by our College Data Analytics TeamRhode Island School of Design is a private not-for-profit institution in Providence, Rhode Island enrolling 2,084 undergraduates. It accepts 19% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 89%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #619 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 12%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Rhode Island School of Design ranks #619 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 12%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Rhode Island School of Design was awarded 17 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, RISD is ranked #619 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, RISD holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in Rhode Island ranking.
See all of the rankings for Rhode Island School of Design.
Rhode Island School of Design has a very low acceptance rate of 19%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to RISD just in case you don’t make the cut.
About 15% of students accepted to RISD submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 688 and 750. Math scores were between 708 and 780.
RISD received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 31 and 34.
Learn more about Rhode Island School of Design admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at RISD is an impressive 8 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Rhode Island School of Design is 39%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
Rhode Island School of Design has a freshmen retention rate of 95%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At RISD the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 89%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Rhode Island School of Design.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,084 undergraduates at RISD.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Rhode Island School of Design.
The overall average net price of RISD is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $29,135 | $30,233 | $25,872 | $33,893 | $64,493 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of RISD, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At RISD, approximately 29% of students took out student loans averaging $6,389 a year. That adds up to $25,556 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Rhode Island School of Design.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island School of Design make about $68,140 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Rhode Island School of Design graduates since it is 38% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Rhode Island School of Design make the most money.
Rhode Island School of Design is an private not-for-profit institution found in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Rhode Island School of Design.
Contact information for Rhode Island School of Design are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 20 Washington Place, Providence, RI 02903-2784 |
| Phone: | 4014546100 |
| Website: | www.risd.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_School_of_Design |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/risd1877 |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/#!/risd |
In the latest year of available data, students from 9 majors graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 700 | NA |
| Fine & Studio Arts | 174 | $22,994 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 131 | $39,686 |
| Architectural Sciences | 90 | NA |
| Systems Theory | 88 | NA |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 66 | $19,604 |
| Computer Software Applications | 56 | NA |
| Woodworking | 31 | $22,714 |
| Sustainability Science | 19 | NA |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 16 | $35,493 |
Curious how schools stack up against RISD? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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