No More U.S. News & World Report

RISD says no to rankings.

RISD will no longer participate in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “best college” school rankings, citing the inability of rankings to accurately assess art and design education while also running counter to principles of social equity and inclusion.

“Principally, Rhode Island School of Design does not measure the value of our students or our academic programs based on the same factors used by U.S. News & World Report,” RISD President Crystal Williams wrote in a communication to the campus community.

“Our educational model is predicated on three primary ways of learning: visual, material and intellectual. The value of our unique form of education can be seen and felt in the daily impact our students, alums, faculty and staff have on the world.”

Until last year, U.S. News & World Report categorized RISD and other art and design schools as “Specialty Schools: Art.” Under this heading, RISD’s