"The first graduate program at RISD was established in 1957 with the MS in Art Education with the first MFA programs starting in 1961. We now have 16 graduate programs with 2 more being added in 2018.The core of any graduate program is concentrated and advanced study in an academic or professional field. Compared with undergraduate studies, graduate education is focused on producing original contributions to a field, based on research and advance practice. Graduate programs also provide the opportunity for more applied experience via internships, teaching or research. This is essential for RISD’s commitment to furthering the importance of art and design in the world and in producing distinguished professional and academic leaders." -Pradeep Sharma, RISD Provost 2014-2017

This collection presents student Masters Theses submitted and approved as graduation requirements from each of the 16 departments offering a graduate degree: Architecture, Ceramics, Digital + Media, Furniture Design, Glass, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, Jewelry + Metalsmithing, Landscape Architecture, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teaching + Learning in Art and Design, and Textiles. Postgraduate writing and research is also included.

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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Theses from 2018

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Rising above disruption, Paola Alexandra Mondino

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In between, Farinaz Moslemi

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The present, Ann Motonaga

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Providence productivity framework : ideas for a network of sites rethinking productivity in Providence, Patricia Noto

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Reading rooms, Jinhwa Oh

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Very-Asian variation, Nicholas Oh

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Space, Junk, Brandon Olsen

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Hyperlink : connecting space, time, language, and technology, Marie Otsuka

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Pienso en ti, Gina Gwen Palacios

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Columns of some kind : kinetic, structural, formal, periodic & interactive elements of architecture, Jhanani Palanismay

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From armor to augmentation : reclaiming my everyday body, Molly Palecek

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Redundancy for change, Kyuyeon Park

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Wastescape : stitching the process of natural decomposition back into the public realm, Yu Pei

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Bound by // to // in earth, Lila Pickus

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Harmless Studio, David Thomas Pittman

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A natural circus, Cecilia Plasencia

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A monument thesis, Graham Rice

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Joy through layered tension : convergent fire-escapes fulfill a new community, Luca Rivelli

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Constellations, Maria Rull Bescós

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In a distant land, Ohad Sarfaty

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Four projects, K. Sarrantonio

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A third thing : an exploration of black hair in architectural design, Christina B. Schaller

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Gassed out, Toban Shadlyn

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Dispatches from planet nowhere, Aaron Field Simmons

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Radically normal : the menstruation issue, Kathryn Smiley

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Talking to computers, Jen Spatz

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Defining contagion : examining imagination as a source of the infection in print studios, Joshua Tangen

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The dream alchemy, Yue Tan

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Purpose after tragedy, Elena Tepavac

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Circle, loops, straps, tracks, towels, Laura Thatcher

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Squishy Play, Lauren Traugott-Campbell

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A place for plastics : bioplastics, bacteria and our thoughtless acts, Megan Valanidas

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Cosmic whatever, cement gardens, luminous shade, Winifred Vaughan

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Decoding the digital border, Gian Villarruel

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Monument for feeling : Notes from the Archivist, Melissa Weiss

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Home · land : Olmsted's legacy and gentrification in Boston, MA, Jessica Wilson

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Shadow theater, Yaodan Wu

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Memory.zip, Yu-Hsing Wu

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Water voyage from Quabbin to Boston, Ling Xia

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Open community : break up the "superblock", Ke Xie

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Future street, Wushuang Xing

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Living with mega-cavity, Ankang Xu

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Nostalgia for the future : home 2028, Junqing Yang

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Understanding dwelling beyond the terrestrial, Sungkyu Yang

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City in / above water, Jin Yan

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The Arctic Commons, A. Gavin Zeitz

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Threading puddles : stormwater management as a way to address the impact of Miami's future fresh water shortage due to increasing water demand and saltwater intrusion, Jing Zeng

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Ambiguous surfaces : dressing the wall, dressing the room, dressing the building, Danni Zhang

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Guide the flood : Miami vulnerable neighborhoods flood adaptation design, Zhe Zhao

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The future of agriculture in Miami, Siyu Zheng

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Architecture as an adapter : a revolution in high-rise corporate architecture, Nan Zou

Theses from 2017

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Tendrescopic endeavors and other dynamics, Jared Akerstrom

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The past is today, Afra Al Dhaheri

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Otra vez : hierarchy as designer, Jordyn Alvidrez

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Creating access and equity in arts education : strategic partnerships for systemic change, Colleen C. Andrews

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Thesis, Robert Joseph Anspach

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The creative process : gathering for meaning, Charity Appell McNabb

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Communicatronics, Adi Azulay

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Proximity, interaction, and evolution : taking a deeper look at the systems around us, Rachel Back

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Let's get hairy : women, body hair and stigma in arts education, Chaitra Bangalore

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Fluid solid : can we converse with granite?, Patrick T. Beals

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I was there : irreversible view, Asma Belhamar

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Anchored in place : locational identity + new genre public art, Stephanie Benenson

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Na'aseh : ritual in practice, Anna Henrick Karpatkin Benjamin

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Dermis, Julia Betts

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Unfolding : architecture as dwelling in a folded space-time continuum, Feiyi Bie

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Double takes : secular magic & empathic vision, Lake Buckley

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Balance speaker : efficient work and break, Jin Cao

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openness, Yu Cao

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Talistones : a handful of help for homecoming soldiers, Atulya Changanty

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My fish hat kingdom, Mei Fung Elizabeth Chan

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Multiple and moving, Maia Chao

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Magkasama, Christina Chen

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Water for the future, Ziqing Chen

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Breathe, Iggy Choi

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Writing a city : a self-reflexive exploration between the lines, Po-Ming Chou

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Narratives of public space : a manifesto for future urban landscape in Manhattan, Jaehong Chung

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RISD Club, Madeleine Devall

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Play is everything : materials + play = learning, Adeline Diamond

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Surface, object, space, Susan Doe

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Surveillance city in a post 9/11 era, Wanting Dong

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The art of the wilderness : a field guide to integrating art + outdoor education, Rachel Dranoff

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Re-structure : an exploration of relational engagement through objects & object making, Mark Epler

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Playgrounds, Cem Eskinazi

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The flood : another note of humanity, Muyi Fan

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What makes a good teacher? : the artist's engagement in public art education, Wenjing Fan

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The void between us, Xiaofan Fan

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Every change, Ruhan Feng

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Retooling : experiments in digital apprenticeship, Ryan Ferguson

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Super natural : hybrid strategies for urban flood protection in Coney Island NY, Georges Fischer

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Researching + observing + reflecting of Chinese and American Landscape Architecture pedagogy : focusing on Department of Landscape Architecture in RISD and BFU, Change Gao

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Sculpting time in spatial narrative, Hua Gao

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Resilience on Wall Street, Rahul Ghera

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Transformation through drawing and gesture, McKenzie Gibson

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Body (less) fitness, Dan Gioia

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Humor and allegory, Christopher Goodale

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Wielding daggers : the female uncanny, Stephanie E. Hanes

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Content-aware : investigating tools, character & user behavior, Llewellyn Hensley

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Healing landscapes, Siyi He

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Imagine of space : rest(ing) rooms for high-stressed RISD students, Fang Ho