INSA Summer: Engineering & French Society (Faculty-Led Program)

Spend a month living in Rennes, France, and studying French language and culture at the prestigious INSA Rennes with other international students. INSA is known internationally as one of the best Engineering colleges in Europe. In this program, students will accompany an RIT faculty member and take one engineering course for 3 credits and an additional 6 credits (for transfer) in French language and culture. Rennes is in Brittany and just 1.5 hours from the coast and four hours to Paris, making it an accessible jumping-off point for personal travel. 

Highlights

• Engineering students can complete an RIT Engineering Economy course while immersing in French culture.
• Experience French university life while studying for four weeks at INSA.
• Further develop your French language skills.
• Take courses that can count towards a French immersion at RIT or as free electives (if not pursuing a French minor/immersion)

Program Term: Summer

Program Dates: Asynchronous learning (prior to travel): May 14-30, 2025.
Asynchronous learning will continue to be delivered during program travel (6/01/25-6/30/25) alongside INSA courses and in-country learning.

Travel Dates: June 1 - 30, 2025

Credits: 3 RIT credits; 6 transfer credits

Courses:

• ISEE 345 - Engineering Economy (3 RIT credits)
• French Language (3 transfer credits)
• French Culture (3 transfer credits)

Pre-requisites: For French language - Beginning French 1 at RIT or 4 years of high school French
Open to all undergraduate KGCOE majors. Other STEM majors will be considered if space allows.

Application Deadline: February 16, 2025

Eligibility:

• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher (students with lower than a 3.2 GPA would be considered on a case-by-case basis)
• Have a clear conduct record with RIT
• Have no financial holds on your RIT eServices account at the time of your program acceptance/confirmation

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Program Cost & Financial Aid

Program Cost: A student budget worksheet outlining all program costs will be available soon. 

Financial Aid:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare) 
  • Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline so you understand how your aid will apply. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

Scholarships:

• Students in the RIT Honors program are eligible to receive a $1,500 Honors Award in addition to the $500 Honors Grant

• RIT Education Abroad Travel Grants ($500-$1,000)
  All students with pending applications in the RIT Study Abroad Compass for this program will be automatically considered for an RIT Education Abroad Travel Grant. You will be informed of your scholarship status shortly after the application deadline. Scholarships awarded based on financial need.

• Other scholarships: RIT Study Abroad Scholarships, National Study Abroad Scholarships

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To Apply

1) Start an application in the RIT Study Abroad Compass
Before starting an application you will  be prompted to fill out a Compass profile. After completing your profile information, you will need to search for the "INSA Summer" program under "Search Programs" to complete an application.

2) Watch this video on application steps for RIT faculty-led programs which covers important information (video is captioned)