Decisions are released mid December. Please note that applying for early decision indicates a commitment to attend if admitted.
You’ll begin and manage your RISD application process by completing the Common Application. There is a nonrefundable application fee of $60 to use this service, plus a nonrefundable $10 fee to submit a required online portfolio via SlideRoom.
To receive a SlideRoom fee waiver, please email admissions@risd.edu.
Expand Academic transcripts
Applicants must provide official transcripts of all secondary academic work through the most recent grading period. Your counselor may submit your transcript through the Common Application, Parchment, email or mail.
If your academic credentials are not written in English, they must be translated into English by an approved translator prior to submission.
Expand Tests and test-optional
We offer all applicants (domestic and international) the option to apply without submitting results from the SAT or ACT. You may opt into this process by selecting “test-optional” under the "Testing" portion of your RISD Common Application.
For students who choose to submit test scores, we will superscore your results, looking at your highest outcome across multiple test dates.
RISD’s institution code number for the SAT is 3726; for ACT the code number is 003812.
You can use some Advanced Placement (AP), A-Level classes and International Baccalaureate (IB) credits toward RISD liberal arts requirements. First-year students can transfer a maximum of nine credits from AP courses with a score of 4 or 5, A-Level classes with an earned grade of C or higher or Higher Level IB scores of 5, 6 or 7. We will not accept AP or IB credit from art or studio classes.
All applicants who speak English as a second language, including US citizens, must submit results from any one of these three options:
Since English proficiency is a prerequisite for acceptance, applicants are required to meet a minimum score of at least 93 on the TOEFL, a 6.5 on the IELTS or a 115 on Duolingo.
Plan to take the TOEFL or IELTS well in advance of the application deadline since it may take three weeks for your scores to be sent to RISD by the test agency. It may take up to four days for us to receive Duolingo test results.
The language test requirement may be waived for applicants who have completed their secondary education in an institution where English is the language of instruction. In addition, applicants must have three consecutive, full-time years of instruction without ESL, ELL or ENL courses. A waiver form can be found in the applicant portal and you can email the Admissions Office at admissions@risd.edu with any questions.
Your portfolio should present 12–20 examples of your most recent work showcasing your thinking and making. Once you've started your RISD application in the Common Application, you will be directed to the online platform SlideRoom to upload your portfolio.
The work you select should reflect a full range of your ideas, curiosity, experimentation and experience in creating and making. This can include work in any medium, in finished or sketch form, and can be the result of an assigned project or a self-directed exploration.
We strongly recommend that you include some examples that involve drawing and/or painting from direct observation (rather than from imagination, photograph or video). Since drawing and painting are fundamental tools for visual makers from initial concept to execution, it is valuable for reviewers to see examples of your experience with and approach to drawing.
While the majority of your portfolio should feature finished pieces, we suggest including some research or preparatory work in up to three—but no more than three—portfolio uploads/slides. This helps reviewers better understand how you develop your ideas.
The authenticity of the work in your portfolio is of great importance to the Admissions Committee. We will ask you to acknowledge that the work in your portfolio was conceptualized and created by you. In the case of collaborative work, we ask that you document your contributions and credit additional artists using the Additional Details field in SlideRoom.
We strongly discourage including excessive visual elements and text descriptions in a single slide submission. These are difficult to view and are likely to exceed the allowed submission limit.
You can submit additional angles or detail shots of some works across multiple slide submissions, combined into one composite including no more than three images, or in a single video upload. Editing is an important part of curating your portfolio. You may need to devise creative solutions to best show your work within the limits of submission guidelines.
We recommend the following file formats: jpeg, png, gif, mp4 and mov. These formats are most compatible with SlideRoom. We discourage Google Drive and zipped files.
You may be interested in attending or watching the recording of one of our portfolio tips webinars for more advice on how to approach your RISD application portfolio.
RISD embraces the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative process. It is, however, important for the Admissions Committee to understand how and where AI was used. Any work supported or created by AI in your portfolio must include a description of your process and the tools you used in your making. We will ask you to acknowledge this within Slideroom.