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.
You will engage with global contexts through immersive, experimental curriculum developed by RISD faculty in collaboration with local partners in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, Europe, and the Middle East. All RISD Wintersession Travel Courses offer 3-6 RISD academic credits.
In Wintersession 2020, RISD Global offered 6 creative and culturally immersive art, design, and Liberal Arts courses in 4 diverse locations around Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America.
COVID-19 Update: Due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, all RISD Global off-campus learning programs for Wintersession and Spring semesters 2021, including Wintersession Travel Courses, are suspended. Read more in our announcement here.
January / February
Minimum 2.5 GPA + permission of instructor required. Most courses open to first year students with approval from the Dean of EFS.
Applications typically open in September. Registration typically begins in October.
Partnering with University of South Australia, RISD’s long-standing Witness Tree Project will travel for Wintersession 2020 to Adelaide, Australia, to explore changing indigenous and settler conceptions of place, land, and memory and their effects on the environment. In particular, the course’s joint seminar and studio work will focus on selected trees of South Australia, which stand as historical witnesses to these changes.
This travel course is a cross-disciplinary Liberal Arts collaboration between THAD and HPSS. The THAD component "Pre-Colonial to Contemporary" addresses colonial, modern, and contemporary arts, while the HPSS component, "Pre-Columbian Architecture and Traditional Crafts" addresses the pre-Columbian history of architecture and arts.
This travel course is a cross-disciplinary Liberal Arts + studio collaboration between THAD and PRINT. Together they offer students an in-depth exploration of the Tokyo and historic Kansai region to see and draw the most important Shinto, Buddhist and secular sites in Japan, and to couple that visual exploration with 9 days of paper making.
The primary focus of this studio is to weave together cultural research, material exploration, and full-scale construction to explore the resonance between traditional craft practices and contemporary techniques of design.
Paris, also known as the City of Light, was the catalyst for inspiring students of all levels of photography to develop technical skills and to explore photographic process as personal creative expression.
Students in this course will be introduced to Oaxaca and its biodiverse environs as home to a radical mixture of cultures and ethnicities: Zapotec, Mixtec, and a host of other indigenous communities; mestizos, or those with mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage; as well as the historically under-recognized AfroMexican communities.
In Wintersession 2020, RISD Global offered 6 creative and culturally immersive art, design, and Liberal Arts courses in 4 diverse locations around Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America.
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. With income inequality and student debt at unprecedented heights, we are working to provide greater support and access to students interested in pursuing learning experiences through RISD Global.
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 2019
Courses announced
September - October
Attend an information session
Set up a 1:1 advising appointment
September 18, 2019
General Infosession and applications open
September 20 – October 2, 2019
Course specific infosessions
October 3, 2019
Course application and scholarship application close
October 10 - 25, 2019
Payment and registration period
November 6, 2019
General pre-departure meeting
November 7-December 6, 2019
Course specific pre-departure meetings
January 3 - 10, 2019
WS Travel Courses begin
January 31 - February 6, 2019
WS Travel Courses end
No upcoming events for this program at this time.
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