An essential feature of the Glass Department curriculum is an extensive roster of visiting artists and critics who represent a rich diversity of views and art activity, both within and apart from the contemporary glass movement. Visiting professionals present lectures and workshops, engage in studio collaborations with department students, participate in group or individual critiques, and share in conducting the weekly department assembly. In this regard, the Glass Department benefits greatly from a close association with its many accomplished alumni - Dale Chihuly, Howard Ben Tré, Michael Scheiner, Jack Wax, Dan Dailey, Toots Zynsky, Therman Statom, Judith Schaechter, Ruth King, Dan Clayman, Josiah McIlheney, and numerous others at the forefront of contemporary glass art and education.

Scheduled field trips augment and enhance classroom and studio activities. Visits to regional sites of broad professional interest in southern New England, including the Boston/Cambridge area, cover a wealth of museums, galleries, research facilities, artists' studios, and glass factories of various types. An extended excursion is arranged periodically to special locations such as the Corning Glass complex in western New York, or to New York City for its galleries, museums, and artists' studios.

The department provides its students with a thorough technical foundation and broad resources for specialized material exploration. An extensive custom facility offers a wide range of glassworking processes. Among its various refinements are a half-ton continuous-melt glass furnace, a 700-lb. casting furnace, 15 computer-programmed process ovens, a well-developed coldworking facility, and individual studio space.