The proximity of Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design has long been a selling point for both schools. In the early stages of applying to Brown, prospective students are frequently reminded of the possibility of taking classes at both schools. In fact, RISD's website boasts that students can take "anything from foreign language to political science to anatomy" at Brown and simultaneously satisfy the design school's liberal arts requirements. The question is whether the process is quite as easy as it would seem — and whether students take advantage of it.
Mix paints, blend schedules
In past years, Brown students have lamented the difficulty of registering for RISD courses, complaining of the challenge of fitting RISD classes into an otherwise Brown-filled schedule, as well as issues of actually getting into over-subscribed RISD classes.
Current students' experiences taking RISD classes vary. Linnea Blaurock '13 is currently taking an introductory photography course for non-majors at RISD. In an e-mail to The Herald, she called the registration process "a lot of back-and-forth between Brown and RISD," adding that "everything had to be done on paper in a specific order." Now, having gotten into the course, she said the main difficulty is fitting the class into her schedule. "This semester I have four hours of Brown classes on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then my five-hour RISD class runs from 1:10 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.," she wrote.
Rita Bullwinkel '11 took Studio Furniture Design her sophomore year. "I took it because I tried to get into two other classes and they wouldn't let me in — glass blowing and textiles," she said. Since Brown does not offer a furniture design class, Bullwinkel chose to join the class at RISD, despite the fact that it took place twice a week for five hours, as opposed to the once-a-week, five-hour time slot her other choices occupied.
Alex Toyoshima '11, who is currently taking Artistic Anatomy in RISD's illustration department, called the registration process "easy for the most part." What he has found difficult is the time gap between the start of Brown's semester and the start of RISD's.
"You either have to leave a hole in your schedule or have a class you're willing to drop" before finding out if you can get into a RISD class, he said, adding that his flexible schedule has previously allowed him to take two other RISD classes. He said professors have been "very helpful" in figuring out how to manage his time between both schools.
Stephen Lassonde, deputy dean of the college, is one of the advisers students consult to determine whether they can register for a RISD class. He said he receives about 20 requests from students each fall, and about 30 in the spring, which includes both RISD's spring semester and its Wintersession in January and February.
"There is a more abundant array of studio courses to offer (at RISD)," he said. "It's exciting for people to try something a little different without going too far off campus."
Toyoshima echoed Lassonde, saying, "Brown's classes are pretty broad" and "don't always get into the specifics of different mediums. RISD has more classes to offer."
But Lassonde said students need his permission to take non-studio classes. "We don't want students taking classes there when they're offered here at the same time," he said.
This guideline isn't simply theoretical — Lassonde said he "routinely" refuses requests from students to take RISD classes also offered at Brown. "We want to be able to fill the courses we have," he said. Exceptions are made if the student needs the course to graduate or absolutely could not take it at Brown, he said.
Lassonde has found the cross-registration program to be very successful, he added. "Students like it a lot," he said.
Widening the lens
At RISD, meanwhile, 15 percent of students cross-register at Brown each year, according to the design school's website.
Alex Waterston, a RISD senior, is taking PHIL 0540: "Logic," as well as sitting in on lectures for HIAA 0850: "Modern Architecture."
"I've actually talked to some teachers in the relative departments at RISD and … it's such a specialized school and such a small school that there is a very limited number of classes they can actually teach," Waterston said. As a result, he said, the classes offered have to be more "universally acceptable."
Waterston called the process of cross-registering for RISD students "incredibly easy" and commended the program. "I think there needs to be more crossover," he said. "When I was a freshman, it was completely isolated."
Jeremy Silberberg, a junior at RISD, has taken classes in comparative literature and English at Brown. The cross-registering process was "tedious but so, so worth it," he said. "I don't know what I would do without Brown next door."
He added that he has received positive feedback from professors at Brown and RISD for his choice to take classes at both schools. "They say, ‘It's really great you stretched yourself to do that,' " he said. "Overall, professors at Brown have been super accommodating and understanding."
"The liberal arts tradition is built around English, art history, the history of philosophy and social science classes," said Rajesh Bellani, the associate provost for student affairs at RISD. "So I think, for example, with language classes, students are very interested in going up to Brown to take those classes."
"I think it works well," he added. "Both administrations work cooperatively together, and there's a conversation between the two schools."
Mathew McNamara, a junior at the design school, said cross-registration offers "a really great opportunity to take these really cool classes that just aren't offered at RISD." That, he said, "is what's nice about (Brown) being right there."
