As many Brown students know, cross-registering at the Rhode Island School of Design can feel like Mission: Impossible. Courses are difficult to get into, and the entire process is a quagmire of red tape, paperwork and approval hunting.
As a RISD student, it pains me to say that the feeling is more than mutual. However, although the registration process can be arduous, it is also not impossible.
If you plan on taking courses at RISD, there are some things to keep in mind:
Scheduling-wise, RISD has three types of courses: studio, foundation and everything else. Studio courses are hands-on courses that run the gamut from drawing to glass blowing and generally run from 1 - 6 p.m. and 11:20 a.m. - 4:20 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Foundation courses are known as "boot camp" for freshmen; they run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and meet once a week.
Non-studio courses are divided into art history (ARTH), liberal arts (LAEL) and history philosophy social sciences (HPSS). These courses are much shorter and meet multiple times a week for about two hours.
That's a brief rundown on what the courses are like. You can obtain a course catalogue oneline or pick up a paper copy from the Registrar's Office at 20 Washington Place on Waterman and North Main.
Many higher-level courses such as Character Design and Advanced Figure Sculpture are so popular that they are difficult for even RISD students to get into and are usually restricted to seniors in the department. Oftentimes instructors must accept the RISD students before Brown students to help RISD students fulfill certain requirements. Contact the teacher to ascertain the status of your particular class.
Foundation courses and other courses are usually pretty open. As a Brown student you stand a good chance of getting into most sophomore-level classes.
If you plan to register, the first thing that you should do is go to intranet.RISD.edu and find the teacher's email. Alternately, call (401) 454-6100, press 0 for the operator and ask to be transferred to the department to speak to the teacher. Introduce yourself, it always helps. Additionally, if you wish to meet the teacher, come to one of his or her current classes.
Regardless of what people tell you, always come to the first class. During initial registration, classes fill up quickly, so RISD students are encouraged to register for any remaining classes just to have enough credits to use as placeholders while looking for other classes. Trust me, I work at registration - this is routine practice. There's a lot of discrepancy between the number of people actually registered and those who actually show up. Some teachers pass around a sign-up sheet, so get there 15 minutes before class starts. Stay for the entire session.
If you picked the appropriate course level, you should hopefully get in. If you don't, keep at it - I once had to attend four full class sessions before I got in.
RISD's semester started this past Monday. But if you would like to register for classes at RISD next semester and need help finding teacher contact info, class times, etc. I would be more than happy to help you. Drop me a line at hzhu@RISD.edu.
Cross-registration between RISD and Brown shouldn't just be an advertising gimmick. You can do it. The more students that do it, the more Brown and RISD's administrations will have to work together. With enough students we can make cross-registration less of a headache and a better reality for students on both sides.
He Zhu is a student at RISD.
