The Rhode Island School of Design is a private four year arts and design university located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and consistently ranks as the top fine arts college in the United States. Popular majors include illustration, architecture, graphic design, and painting. Out of the 1,991 undergraduate students at the school, 18% are international students. Just 34% of freshman applicants are accepted each year, but those who graduate from the school have very good statistics. Based on an annual survey by RISD’s Career Services Office, an amazing 96% of alumni are employed by their first year after graduation. Also, two percent are enrolled in other programs to pursue advanced degrees.
Many of the numerous Asia Pacific International School art students aspire to become accepted into RISD one day. The Art Portfolio (after school) Club is currently working on sketching bicycles, a requirement for the RISD home test for applicants. A few APIS art students expressed their opinions of the school. Hans Lee, an 12th grader said, “I want to go to RISD, it’s known as the best art school everywhere!” Christy Hur, an AP Art student, exclaimed, “RISD is my dream art school! It is the number one school, and it’s in a rural area so you can play soccer everyday! Also, I want to be Ms. Ahn’s (art teacher) alum!”
The APIS high school art teacher, Ms. Ahn, attended RISD and told of her experiences. Ms. Ahn really enjoyed her time at RISD. She said that she, “learned a lot about my major. You get really professional because they teach really thoroughly and deeply.” Ms. Ahn stated that at RISD, students learn their majors from the very basics to the master levels, step by step, so students feel really prepared for their majors. She also said that she likes that the student is able to choose their specific focus at RISD. Another reason for her enjoyment of RISD was that they expect great things from their students, which push the students to better things. Ms. Ahn fully recommends RISD to her students. She said, “At RISD, they focus on developing students into artists instead of craftsmen or technicians, which is very important. They also put strong emphasis on philosophy, history, and academics.” Ms. Ahn, who is teaching AP Art mainly to those wanting to go to art school, says that her teaching style comes from her own experiences in high school, RISD, and the art industry. She aims to ‘build ability to connect creativity in pure ideas to industry as in the real world’.
