"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.
Theses from 2017
Love view, Wudi Hong
Connections : a new model to customizing everything, Shao-Hsuan Hou
The body carrying its otherness, Rae Yuping Hsu
Inhabit the storm : emergency evacuation route, Anastasiia Isakova
Art loser, Laura Jasek
We are what we dispose : continuation of culture through recycling at Rhode Island School of Design, Xinzhou Jiang
Light installations for LE, Yiqi Jiang
Motivated motivation : a consulting tool to find new platforms for business, Xiaoxio Jin
Developing the cartooning mind : the history, theory, benefits + practice of comic books in visual arts education, Cathy G. Johnson
Habitually, Sunha Joo
Living rooms we don't live in anymore, Caroline Kable
Wellness within reach : life / work balance within the RISD campus, Kyunghwa Kang
Lamination of reality : ever-thickening and thinning space, Leekyung Kang
The little girl (kinda), Hanna Kim
From Florine to flocking : observations of a painter - printmaker - embellisher, Elizabeth King
Remediating the garment industry, Kellie Knight
Landscape as an interactive layer, Yifan Kong
Naturally occurring form, Margaret Kristensen
Art-integrated pedagogy for English and Chinese language learners, Regina J. Kuo
Alleyways as avenues, Rebecca E. Ladd
A theatrical life : negotiating biracial identity, Timothy Lai
I / you / they, Yolanda Lam
In between forces, Jungyun Lee
Space as a practiced place, Elizabeth Leeper
Lighting : an atrium core to reconnect with the sun, Quan Lei
How long can you hold your breath?, Felicia LeRoy
Imagery and photography : enhancers in the learning cycle, Dandi Li
Embracing traditional Chinese culture through design, Jiaxuan Li
Creative collisions : a RISD case study, Hannah Liongoren
Familiar strangers, Rebecca Li
Motion and architecture : transition between spatial fluidity and body language, Tong Li
Frame-work, Drew Litowitz
Building community : network within grey space, Lingfei Liu
Thresholds : natural phenomena, urban form, equilibrium, Peiyi Liu
P-Lax : toys for adults, to play & relax, Zhizi Liu
Simultaneity of space, Amy Lungariello
In the marketplace, Anina Major
Empowerment of people of all abilities, Kasia Matlak
Jettison all stories : experimenting with our relationship to the physical, Alyssa R. Mayo
Transitions : designing acceptance in a world of change, Hanna McLaughlin
Sharing : a synergy of natural forces, existing urban conditions and human characteristics, Zhen Meng
Room in a forest, Amelia Millan Osma
Building as reef, Anna Morataya Quan
The farce of the frame, Dominic Musa
I trace the fold : fluidity and flux in the terrain vague, Alicia Oas
Deceptive fragility : characteristics and fabrication methods of extra thick weft-knitted spacer fabrics, Anastasia Onegina
Anthro/post/cene, Sofia Ortiz
I remembered I am happy, Emily Pan
Traversing ambiguities : rebuilding perspectives through designed visual education, Mudita Pasari
Intrigues and priorities : critical thinking and contemporary art in visual arts education, Connor Phillips
FLoop : improving eating habits, Namrata Phirke
Hill study : re-energize highly-programmed hill study space, Di Qiang
Look up, city skygazers, Yiyang Qian
Perceptible ambiguity : learning center, Zhurong Qian
Into the open : blurring building fences, Chun Qiu
A normal novel collection, Xiaopeng Qi
Killing the angel, in the mind, body and home, Vaishnavi Ramesh
How to get school children access to urban farming by activating vacant land and rooftops, Yixin Ren
Light on : the value of art & art education, Juri Rhyu
Cultural infrastructure, public space, and the contemporary library in Toronto, Zoë Ritts
Collective consumption : a game for living, Zachary Rochman
Materializing conflict and resilience, Neta Ron
How to become ocean?, Elaina Runge
gRave : landscape necromancy, Jil Sanchez
Sometimes the sh*t stays messy : critical frameworks for arts-based researchers & educators, Zoe Schein
Living on the edge : failure by design, Odile Schlossberg
Sight lines, Makia Sharp
Scripting allographs, June Shin
Borderscape : weaving political boundaries in the Amazon through water performance, Lucila Silva-Santisteban
Transforme : a look at sports beyond the gender binary, Courtney Skabelund
Envisioning ecological cities, Carlton Smith
Updraft : crafting a new passive cooling, Hobin Song
Our measured world : a poetic translation, Minryung Son
Good times, Tim Stoelting
Untitled, Ting Tan
I am come back to you, Eleanor Tomlinson
The last objects, Melissa Tyson
Perceptual alchemy, Evan Voelbel
Grid talk : giving a voice to energy infrastructures, Kelsey Wakefield
Culturally integrated space, Jing Wang
Viaduct landscape, Juanru Wang
Between thoughts : on the interconnectivity of things, Yunzhu Wang
Hear her sing, Da Wei
Bodypart + object, Creama Wong
Identity production, Boyang Xia
Impractical community, Zixin Xiong
Poetic features beyond functions, Lu Xu
Twilight revelation, Shuwen Xu
Grid in landscape architecture, Ying Xu
Design syncopations, Mary Yang
The untold tale, Yan Zeng
Expressionism in furniture, Zihan Zhang
[DE]construction and [RE]construction : a promenade theater, Jingjing Zhao
Thrive in sea level rise, Xiang Zhao
A tale of lights : light as the visual construct of the ephemeral space, Alice M. Zhen
Similarity in a distance, Ran Zhuo