A heavyweight in terms of size and specialties, a long record of turning out accomplished grads

Overview

Students in RISD’s large Department of Industrial Design learn to wield critical thinking and the design process itself with the goal of “making everyday tasks more streamlined, thoughtful or fulfilling.” Faculty specialized in an array of subcategories are able to guide students with diverse interests; thanks to the school’s size, a vast range of materials and technologies are available to students, allowing them to proceed seamlessly to model-making and prototype work once they’ve developed their ideas through sketching and drawing. The program’s collaborators outside academia have included big names such as Nike, Google, Microsoft, Dolby and Kikkerland.

Notable alumni

Industrial designer Stuart Karten, roboticist David Hanson, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia of Airbnb, Danny Kim of Lit Motors