Not many people are excited by the idea of getting an undergraduate degree in five years. Except, that is, the 18 students admitted last week to the first class of the pilot dual degree program started by Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design.
The program, which will allow them to study at both institutions and graduate in five years with a degree from each school, received about 400 applications in its inaugural year, said Lucy King, RISD's assistant director of admission. Of those, 30 to 50 applicants were admitted to both Brown and RISD, and from that pool, both schools chose the 18 who were admitted to the program, both admissions offices confirmed.
Ten students are expected to matriculate, admission officers from each school said.
Students will spend their first year at RISD taking necessary freshman foundation courses and their second year at Brown. "The idea is that they get an immersive experience at both institutions," said David Bogen, associate provost for academic affairs at RISD. For the remaining three years, students devise their own plan of study and can divide their time between the two institutions however they need.
"As an art student, it was always daunting for me to consider sacrificing in-depth study of social sciences and literature, which I am equally passionate about," student Stephanie Swart, who was admitted to the program, wrote in an e-mail about why she applied to it.
"I think it's a great option for students who are looking to combine an interest in art with a love for academics," said admitted student Elizabeth Soucy, who plans to enroll in the program next fall. Soucy was initially thinking of applying to Brown to study engineering. But after reading the brochure for the dual degree program over the summer, she changed her mind.
"I thought I could combine art with a major at Brown," she said. Soucy now plans to study business economics at Brown and industrial design at RISD. She even has an idea of how she will use her degree.
"I'm hoping to start up an industrial design firm," she said.
Another of the 18 admitted to the program, Alexa Minc, plans to enroll. "I was so happy that I got into Brown, and then to get into this brand-new, small program is so amazing," Minc wrote in an e-mail.
Minc plans to study biology or physics at Brown and jewelry and metalsmithing at RISD. "I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do only liberal arts," she wrote. She added that she is interested in becoming a doctor. But being a doctor may not be enough, since she has been metalsmithing for nearly eight years and would like to pursue a career in that as well, she wrote. "I think I want to go to med school and also start a small jewelry business after college," she wrote.
Swart hopes to enroll in the program next year to study painting at RISD and international relations at Brown. "The only thing preventing me from enrolling at the moment is financial aid," she wrote. She is still considering other options because of the financial aid issue.
"This program was my distant dream since I heard that it might happen while visiting RISD last spring break; the fact that it is becoming a reality is still unbelievable for me," she wrote.
The amount of aid a student receives is calculated according to the standards of Brown's financial aid office, but both schools share the burden of the cost, Bogen said. The amount of aid is essentially counted against the revenue from tuition for the program. Both schools then split the revenue from the program evenly, he said.
Since the program is in its first year, there is no plan to open it to transfers in the near future, said King. "There is no plan to open it up to transfers at this point," she said. "But that doesn't mean it will never happen."
Students applying to the program this year could apply early to either school, or both, King said. Unlike Brown, which has a binding early decision procedure, RISD has a non-binding early action process.
"It wasn't clear to people that you could apply early to both schools," said Panetha Ott, associate director of international admission at Brown.
Brown traditionally has a single-choice early decision policy. The only exception to this policy is the dual degree program, for which applicants may apply to both schools early. Program hopefuls are also not required to withdraw their applications from RISD after being accepted early to Brown. A student accepted early to Brown and later to the dual degree program may choose to attend the program. However, if a student is admitted to Brown early but not to the dual program, he or she must still attend Brown, Ott said.
Only one student was actually admitted early to both Brown and RISD. She was later accepted into the dual degree program as well, King said.
Although admissions decisions for some students who applied to both schools were made by early January, the admission committee for the dual degree program decided to wait until all applications had been reviewed before making final decisions. "It seemed too risky to admit people early before we saw the rest of the pool," Ott said.
In order to apply to the dual degree program, a student must apply to both Brown and RISD and submit an additional essay about how they envision the program helping them shape their goals. The essay is reviewed by admissions committees from both schools along with the standard application material, Ott said.
"We took into account the statements they submitted for the program, as well as their academic and artistic strengths and creativity," Ott said. "These students are enormously versatile in their abilities and bring with them exceptional strength."
"It's a pretty extraordinary thing for people to be admitted separately to RISD and Brown," King said. "We think they're going to be an extraordinary and interesting group of students."
If a student is accepted by both institutions, their application is then reviewed by the Dual Degree Admission Committee, said Ott, who serves as a representative from Brown on the committee. The other representatives from Brown are Deputy Dean of the College Stephen Lassonde and Professor of Visual Art Richard Fishman. The representatives from RISD are Professor of English Mairead Byrne, Professor of Industrial Design Adam Smith and Director of Admissions Edward Newhall.
