Wintersession

Students installing blue fabric sculpture outdoors in snow

For five weeks between fall and spring, Wintersession offers a complete change of pace. It lets you deeply explore a specific discipline, special topic, new techniques, experimental processes and more.

Faculty and graduate students also use Wintersession to experiment with innovative course offerings ranging from performance art workshops to targeted project research to travel-study studios abroad.

Wintersession courses and opportunities

Many students look to Wintersession as a time to get a feel for disciplines outside their majors. They may also head to New York, London, Milan or Los Angeles—wherever their fields offer the most meaningful internships. Those who remain on campus choose from a range of Wintersession courses. Offerings include introductory classes as well as focused and topical studios and seminars.

Students also use Wintersession to take part in co-curricular activities that are harder to fit it during fall and spring. For instance, performance-minded students often get involved in writing, directing and acting in musicals and other theatrical productions. All in all, it’s a time to break from routine and a great way to recharge creative energy.

During Wintersession you can take courses focused on the arts, architecture, design and culture of other countries and US regions. Recent areas of study include photography in Paris, Renaissance painting techniques in Florence, puppetry in Bali, signs and symbols in Ghana, environmental issues in Costa Rica, shoe design in northern Europe and more.

Also available are domestic travel/study courses that take you around the US to investigate regional architecture, national park sites and urban issues. (Costs and travel arrangements vary from course to course.)

More about Wintersession Travel Courses from RISD Global