Roger Williams University

I wouldn’t say that Roger Williams provides a great well-rounded education. Most of your classes have to be taken within your major which is understandable to a point however, not being able to fit in any classes from other disciplines means you don’t get a lot of perspective unless you seek it out. The architecture program in particular is a little lackluster. There is a precedent in architecture education of “it’s hard, and it will be hard for the next generation” The program certainly prescribes... Read More to this, and I wouldn’t recommend it. The program also emphasizes quantity of work rather than quality and often feels like it asks too much in too little time. Because all of your time needs to be spent on constantly reworking projects based on subjective feedback, developing techinical skills like drafting or rendering fall second to the reworking. Although I have many negative things to say about the program, I won’t lie that it has given me a good basis for my career and I feel well equipped with the theory of architecture. Aside from the academic programs, RWU also has great student life (clubs/orgs/events/etc) and I made the most amazing friends there

I have completed my Bachelor's degree, Master’s degree and in my last year of my second Master’s degree all at Roger Williams University. It has been an absolute incredible experience! Everyone I encountered that works there is extremely helpful! The classroom content is robust and the environment is exceptional! I have had many fantastic professors at RWU! Too many to name all. But if you are lucky enough to take a class with Dr. Norvell, she is the absolute best! We need more professors like her!... Read More She is very passionate about her class content, ensures that students understand the content and does it with such grace, compassion and support that it makes the student feel valued, heard and understood. I give RWU 5 stars because they have provided me with a great university experience! Thank you RWU!

I enjoyed my time at Roger Williams University immensely. I made incredible connections with faculty, professors, Deans, Administrators, and students that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The campus was all around beautiful, right by the water, which made it easy to go to class each and every day. Professors were always available for consultation both through email and in person before and after class. Each professor had the desire to get to know students individually, and cared for their... Read More success. This created a positive learning environment, where support was consistent. Most of my classes were hands on, or at least interactive, which I found helpful to the success of my learning. Knowing someone in each of my classes was typical, and extremely helpful. I found success within the Gabelli School of Business in particular because of the Professional Business Fraternity that I joined, Delta Sigma Pi, where I found many of my closest friends, as well as had incredible business opportunities. Outside of the academic environment, the food was always top notch. Upper and lower commons were always clean, and always had new and exciting food options. Starbucks on campus also had great service and coffee, for quite bite or pick me up between classes. Living areas were also kept in stellar condition. As a three year Resident Assistant, I enjoyed being able to make connections in the residence halls with students, coworkers, and the Coordinator of Residence Education who oversaw the area. There was always something to do, so I never felt bored. Along with this, I always felt safe, something incredibly important to me coming from a very small home town. As a student athlete, I felt constantly supported by my teammates and coaches, as well. Though I was always busy, I never felt too stressed or that my homework was out of control. I felt as though I had many families at RWU, and that I fit in everywhere. I wish I could go back and redo the incredible four years that I had at RWU! I wouldn't change or trade them for anything!

I attended Roger Williams University in the graphic design program back in 2014. There were definitely both pros and cons to this university and program. I thoroughly enjoyed many of the projects we were assigned, and I feel that the program really helped me to hone my design esthetic. However, the career center was completely useless for students in graphic design, pr, communications, etc. If I solely utilized their help when trying to find my for-credit internship, I would not have graduated. This... Read More was brought to their attention many times, so I hope that this issue has been resolved in the three years since I attended. I have held two employment positions since graduation, both which were not directly related to my undergrad degree, but rather related to marketing, pr, advertising, and event planning. In each position, I brought my graphic design knowledge and was able to amp it up. However, I don't feel that the assignments we had in school prepared me for these areas, which is why I now have to seek a graduate degree in marketing and pr in order to fill in the "holes" that I did not learn at Roger Williams or in the field.

Currently taking graduate courses online and I am in love with this option opposed to the regular classroom option. The flexibility is exactly what I need considering I work a full and part time job and I am a a single mother. It allows me to advance my education which will open up more opportunities that will enable me to provide for myself and my child without struggle. The availability of my instructors online are immediate opposed to waiting on seeing them during their office hours. Online courses... Read More should highly be considered if you need flexibility.

Roger Williams university prides itself in having small class for providing individualized attention for the student. They have state of the art facilities for 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC mills. They try and create as much exposure as possible to create opportunities for students to network with firms through in residence firm graduate studios, career investment programs and lecture series. They provide a curriculum that is well rounded in its practical and theoretical components allowing... Read More for a more cohesive education. The study abroad programs and international studios expose students to architecture all over the world. All universities may face this problem of good and bad faculty. Bad in the sense that they have become dated and no longer teach as well they may have once. But Roger Williams does try to keep up with that through student course evaluations and Deans auditing classes that have received complaints. Some teachers are amazing and push you to limits that you didn't know you could reach while others will let you sail through class without really learning anything beneficial. I think a lot of the development is based on the group of students you're with if you're lucky and you have a good group then you'll learn more and push harder with them, then you would with a group that isn't as hard working. A lot of the work in every class is to up based so having that strong student base is essential for the learning experience. You just need to find your niche.

Awesome teachers and great curriculum. The culture at the school is somewhat anti-environmental and anti-progressive in most ways. The students generally come from wealthy New England families. Sports teams rule the social scene because there are no frats. The location is amazing, right next to the bay. However the beach is littered with pot smokers and random fishermen. The food is excellent. There are lots of great clubs but it is fighting an uphill battle to start one. It isn't very well known... Read More and your degree might not hold so much weight unless you are in business.

The graduate program at Roger Williams is very rewarding. It prepares you for the real world ahead, helps you get a job in your field and we still have all the benefits of an undergraduate student. While the teachers and faculty are all very helpful, some of the ways certain courses are taught are totally out of date and not helpful. Overall, the graduate program and Roger Williams as a whole, is a great school, especially for inspiring architects, engineers, lawyers and marine biologists--and we... Read More are in a beautiful location.

My college experience was amazing, I wouldn't change where I went. I also met my significant other there my freshman year and we have been dating ever since. I wish I had majored in something I could actually get a job in. Students really need to understand that they are going to school in order to get a job - so pick something that'll make money!

I would choose to major in some kind of financial or business... Read More major because there are more jobs relevant to that and therefore more money to be made.

Stay focused, experience everything that you can in order to figure out what you can do for a living.

The graduate architecture program at Roger Williams University is a program unequaled on the rest of campus (except for the law school). The school provides a strong hands-on, tough-love approach to architecture which helps you build your architectural vocabulary and confidence. The professors are all very credible and capable learning partners, I say partners because that's the approach they take. Many of the professors interact with the students at an individual level and take special interest... Read More to help students in as many ways as possible. There are some deficits to the program though. Upon graduation, many graduates find that they can't find a job because the school did not aid them in finding an internship during their college career. Internships are invaluable for helping students gain valuable real-life experience and for obtaining employment in the future. Another downside to Roger Williams University is that the classes are quite difficult so that scholarships are hard to maintain. If you maintain your scholarship throughout undergraduate study, you lose it when you become a graduate student and the school does not offer any financial aid to cover the deficit.