COVID-19 update: RISD Global Exchange Fall semester 2021

Given the ongoing global pandemic and its significant impacts on travel, and visa restrictions and the uncertain projections for when COVID-19 will slow, RISD has made the difficult decision to maintain suspended the RISD Global Exchange program for the incoming Fall semester 2021.

Due to a number of factors, which range from RISD's timeline for Fall 2021 planning for the academic semester and campus, as well as the ongoing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, from differing levels of COVID across the globe and even across regions within specific countries; differing realities of the vaccination programs globally, and the current and future anticipated impacts to travel and visas, we have made the difficult decision to unfortunately not offer RISD Global Exchange for Fall '21.

We are painfully aware that for some of you the participation in these programs during fall 2021 was a hope you have had since the pandemic hit (or even before you arrived at RISD!) and we are just so sorry that Fall '21 will not be an option. Our applications for Global Exchange for spring semester 2022 should be opening by early fall, we will be sure to reach out to inform you when we will have the exact application dates.

At RISD Global we are now focused on delivering four virtual Global Summer Studies that engage students with making in the context of the Azores, Denmark, Italy, and Thailand; we are planning towards Wintersession '22 travel courses, which we hope to be able to run in-person, and finally Exchange for Spring '22. We encourage you to reach out to us for a virtual advising appointment to talk through any/all of these options.

In the meantime, we regret the news of the program suspensions for Fall '21 and we are looking forward to brighter days when off-campus programs will once again be more feasible.

The RISD Global team