R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-10-7: License required for practice.

No person shall practice barbering, hairdressing, and cosmetic therapy, esthetics, or manicuring in this state unless the person has first obtained a license for that particular practice; provided, that nothing in this chapter prohibits students enrolled in programs of hairdressing, barbering, and/or cosmetology from entering into work-study arrangements after they have completed the requisite hours of classroom instruction for that particular practice. Students participating in those work-study arrangements shall be under the direct supervision of a licensed hairdresser, barber, or cosmetologist, and shall be clearly identified as students. No course credit shall be granted for this students’ participation in a work-study arrangement and in no event shall it continue beyond the students’ graduation from school or completion of course work.