Faculty-led programs are designed by an RIT faculty member and are often project-based. The travel portion of the program is often short term and supplemented by on‑campus meetings or a formal class. Sometimes the travel portion of the course may take place outside of the term in which the students actually earn credit for the experience. These programs feature a high degree of faculty mentorship, hands-on experiences and a cohesive cohort environment. Students will pay RIT tuition and receive letter grades.
Approving Courses
Pertinent information about the study abroad course can be found online by the student in the Compass (the RIT Study Abroad application portal) or SIS, or by talking with the faculty member directly.
Ideally study abroad students are taking courses abroad that are equivalent to a required RIT course or an appropriate fulfillment for an RIT academic obligation. Therefore, students are fulfilling academic program requirements and staying on track to graduate on time. Students may also choose to take courses that they are interested in and perhaps couldn’t otherwise take but don’t count towards their degree.
In order to ensure students are taking appropriate courses and staying on track for graduation, we require them to meet with their academic advisor and complete the Course Pre-Approval Form. The student and advisor should each save a copy of the completed and signed Course Pre-Approval Form. The student should also provide a copy of the completed and signed Course Pre-Approval Form to the RIT Education Abroad office.
Download a faculty-led course pre-approval form here.
Registration
While students are overseas on a faculty-led program, they will be enrolled in their RIT class(es) as normal by a study abroad advisor or college administrator (students will not be able to enroll themselves in the course(s)). Students will receive letter grades for these classes and all grades will be calculated into their GPA. As a regular RIT course with an RIT course number, there may be no indication that the course is study abroad, for example “ENGL 210 – Literature, Culture and Media”. If students earn credit in one term and travel in another, they may earn an "I" (incomplete) for the course until the travel is complete. If you have any questions about this process, please address them with the study abroad advisor.
Grading & Transcripts
Students will not receive a study abroad transcript. Instead, the RIT faculty member leading the program will grade the course(s) and input the grade(s) on SIS. All grades will be US letter grades and will be calculated into a student’s GPA.