A world of flux and change demands skills to match. Changes in technology and taste, shifts in demographics and power, environmental challenges and demands necessitate adaptive skills and thinking in form and content.

Rather than a set of rules applied to static states, The Institute for Experimental Studies (IES) seeks to explore new territories and create new terrain. Inserting itself into the flow of events through lectures, projects, grants, and other emerging forms, IES provides RMCAD students with opportunities to challenge and develop their thinking at the unknown frontier of the new. Itself an experiment in research, IES seeks to stimulate, enhance, and produce the excitement of discovery and innovation.

IES cooperates with RMCAD departments in the coordination of experimental courses where students develop individual projects, participate in collaborative projects, and study cutting edge concepts. Events and lecture programs aim to link today’s leading thinkers, theorists, and researchers in the arts, sciences, and the humanities. Experimental workshops focusing on theory, conceptual development and current issues explore diverse approaches to creating art and design.

Some of the Institute's previous experiments have allowed students to:

• Stay abreast of the latest art and design world developments
• Broaden the understanding of art and design into other disciplines
• Meet, communicate with, and show work to top artists, designers, and professionals worldwide
• Work closely with faculty in developing an innovative style • Use and become proficient with emerging technologies
• Explore non-traditional materials and techniques