"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
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
The emotional intelligence of machines, Lokesh Zope
Theses from 2016
Hyphen nation: a reconciliation, Lynn Amhaz
Once there was there wasn't, Svetlana Bailey
Memory: tangible decay & growth, Rebecca J. Buglio
Through magic glasses, Katie Bullock
Rapid response, James Chae
Li remembered, Meredith (Yue) Du
Modus operandi, Nabil Gonzalez
Eulogy, Luci Jockel
Empathic exchange, Yu-Jung Kim
Verb things: changing the conversation, Kendra Kirchmer
Continuum of significance, Diane Lee
Live edges: all possible adjacencies, Rebecca Leffell Koren
Miles away, Ziqing Liang
A place for family: support health through community, Jiaqi Li
Hybrid spaces in the city, Zhihao Li
Origami condition design, Yin Lu
Between material and landscape, Martin McDermott
We can be heroes: enriched spaces for men of color, Ann McKinnon
Practice makes practice, Gabriel Melcher
Dimensional flatland: Beamer, drone, flash drive, Scarlett Xin Meng
Traversing languagescapes, Desmond Pang
Frequency, Andrew Pick
& surface, Adam Mickey Porter
Walking in a place : walkestra, Hyemi Song
Context clues, Brynn Trusewicz
Curating architectural spaces : a way of architecture production, Cheng Yang
Obsessed with obsessions: design for obsession, Vara Yang
Interplayable surface: an exploration on augmented GUI that co-exists with physical environments, Hoon Yoon
Above the urban surface, Xirui Zhang
Interior mountains & distant clouds, Ping Zheng
Theses from 2015
Equilibrium: public spectacle for social integration, Reem Al Thani
A slight hysterical tendency, Allison Baker
Community in a post-diest world, Kirby Benjamin