locally and globally. Choose between our flexible online options, or immerse yourself in the classroom at RISD’s Providence campus. Additional details about our on-campus experience will be posted before registration opens in January.

Online courses will follow one of two formats: Asynchronous Online Course or Asynchronous Online Course with Live Sessions.

Asynchronous online courses can be taken anywhere in the world and at any time of the day or night, as there are no required meeting times. Course content is delivered weekly through Canvas, our learning management system, where you will:

  • Learn from video demonstrations
  • Read through course material
  • Respond to discussion topics
  • Share in-process and finished work
  • Receive feedback from your instructors and classmates

Coursework is flexible and can be done on your own time, as long as it is completed within the assignment period. While this learning option offers great flexibility, the courses are not self-paced, and you will need to check in regularly to keep up with the workload.

See example (below) of a schedule for an asynchronous online course. When viewing the course information on our course registration system, you will see “Online, Asynchronous” listed under “Type”. Note that there are no scheduled meeting times.

Online asynchronous instruction format

Asynchronous online courses with live sessions are a blend of asynchronous (recorded) and synchronous (live) activities. You will interact with your instructor and classmates in two ways: through Canvas (explained above) and through live Zoom meeting times. This means:

  • Zoom meetings will be at a set date and time in Eastern Time. Meeting schedules are listed in the section details, and you are required to attend and participate in the scheduled live meeting times.
  • In addition to Zoom meetings, you will log into Canvas to post images of your work, participate in discussion boards, watch demos and tutorials and keep pace with assignments.
  • You’ll have access to the online course content any time of day or night.
  • The majority of class content, assignments, demonstrations and tutorials will be in Canvas.

See example (below) of a schedule for an asynchronous online course with live sessions. When viewing the course information on our course registration system, you will see both “Online, Asynchronous” and “Online, Live Sessions” listed under “Type”. Select “View Details” under “Schedule and Location” for a comprehensive schedule. The full online, asynchronous schedule of October 28–December 2 is supplemented with five online, live meeting times (Mondays, October 30, November 6, 13, 20 and 27, from 7–8 pm ET).

Online asynchronous with live sessions instruction format

Online asynchronous with live sessions instruction format

Whether you’re a student looking to earn college credit, an adult looking for artistic advancement, or a professional looking to make a big change, summer is an extraordinary time to be on RISD’s campus. Students from all over the world come to RISD to take part in group and individual critique, lectures and assignments, and create a substantial body of work in a short amount of time. Whether you live in the residence halls or commute to campus, you’ll have access to exclusive resources, renowned faculty and the personalized instruction you need to get where you’re looking to go.

Academic Policies

Admission to RISD summer intensives neither implies nor guarantees admission to a RISD degree program. Those students interested in admission to full-time RISD undergraduate or graduate degree programs must follow the procedures established by RISD Admissions.

Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education (CE) offers courses that may be credit bearing with prior approval from your home institution*. While CE summer intensive courses are distinct from academic year credit courses offered in RISD degree programs, CE is in compliance with all relevant NECHE guidelines concerning the number of required contact hours mandated for three credit courses.

*See “RISD Matriculated Students” or “Students from institutions other than RISD” for recommendations on seeking prior approval from your home institution.

RISD Continuing Education (CE) credit is treated as transfer credit by RISD’s undergraduate degree programs. If approved, the course can be recorded in the student’s RISD transcript as transfer credit. Grades from transferred courses are not recorded on a student’s RISD transcript nor are they included in the calculation of the RISD GPA. Credits are transferable only for courses in which a grade of “C” or better is earned. Different policies apply regarding the transferring of RISD CE credit to RISD degree programs, depending on whether the student is an undergraduate or a graduate student, and on whether the course is an art and design course or a liberal arts course. Visit Transfer Credit Requirements for complete details.

RISD Undergraduate Students: RISD undergraduates may only transfer in up to 12-semester credits toward their degree from outside of the RISD degree program, including those from RISD CE summer intensives. RISD undergraduates interested in taking a CE summer intensive must obtain approval from their department head before enrolling in one of these courses:

  • For Liberal Arts courses: Use the Transfer Credit Prior Approval for Liberal Arts Credit form. Complete the electronic form in etrieve and then complete the online course registration.
  • For all other courses: Use the Transfer Credit Prior Approval for Major/Non-Major Credit form. Complete the electronic form in etrieve and then complete the online course registration.

