When
Wintersession, 4–5 weeksJanuary / February
Who
Open to RISD students, Brown University studentsMinimum 2.5 GPA + permission of instructor required. Most courses open to first year students with approval from the Dean of EFS.
RISD Wintersession Travel Courses are rich, short-term global learning opportunities, led by RISD faculty, that take place for up to 5 weeks between fall and spring semesters.
As a core part of its mission to educate artists, designers, architects, scholars, and leaders to make lasting contributions to a global society, RISD is committed to developing these ever-relevant off-campus global learning opportunities. These unique off-campus programs are designed to give you the opportunity to embed yourself in new cultural contexts, to learn from artists and designers in those countries and regions, and to develop your practice in environments beyond RISD’s Providence campus.
In Wintersession 2023, RISD Global is offering 5 creative and culturally immersive art, design, and Liberal Arts courses in multiple locations, international and domestic.
January / February
Minimum 2.5 GPA + permission of instructor required. Most courses open to first year students with approval from the Dean of EFS.
The Wintersession application will open on September 16, 2022. Registration will begin in October.
This global travel course offers a unique opportunity to experience craft as practiced at the highest level on location in Jaipur, India, with its long tradition and rich diversity of artisan culture, and to explore how digital technologies which pervade contemporary art and design education can act in collaboration.
This immersive interdisciplinary RISD Global studies course based on the island of Hawai’i gives students the opportunity to explore the historical and current connections between art, conservation, and local and Indigenous environmental practices.
In this design studio, we will study the ecological and urban phenomena surrounding the problems of Urban Heat Island Effect in Naples and how both natural environmental systems and underutilized made-made infrastructural systems might be employed to solve the burgeoning problems its urban centers will face under the stresses of global climate change. We will look extensively at how hot earth further compounds the problem of UHIE and how it poses exceptional challenges within the hazards of hydrothermal and hydro-magmatic activity so common to everyday life in consideration of the unique environmental, historical, and cultural context the bay of Naples presents.
At RISD, the biodesign studies that we have undertaken have supported our strategic plan: by introducing our students to new, collaborative ways of making and knowing; by engaging sustainability through a variety of means that can help decarbonize and detoxify our communities; and, by pursuing accessible projects, resources, and opportunities that can contribute positively to diverse peoples, and our planet. But RISD is not a hub for the study and practice of biodesign.
This class concentrates on the role of the artist using traditional tools - ink drawings, paper formation and printmaking - through which students will record their observations and begin to think about global issues in visual terms.
The application or Wintersession Travel Courses 2023 will open on Friday, September 16, at 7 PM EST and will close on Monday, October 3, at 11:59 PM.
View detailsI had a very inspiring three weeks in Guyana. Using my field journal and the photography and videos I took in Guyana I want to keep producing work on environmental issues. My experiences helped me create a library of inspiration and images that I will be using for a long time!
Elif Ilkel (FAV 20) WS19 Guyana: Exploring Art and Science of Bio Diversity in Guyana
The experience with the Wintersession Travel Course was instrumental in the development of my practice. It gave me the valor to reject Eurocentric and aesthetics, and fully and completely embrace color, pattern, and beauty...while not considering beauty to be inferior in any way. My work now explores a persistent presence of labored beauty in a contemporary culture that is suspicious of the same.
Raghvi Bhatia (GL 19) WS18 Morocco: Crafting the City
We had people from many different backgrounds in our group. It was interesting to see all of us find something from our culture that related to Mexico…We learned from each other as much as we did from the culture we were brought to.
Selib Miskavi (ID 21) WS19 Mexico: History, Pre-Colonial, Colonial and Contemporary Arts
This course will impact everything I do for the rest of my life. I came for a paper making class and got so much more. I feel I have learned about different ways to approach aesthetics and design, a different way of interacting with the world around me even. I can't wait to start.
Alyssa Colon (ID/TX 19) WS19 Japan: Papers, Temples and Prints
In such a short period of time, I was amazed with how much we saw/experienced. Engaging with individuals that I otherwise wouldn't have from different majors and obviously, completely different cultures was definitely a highlight. I feel a lot more carefree in my art-making process and I think this skill will allow me to grow as an illustrator.
Brenda Rodriguez (IL 21) WS19 Italy: See Naples and Die: Panorama and the Poetics of City
[This travel course] actually exceeded my expectations. Everything was so well planned and carefully organized. I left feeling deeply connected to the country and the people I met, and with a new perspective and greater appreciation for a very different way of living.
Heather McMordie (MFA PR 20) WS19 Guyana: Exploring Art and Science of Bio Diversity in Guyana
My artistic practice before this trip was for the most part a personal affair, often between myself and the meanings I aspired towards in my work. Since traveling I can already notice how my methods have changed, becoming more responsive to the community I’m situated in and welcoming the work I do with organizations on campus into my artistic practice.
Dan Mitrovic (FD 20) WS19 Portugal: Mapping Portugal: Bio-geo Cultural Heritages
[The highlights of the travel course] were Frida and Diego’s studio in Mexico City, and seeing the lunar eclipse on the roof. I am still amazed at being able to have this incredible opportunity to learn about Mexican culture in its actual context rather than behind a computer screen in a classroom.
Malaika Franks (ID 20) WS19 Mexico: History, Pre-Colonial, Colonial and Contemporary Arts
A RISD winter-session course in Morocco provided me with an opportunity to strengthen my knowledge in this emerging field through an experience of the place filled with rich and interesting history and culture. The opportunity to study a physical record of the historical architecture in a contemporary setting guided me towards a better direction in my architectural learning.
Yunni Cho (BRDD 21, IA) WS18 Morocco: Crafting the City
[The travel course] met my expectations and more! The shrines and locations we visited were above any expectations I have had prior to the trip. I was given the opportunity to really get outside of my comfort zone as an artist and I’m really proud of the work I made while on the trip.
Sarah Walston (PR 21) WS19 Japan: Papers, Temples, and Print
My travel experience...was one of the best academic experiences at RISD. I felt supported by my instructors. This allowed us to approach our work, whether more related to liberal arts or studio, in a much more holistic way. I feel that I have substantially grown in academic but also social and spiritual pursuits due to critical-thinking that was encouraged.
Tomiris Shyngyssova (GD 20) WS19 Portugal: Mapping Portugal: Bio-geo Cultural Heritages
Explore answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Wintersession Travel Courses below:
Increasing financial aid is a central pillar of RISD’s equity, inclusion and diversity commitment. Through partnership with other campus offices, we are working to provide greater support and access to students interested in pursuing global learning experiences at RISD.
View detailsHave questions? The RISD Global team is available to meet for a 1:1 advising session. We can give you more information about your study options, help you figure out which program makes sense for you, and assist you with the application process.
Schedule an AppointmentApply for WS Travel Course in September. Most WS Travel courses are open to all students with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, with 1st year students required to provide approval from the Dean of Experimental & Foundation Studies as part of their applications. Please note that some courses are limited to 2nd year or 3rd year and above.
May 2022
Courses announced
early-September 2022
General Infosession and applications open
September - October 2022
Attend an information session
Set up a 1:1 advising appointment
Course specific infosessions
early-October 2022
Course application and scholarship application close
mid-October 2022
Payment and registration period
early-November 2022
General pre-departure meeting
November - December 2022
Course specific pre-departure meetings
January 2 - 10, 2023
WS Travel Courses begin
January 31 - February 10, 2023
WS Travel Courses end
No upcoming events for this program at this time.
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