Liberal Arts Curriculum
Rhode Island School of Design’s Division of Liberal Arts is dedicated to the development of responsible and responsive personalities, without which design education is not only futile but may even be socially unjustifiable. — John R. Frazier, Professor of Painting and RISD President, 1956
LIBERAL ARTS AT RISD
Founded as an academic division in 1940, Liberal Arts is one of the major categories of “arts” offered at RISD, along with design and fine arts. From as early as 1901, when students in early Architecture and Modeling programs were required to take courses in Art History and English, to 1956, when leaders of the College cited the importance of the humanities in training students for leadership in their fields, liberal arts courses have played a significant role in the RISD curriculum. Today, the division is essential to the promotion of a student’s general education, cultivating such fundamental skills as oral and written communication, critical inquiry, and a knowledge and appreciation of the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of humankind, while also affording students an opportunity for focused and interdisciplinary study. Indicatively, over 150 students concentrate, or minor, in Liberal Arts each year. Concentrating means fulfilling all your degree requirements in Liberal Arts by taking a set of courses that focus on an academic subject, from art history to politics or performance studies. Students have the freedom, within the established curriculum, to follow diverse interests and meaningfully shape how their liberal arts learning might complement their studio work.
Total Required Courses in Liberal Arts
14
For students starting before September 2024
Students take a third of their total courses at RISD in Liberal Arts
13
For students starting after September 2024
Students take a third of their total courses at RISD in Liberal Arts
Degree Requirements
FIRST-YEAR REQUIREMENTS
All first-year students are required to take four courses: H101, H102, E101, and S101. There are no waivers or substitutions for these courses, except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
Beyond this first-year curriculum, students take electives across the departments.
COURSE NAMES, NUMBERS, AND COURSE CREDIT
All courses in Liberal Arts have either a departmental prefix (THAD, HPSS, or LAS) or a general prefix (LAEL) and a Science prefix (SCI) which means that they are electives in areas that fall outside the core curricula of the existing departments.
TRANSFER CREDIT
After matriculation, students can receive transfer credit up to four courses (12 credits). Courses taken at Brown during the academic year are exempt from this limit. All courses, once transferred, will receive credit in the RISD system according to their fit with the Liberal Arts departments. International courses transferred to RISD have to also have the same amount of contact hours as RISD courses to receive credit.
First-Year Program in the Liberal Arts
All first-year students must take THAD-H101 and LAS-E101 in the fall (alongside three EFS courses) and HPSS-S101 and THAD-H102 (alongside three EFS courses) in the spring.
Exceptions: Students who fail LAS-E101 in the fall usually take E101 in the spring semester, along with H102. Since they will miss taking S101 that spring, sections of S101 are available the following fall and spring to accommodate them in their sophomore year. HPSS-S101 must be taken before any upper-level course in HPSS (except during Wintersession when HPSS courses may be taken without prerequisite).
| 1st Year | Fall | Wintersession | Spring | 2nd Year Fall |
| All Students | THAD-H101, LAS-E101 | Studio elective | THAD-H102, HPSS-S101 | Liberal Arts elective |
| If student fails to pass E101 | THAD-H101, LAS-E101 | Studio elective | THAD-H101, LAS-E101 (repeat) | HPSS-S101 |
*Note that all first-year students must be registered for five courses in both fall and spring unless they have permission from the Dean of Experimental & Foundation Studies to take a reduced course load.
Liberal Arts Graduation Requirements
1. History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (HPSS) – 9 credits required
HPSS courses may include anthropology, economics, geography, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, and sociology.
I. HPSS-S101: Topics in History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (3 credits) ✳︎
II. HPSS Elective (3 credits)
III. HPSS Elective (3 credits)
Please note: Courses designated as LAEL do not count toward HPSS credit.
2. Literary Arts and Studies (LAS) – 9 credits required
LAS courses include courses about literature, literary movements, literary theory, and creative writing.
I. LAS-E101: Introduction to Literature Seminar (3 credits) ✳︎
II. LAS Elective (3 credits)
III. LAS Elective (3 credits)
Please note: Courses designated as LAEL do not count toward LAS credit.
3. Theory + History of Art + Design (THAD) – 12 credits required
THAD courses include the theory and history of art and design.
I. THAD-H101: Theory + History of Art + Design I (3 credits) ✳︎
II. THAD-H102: Theory + History of Art + Design II (3 credits) ✳︎
III. THAD Elective (3 credits)
IV. THAD Elective (3 credits)
Please note: Courses designated as LAEL do not count toward THAD credit, with the exception of the LAEL studio history courses specifically approved by the department for THAD credit for majors.
✳︎ These four first-year courses are required for graduation for all undergraduates, including transfers. There are no waivers, except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
4. Liberal Arts Electives
12 credits required for students who have a matriculation date earlier than 09/01/2024 (and are not impacted by the reduced credit requirement) OR 9 credits for students who have a matriculation date of 09/01/2024 or later (and are impacted by the reduced credit requirement).
I. Liberal Arts Elective (3 credits)
II. Liberal Arts Elective (3 credits)
III. Liberal Arts Elective (3 credits)
IV. Liberal Arts Elective (3 credits) / Only who have a matriculation date earlier than 09/01/2024 (and are not impacted by the reduced credit requirement)
Please note: Courses in business are typically not accepted for LA credit unless they are taught from a liberal arts perspective (e.g. sociology of business). Engineering courses are also not usually accepted.
Total Liberal Arts credits:
For students with a matriculation date earlier than 09/01/2024: 42 credits (and 126 credits total).
For students with a matriculation date of 09/01/2024 or later: 39 credits (and 120 credits total).
Whether it was taking a course focused on immigration or on sports, I have been able to analyze the distribution of power within a society and the effects of democracy in an organization or an entire country . . . This has opened up my education to not only think like a designer, but to be aware of the workings of the culture and society. — Ashley Kochiss, BFA Architecture and HPSS Concentrator
More than
Courses offered by the division of liberal arts each year
Less than
Students in each class, except for the required art history survey
