Mail and Receiving Services
Hours
Counter
Mon–Fri: 10 am–6 pm
Smart Lockers
Daily: 6 am–2 am
(no building access 2–6 am)
Contact
20 Washington Place
1st Floor
Providence, RI
In Mail and Receiving Services, we are responsible for the daily delivery of interoffice, USPS, and UPS mail across campus, and for the preparation of outgoing mail. We are also available to help members of the RISD community prepare outgoing mail. (Please note that Mail and Receiving Services personnel can handle personal packages.)
Mailroom guidelines
Mail and packages shipped to campus may take up to 72 business hours from the time they arrive in the mailroom to when they are delivered to the receiving person or department, depending on mailroom volume and the time of delivery by the mail service provider.
At the start of each academic year, a large volume of mail passes through the mailroom. Please be patient as we process packages as quickly as possible. We will notify students by email when your packages are ready for pickup. Please do not come to the mailroom before receiving notice from us.
RISD accepts deliveries from the following carriers:
- USPS
- UPS
- FedEx
- Amazon
- DHL
Please do not ship any items via freight containers.
Sending and receiving mail
Preparing your mail
To send mail to campus, please ensure you use new, undamaged boxes that are 24"x24"x24" or smaller. Make sure the label is legible, easy to find, and securely affixed to your package.
We will not accept items that are perishable or not securely packaged.
Campus mail is best reserved for non-fragile items like clothing or books. To minimize cost and damage during the shipping and delivery process, we recommend that students purchase electronics, stereos, televisions, and other large or fragile objects locally and bring them directly to their residence, rather than shipping them to campus.
When shipping items to campus, keep a copy of any tracking information you receive related to the shipment. Please do not visit the mailroom until you have received a notice from Mail and Receiving Services that you have an item to pick up.
Mailing instructions for incoming students
First-year students receive their mailbox numbers via RISD email by August 4.
We have a partnership with a local UPS Store to assist with first-year students who are shipping packages to RISD in advance of move-in day. Consult this instruction form and use a UPS mailing label. You may ship packages to this address up until August 21.
On move-in day, the packages sent to the UPS Store will be available for students to pick up on campus in the first-year residential area. You will not need to go off campus to retrieve them.
After August 21, you may begin shipping packages to the mailroom. All packages should be shipped to the following address and must include your assigned mailbox number.
[Student Name]
Rhode Island School of Design
20 Washington Place
Box # ______
Providence, RI 02903
Mailing items to RISD students
All items shipped to students should be addressed:
[Student Name]
Rhode Island School of Design
20 Washington Place
Box # ______
Providence, RI 02903
Graduate student mailboxes
Graduate students who live on campus are automatically assigned a mailbox. For graduate students who live off campus, you can request an assigned mailbox by emailing mailroom@risd.edu.
Outgoing mail
When sending items internationally, please contact Mail and Receiving Services to make arrangements. If your outgoing parcel requires special arrangements (e.g. insurance or signature on delivery), please attach instructions.
The sender is responsible for packaging items appropriately. Do not overfill containers or use damaged boxes for mailing purposes.
Mail forwarding for graduating students
USPS mail forwarding is available to graduating students through Mail and Receiving Services. This service is only available for first-class mail forwarded to a US address. To use this service, please complete the mail forwarding form for graduating students.