Pre-College (on-campus)

The RISD Pre-College on-campus option offers rising high school juniors and seniors the chance to experience life as a RISD undergrad in Providence, RI. For five weeks you’ll follow a college-level curriculum with day-long studio classes, critiques, and projects. You'll work alongside hundreds of other creative, highly motivated students from around the world who will challenge, inspire, and encourage you to push your limits and produce your best work.

In this immersive setting, you’ll live like a RISD student, access renowned resources and instructors, strengthen your portfolio, and forever change the way you approach art and design.

Do you have questions about RISD Pre-College? Visit us at an in-person teen summer program fair—free events for students and parents to have face-to-face conversations with representatives of summer enrichment programs.

For students interested in RISD’s Pre-College Programs and potentially applying to RISD, join our Admissions and Pre-College teams for an hour-long presentation and Q&A session. Learn about the basics of a RISD education and get an in-depth look at our on-campus and online Pre-College options.

For Ruihan Lee—who went on to earn a BFA in Industrial Design in 2022—Pre-College was the perfect way to prepare for her first year at RISD.

RISD Pre-College started with its first summer program in 1971 (pictured above!) with a few dozen students in just one building. Now, celebrating more than 50 unforgettable summers of Pre-College, roughly 560 students experience RISD’s campus each summer—representing nearly every state in the US as well as 84 different countries, and boasting more than 11,500 alumni.