Given its relatively small footprint, Providence is comfortable and easy to navigate, with seven colleges and universities making it very student-focused. A vibrant community of artists and designers—including many alumni who choose to stay in the area—adds to the flavor, as do the city’s eclectic neighborhoods, which offer a variety of lifestyles, restaurants and entertainment options. Students often take advantage of day trips to Boston, New York or beautiful beaches as appealing options for inspiration and refreshment.
On-campus stores
risd:store
As the primary retail venue on campus, the risd:store carries a wide variety of art supplies, including materials for silkscreening, printmaking and etching; paper for drawing and printing, along with decorative papers; and mounting boards, bookbinding supplies and more. The store also offers textbooks and trade books; digital, office, film and photography supplies; fans and convenience items; and a large selection of RISD-imprinted clothing and gifts.
risd:store 3D
This essential supply store stocks a wide variety of materials and supplies used in 3D studios from ceramics to glass, jewelry, sculpture and woodworking. Plywood, hardwood, plexiglass, glass and metal rods can be cut to size for next-day pickup. Knowledgeable and dedicated staff members are always on hand at the risd:store 3D to help source materials and answer questions.
RISD WORKS
An innovative hybrid, RISD WORKS is a gallery, design showroom and gift shop featuring an annual curated collection of art and design objects and products made by RISD alumni and faculty. Located on the ground floor of the Chace Center, it also offers products related to exhibitions at the RISD Museum.
Cards worth carrying
Beyond identifying you as a member of the campus community, your RISD ID card is an invaluable key to accessing almost everything here—from getting into buildings, labs and shops to checking out books from the library and getting free admission to the RISD Museum.
RISDBUCKS
risdbucks is an optional prepaid debit account that offers a convenient and safe way for students to purchase products and services wherever you see the risdbucks logo—both on and off campus. Funds placed in the risdbucks system don’t expire, meaning you can roll them over by semester and academic year. Participants can also manage the account from any computer or by downloading a mobile app, viewing transaction history and real-time account information and finding off-campus businesses that accept risdbucks.
STUDENT ADVANTAGE
RISD students are also eligible for a discounted rate on the Student Advantage card, which is offered to college students nationally as a way to save on a wide range of services and products.
Getting around
BUSES
With a RISD ID card, students, faculty and staff can ride RI Public Transportation Authority buses anywhere in the state for free.
ZIPCAR
Thanks to our partnership with zipcar, students get a discount when they join and have access to vehicles at dozens of convenient locations on or near campus.
AMTRAK
RISD is a short walk from the Providence Amtrak Station, where you can catch a train from Providence to NYC daily and enjoy the city’s world-famous museums, galleries and cultural landmarks in just over 3 hours – or less when if you take Amtrak’s Acela Express.
MBTA COMMUTER RAIL
Students can take a one-hour ride to scenic Boston on the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Commuter Rail to enjoy world-class dining, shopping, arts and culture while taking in the city's rich historical character.
INTERSTATE BUS SERVICE
Travel to New York, Boston, and throughout the country is also available through Greyhound, Peter Pan, Megabus and other commercial bus lines that depart from downtown Providence.
Local art + culture
RISD is a perfect fit for Providence, which dubs itself “the Creative Capital.” Students find a range of film, food, music, theater and arts options to choose from, many a short walk or bike ride from campus. Independent and experimental cinema reigns at the nearby Avon Cinema. AS220, the city’s eclectic community arts center, brings together adventurous gallery shows and live music with a popular restaurant/bar just around the corner from the award-winning Trinity Repertory Company. Downcity is peppered with music and dance clubs, and many old mills in Olneyville and on the West End offer converted spaces for local bands. Creative hubs like the 3D studio and educational center The Steel Yard, New Urban Arts and Big Nazo Lab have RISD connections—and many more welcome students and alumni to get involved.
Neighborhoods with character
Providence is full of interesting old colonial architecture, artists’ lofts, great restaurants and distinctive ethnic neighborhoods—from the Italian section on Federal Hill to the Portuguese community in Fox Point and enclaves of resettled refugees from Liberia and Southeast Asia in South Providence and Elmwood.
Upperclass and grad students who opt out of RISD housing generally choose to live in neighborhoods within a mile campus—often in 18th- and 19th-century homes on Benefit Street and College Hill, and in Fox Point, Wayland Square and other areas of the East Side. Most students walk or bike everywhere they want to go, though public buses are also available to RISD students at no cost.
In city’s West End and Olneyville neighborhoods—and in nearby Pawtucket—RISD alumni and others have transformed old mill buildings into artists’ collectives, lofts, performance spaces, galleries, bars and restaurants.
A lot of colleges per capita
Providence’s colleges and universities attract an incredibly diverse community of students, making for a very student-centric atmosphere, especially on College Hill, where RISD and Brown share neighboring campuses.
BROWN UNIVERSITY
The seventh-oldest college in the country, Brown is a world-renowned Ivy League research university with many highly-ranked undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Students at RISD and Brown can cross-register for classes at each institution and selected students are enrolled in the Brown | RISD Dual Degree program, which enables them to earn two degrees simultaneously.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND
Local CCRI students of all ages attend classes at two campuses in the city—one in the heart of downtown—working towards associate’s degrees in a wide range of fields.
JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY
Specializing in business, hospitality and culinary arts education, this private, nonprofit university enrolls approximately 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students at four campuses in the US.
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
The only school of higher education in the country administered by Dominican Friars, Providence College is a Catholic college with a strong liberal arts tradition and recognized Big East Conference athletics programs. You can check out a men's basketball game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center just a short walk from RISD’s campus.
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE
Founded in 1854 and located in Providence's Mount Pleasant neighborhood, RIC is the state's oldest public institution of higher learning and is especially well known for its teacher training and nursing programs.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
The URI Feinstein Campus downtown is a satellite campus for the state's largest public university—located 30 miles south in Kingston, RI. It offers both undergraduate and graduate classes along with continuing education certificate programs.