MA in Global Arts and Cultures and Nature–Culture–Sustainability Studies accepting applications

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is currently accepting applications to its degree programs in the liberal arts, with classes beginning in fall  2019. The two full-time Master of Arts programs—in Global Arts and Cultures (GAC) and Nature–Culture–Sustainability Studies (NCSS)—invite students to explore the significance of the arts and cultural production within a dynamic, highly interdisciplinary framework.

GAC invites inquiry into pressing contemporary issues at the intersection of globalization and cultural production. By uniting critical theories from the humanities and social sciences with studies in the visual, performative and literary arts, students in the program investigate diverse forms of making and their entanglements with systems of power and resistance.

NCSS asks students to consider socio-ecological issues such as climate change from various perspectives in the humanities and social sciences. The curriculum covers a diverse range of topics—from the relationship of the environment to global politics and human rights to the impact of materials research and development on sustainable design.

Through this initiative, RISD is advancing the transformative power of the arts into new academic territory. Small class sizes promote close collaboration with Liberal Arts faculty and between MA program students whose intellectual interests also align with students in RISD’s 16 art and design-based graduate programs.

Both GAC and NCSS are designed for students who are inspired by complexity and interested in exploring new interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary issues. Graduates will be well positioned to make vital contributions in the realms of cultural development and preservation, public policy, education, environmental advocacy, urban planning and more. They will also be poised to pursue advanced doctoral study in humanities and social science fields.

Please join us at our graduate open house on November 9 from 2–5 pm, when students across disciplines will open their studio doors, offering a closer look at the work of our graduate community.

Graduate students at RISD conduct cutting-edge research, constantly ask questions and develop rewarding, hands-on relationships with materials. Our widely respected programs in the visual arts, design, architecture, education and the liberal arts cultivate a community of thinkers and makers who realize the power of art in a changing world. Event information and registration available here.