An Overview
Rhode Island College is located on a 180-acre campus in the Mount Pleasant section of Providence, a location that combines easy access to metropolitan area benefits and resources with a suburban, park-like atmosphere. Education at Rhode Island College takes place on Narragansett Land. The College honors First Nations and the Native colleagues and communities that contribute to our world today, and commits to working together to honor our past and build a future with truth.
Academic offerings are provided through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and the School of Social Work, as well as through the Offices of Continuing Education and Professional Studies and Graduate Studies.
Rhode Island College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and has also received accreditation for specific programs from the following agencies: Council on Social Work Education, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, National Association of Schools of Music and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, the college's goal was to provide teacher preparation to young people from Rhode Island. With the dedication of a new building in downtown Providence in 1898, the institution began a period of steady growth, evolving first into a formal teachers college, called the Rhode Island College of Education. In the 1958-59 academic year the institution moved to its current Mount Pleasant campus and, in 1960, was renamed Rhode Island College to reflect its new, comprehensive purpose within higher education.
The college has undergone expansion in recent decades at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels and now serves approximately 8,500 students in courses and programs on and off campus.
Rhode Island College is the oldest of the three public institutions of higher education that operate under the aegis of the Postsecondary Council of the Rhode Island Board of Education. The 11-member board was created by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 2013 and replaced the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Governors for Higher Education.
Mission of the College
As a leading regional public college, Rhode Island College personalizes higher education of the finest quality for undergraduate and graduate students. We offer vibrant programs in arts, sciences, business, health care, technology and professional disciplines within a supportive, respectful and diverse community. Dedicated faculty engage students in learning, research and career attainment, and our innovative curricula and co-curricula foster intellectual curiosity and prepare an educated citizenry for responsible leadership.