Upon completion of the course and after grades have been processed, for RISD undergraduates who have obtained prior approval, summer intensive courses will be uploaded to your Workday Student record by the Registrar (a grade of “T”, for transfer credit, is assigned).

RISD Graduate Students: Credits from outside the RISD graduate degree programs—including RISD CE summer intensives—are not ordinarily accepted by RISD. Check with your graduate program director or department head or click here for more information.

Students seeking academic credits are urged to contact their home institution to arrange prior approval before registering. Policies on transfer credit vary by institution and by program, and it is at the discretion of your home institution to determine what credits it will accept and how they might meet individual academic requirements.

Students who are not RISD matriculated may request an official transcript to transfer the credit following completion of the course. Students should also retain copies of all course syllabi to present to their home institution for assessment of course content for consideration of course waivers or acceptance as credit.

Summer intensives are not included in the Brown-RISD cross-registration agreement. Brown students interested in RISD summer courses need to follow the transfer credit rules and procedures as indicated for students from institutions other than RISD.

Students receive a letter grade for each course. Grades are available via your Student Portal approximately two–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.

RISD Continuing Education uses Parchment to process official transcript requests. You may order paper transcripts or e-transcripts with this service. To place your online order, please visit the Parchment Transcript Request page. If you have requested transcripts via Parchment for RISD Continuing Education prior to August 1, 2018, you will be required to create a new username and password.

Unofficial transcripts are available in the Student Portal under the “My Enrollment History + Transcript” tab.

RI Department of Education Professional Development credits may be available for some courses. Teachers seeking such credits should contact Rhode Island Department of Education’s Office of Teacher Certification at 401-222-8893.

Financial Policies

RISD reserves the right to cancel courses, or to alter fees, scheduling or staffing of courses. If a particular program or course is canceled, students are informed of the course cancellation as far in advance as possible.

Our course registration system provides a self-service portal to make changes to enrollment when needed. Students can drop and withdraw from courses directly on the “My Enrollment History” tab of their Student Portal at cereg.risd.edu.

Students may choose to transfer to another available course by the transfer request deadline. If there is a difference in tuition students will be charged or refunded accordingly.

Students may drop a course any time prior to the established drop request deadline. Dropped courses will not appear on the student transcript. Depending on when you drop the course, you may be eligible for a partial or full refund, based on our refund policy (below). We will attempt to automatically process refunds as soon as you drop a class. Refunds will typically be processed in five business days.

After the drop request deadline, students will still have the option to withdraw from their course until the withdrawal request deadline. No refund is given and a withdrawal (WD) will appear on the student’s transcript. Failure to properly withdraw from a course results in a permanent grade of F on the student’s record.

Important: Simply notifying the instructor or failing to complete a course does not constitute an official withdrawal.

Refunds are based on tuition only, and are calculated according to the date the drop from a course is initiated. Failure to complete a course does not constitute an official drop or withdrawal, nor does notification of drop or withdrawal to the instructor. There is a $100 fee per course for all drops. Special fees are not refundable after the first class.

In some cases, an instructor may determine that a student has not successfully met prerequisites and recommend an alternative course of study. If notice of this recommended withdrawal is provided to the student in writing on the date of the first class session, the student should contact CE immediately to receive a full refund.

Processing refunds may take up to two weeks. Refunds of MasterCard or VISA charges are credited to the account that was charged. We do not retain credit card information; therefore, we may need to request your credit card information again in order to issue you a refund.

Drop initiated/notification received in the RISD CE Office:
14 or more days before the course start date: 100% refund, minus $100
7-13 days before the course start date: 50% refund, minus $100
Less than 7 days before the course start date: no refund

RISD summer intensives are not eligible for promotions or discounts for other Continuing Education programs and offerings, such as Adult Extension and Youth programming, or for the CE tuition benefit.