Global Summer Studies 2026 Application Open!

Posted: February 2, 2026

The Global Summer Studies 2026 course application will open on February 02, 2026 at 7:00 PM and close on March 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis, and a $500 non-refundable deposit is require to secure your seat.

RISD Global Application Portal

Application Instructions

Eligibility

RISD, RISD | Brown Duel-Degree, Brown University, and non-RISD students or college students currently enrolled at another art and design college/university, are eligible to apply for Global Summer Studies.

You must meet the following qualifications for eligibility:

You must remain in good standing, in terms of conduct and academics, up until and throughout your time on the course. Failure to remain in good academic standing can lead to removal from the course, either before or during the course.
Your cumulative GPA must be 2.5 or higher.
- RISD Students: If your cumulative GPA is lower than 2.5 you must contact the Registrar at registrar@risd.edu to seek an exception to this academic policy before submitting your application.
Students Not Currently Enrolled at RISD: In order to register for RISD Global Summer Studies, you are expected to have a high level of English (speech, writing, and comprehension) as all coursework and critique is delivered in English. For your participation, we will require a recommendation/support form from your institution/workplace.

To remain fully eligible for registration you must pay your balance by March 23, 2026. If your payment is not received within this deadline, your reserved seat in the course will be considered forfeited, and your $500 deposit will not be refunded. RISD students must be in good conduct with the school and good financial standing with no RISD Student Account Balance in order to participate in Global Summer Studies.

Passports and Visas

You will require a valid passport that should not expire within 6 months of the return date from your travel course. Additional requirements may apply.

U.S. citizens: Check the Department of State website for application/renewal guidance.
Citizens of all other countries: Check your consulate/embassy’s website for renewal guidance. If you have an I-20 form, you must also ensure that you get it signed for travel by a member of the International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) before departing the United States. If you are a Permanent Resident you should carry your green card together with your passport.

It is the your responsibility to determine if a visa is required based on your nationality and to take the necessary steps to secure one. You need to research the program(s) of interest to you and should not apply to a program in which you may not be able to obtain the necessary visa(s) associated. Assessing the visa application process, feasibility of receiving a visa, and obtaining a visa is your responsibility. You should research visa requirements well in advance, as processing times and documentation may vary depending on your passport and destination country.

If you choose to apply for a course where you are not eligible to secure a visa, please note that no refunds will be issued for any course related costs. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet all visa requirements before applying.

Failure to obtain a required visa (or the correct visa) could result in the inability to participate in the program and could result in a denial of entry into a country, and even criminal charges.

RISD Global will issue proof of accommodations and travel insurance upon request.

The Bushveld as Canvas: Art and Symbiotic Relationships in South Africa

For art and design students interested in studying symbiotic relationships in the Lowveld Bushveld ecosystem of South Africa as inspiration for the creative practice. Taught by conservationist, educator, writer, and veterinarian Dr. Lucy Spelman, a Senior lecturer in History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences, this course give students the opportunity on location to create/make new work of art, design, and writing informed and inspired by their understanding of the many connections with the nature and their conservation value.

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Ecologies of the Amazon – From the Forests to the Rivers in Brazil

“The rivers — beings that have always inhabited worlds in different forms — suggest to me that if there is a future to be imagined, it is an ancestral one, because it has always been here.”

—Ailton Krenak

Over three weeks, students will engage in meetings with scientists, workshops with artists and local organizations, field excursions, museum visits, and interactions with Indigenous and riverside communities. The program will combine days of theoretical grounding, forest immersion, boat journeys along the Amazon’s rivers, and studio work in the city of Manaus. Ancestral knowledge and non-human technologies will be explored as essential components for building more sustainable relationships with the forest — and beyond.

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Tropic Future: Material Ecologies of Okinawa

Can Okinawa be a design laboratory for planetary futures? How do we grow resilient and creative on a warming planet?

The Japanese mainland is moving toward a subtropical climate, and most regions of the world have experienced excessive heat in recent years. This course investigates the material ecologies of Okinawa, a subtropical island whose cultural and architectural identity has been shaped by climate, history, and politics. Okinawa’s arts and buildings evolved under the pressures of heat, humidity, typhoons, and salt air—conditions that are no longer exceptional, but increasingly the reality of our global present. With summers growing longer and hotter each year, what lessons might be drawn from Okinawa’s centuries of adaptation to help us design for a future of rising temperatures worldwide?

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Manga Immersion in Tokyo

This course will take place in the heart of the manga and anime industry, Tokyo, in collaboration with industry professionals and HAL: College of Technology and Design, a leading arts institution with a comprehensive Manga, Anime, and Illustration undergraduate and graduate program. The program will be led by a team of industry professionals spanning various disciplines related to manga and anime.

This course has reached capacity, waitlist applications are now being accepted through the same application portal.

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Waterscapes in China – Centered on the Yangzi River

This travel course is designed for students interested in exploring China’s environment, history, society, and human–nature relationships, with a particular focus on the Yangtze River. Beginning in Shanghai, where the river meets the sea, we will journey westward to Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Yueyang, Jingzhou, Yichang, Chongqing, and Chengdu. Along the way, we will study and visit city lakes, water towns, museums, religious sites, farmlands, wetlands, and both historical and modern water-management infrastructures. Through these site-based encounters, students will gain deeper insight into Chinese history, ecology, and biodiversity, while experiencing the aesthetic and cultural significance of waterscapes.

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Ceramics in China

This course emphasizes the unique opportunity to learn Chinese Ceramic History and a hands-on study to learn new studio practices of clay art and its inherent characteristics and its possibilities as both utilitarian and sculptural ceramics. The focus of this class will be on the foundation skills of hand-building, wheel-throwing, and surface decoration in a rich historic and cultural context of study in Beijing, Xi'an, Jingdezhen and Shanghai, China. The elements of this course will be taught through lectures, demonstrations, critiques, and assignments.

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