Undergraduates - Get Started

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Undergraduates
Get Started

Get real-world, paid work experience through a powerful cooperative education program and a solid foundation in technology as can only be offered at RIT.

View Undergraduate Majors and Minors

See Why You Belong in RIT's Saunders College of Business

Get an in-depth look at Saunder’s College of Business from our faculty and students.

At Saunders you gain the technological skills and knowledge that have become an integral part of all businesses around the globe. We are there to help you throughout your experience with dedicated advisors: faculty, academic, financial aid, career services, and librarian.

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Business Curriculum Features

Business + Technology Core
Get a core of technology based courses to serve as a foundation to your degree.

Paid cooperative education experience
Get real-world work experience and get paid. Co-ops offer experience that often leads to employment after graduation. Save by not paying tuition while out on co-op.

Specialize by major
Choose from one of many options to specialize in. A flexible curriculum allows many students to pursue a dual-major.

General education + optional minor
Get a well rounded bachelor's degree with general education courses and a powerful minors program that allows students to access courses across all of RIT's nine colleges.

The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2
Unique to Saunders, all business students spend their first two semesters together as a cohort, conceptualizing business plans from start to commercialization.

Honors Program
Students have exclusive opportunities for hands-on, experiential learning.

Career Services and Co-op

RIT Cooperative Education: Unparalleled Experience That Launches Careers video

Cooperative Education, or co-op, provides the opportunity to gain meaningful work experience before you graduate. In many cases student co-op positions lead to full time positions upon graduation. Co-ops are an integral part of the Saunders College experience. All undergraduate business majors require one co-op experience. Many choose to do more. Co-ops help you further define your career path, and fully realize the value of what you are learning in the classroom. Rochester Institute of Technology has one of the oldest and largest cooperative education programs in the U.S.

The RIT Career Services and Cooperative Education Office helps students hit the ground running when their career starts after graduation. Career service advisors provide effective, high-quality services to RIT students, alumni, and employer partners. Students are assigned a dedicated career service advisor based on their business major.

Learn more about Co-ops at Saunders
View Co-op Spotlights

Core Business Courses

Core business courses have technology built-in. Taught by both full-time professors and industry practitioners, the business core provides a solid foundation and an understanding of what our hands-on curriculum consists of by taking courses across all major business disciplines. Leveraging the resources of one of the largest technology universities in the country, students are equipped for the business world from the day they graduate.

Core courses begin immediately with The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2, with two courses covering the fall and spring semesters where students are exposed to every business function through the ideation and creation of a business. The core continues with a foundation in technology through courses covering information systems and computer analysis. While additional core courses take students through the foundations of accounting, finance, management, marketing operations, organizational behavior and strategy.

Double Majors & Minors

Minors, immersions, and double majors allow you to customize your degree and pursue your interests

As a Saunders undergraduate student, you can add depth to your education by adding a minor or immersion in one of the numerous options available across the nine RIT colleges. Choose from options in business, liberal arts, mathematics, computer science or more. Your academic advisor can help you create a flexible double major program with Saunders College. Combine any two undergraduate business majors, such as Management and Finance or MIS and Accounting, allowing you to complete two majors in as little as four years. Now, you can apply for a double major within Saunders in your first year.

At RIT, a double major is a program of study that meets the requirements of two distinct majors in a single Bachelor’s degree. Drawing upon the University’s mission to foster interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary focus, Saunders College offers the opportunity for you to learn beyond the skills and education requirements for a single degree and challenge yourself with a rigorous double major that can enhance your breadth of skills.

With a double major at RIT, you will need to complete two sets of degree requirements. Upon completion, you will be awarded a diploma that acknowledges both majors.

Learn more about double majors

View Undergraduate Programs

Within Saunders, you may select any one of the undergraduate degree programs to complement your primary major. You will graduate with multiple business skill sets and competencies, and will be highly sought after in the job market.

In order to complete the degree requirements in as little as four years, you must begin taking courses in each of the degree programs as early as your third semester. Work with your academic advisor to plan your schedule and map out the courses you want to take.

View Business Degrees
 

Pursue your passions outside of business. By working with your advisor, you can determine a pathway to complete a double major in business and one of RIT’s undergraduate degree programs outside of the College of Business. You will need to complete all the program requirements for each program, which may extend your academic career at RIT. Speaking with your academic advisor about your career goals and interests. Additional graduate options may be available if you’d like to pursue a degree in business without extended your undergraduate course load.

View Undergraduate Programs

A minor at RIT is a related set of academic courses leading to a formal designation on a student’s baccalaureate transcript. With a minor, you can broaden your college education and deepen your studies in an area of interest outside of your academic major. There are two main reasons why to declare a minor:

To explore something new: If you have a subject you’d LOVE to explore, a minor can be a great way to do this. Rather than just having a few classes under your belt, you can officially “declare” and have your minor added onto your degree when you graduate.

To get a leg up: A minor can look great on your resume and provide an additional skill set that may put you ahead of competitors.

View Minors

A minor may be related to and complement a your major, or it may be in a completely different academic/professional area of your interest. Selecting a minor in Saunders College can complement your degree by giving you the necessary business skills to succeed in any workplace. With a business minor, you will understand how a business operates, increase your abilities and gain a new perspective. In most cases, minors shall consist of a minimum of two upper division courses to provide reasonable breadth and depth within the minor.

View Business Minors

Check out the full list of Saunders minors

Saunders students: contact your advisor to discuss your interests in pursuing a minor.

Your personal community

Saunders is a diverse and vibrant community offering a small college feel where faculty get to know you by name while offering all the resources of a large technology university. It won’t take long for you to find your niche in a community where there is always something happening. From division I athletics and academic clubs, to networking with RIT Global Campuses, to fraternities and sororities, to concerts and events sponsored by the College Activities Board—students never find themselves without an activity to participate in or an event to attend.

Student life at Saunders College provides countless opportunities to get involved. Take advantage of the many opportunities for recreation and personal growth, leadership and entertainment. Join a business specific professional club. Or enjoy a full Saunders events calendar brings you the top names in business including ABC’s Shark Tank's Mr. Wonderful Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John; the founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian; Jerry Greenfield from Ben & Jerry’s; the CMO for the NFL, Dawn Hudson, and so many more.

 

See Event Calendar  

Diverse and inclusive campus

Behind our creativity and innovation stands a blend of cultures that adds a social and educational dynamic unique to our university. The Division of Diversity and Inclusion presents programs and opportunities for all students to get involved. 
At RIT you’ll live and study with over 2,635 international students from 102 countries. In addition, more than 2,000 students of color have elected to study at RIT, embodying our commitment to diversity. Adding a social and educational dynamic not found at any other university are more than 1,200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students supported by RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Alumni network

Saunders alumni before you have paved the way for your success. They are generous with their time and resources. Many have generously given back helping to finance facility improvements and scholarship opportunities. Alumni visit often to serve as mentors, competition judges, speakers and industry advisory board members. Make alumni meaningful connections during their visits to campus or check out our alumni spotlights and advisory board listings to reach out via LinkedIn.

Dedicated Advisors

Student meeting with an advisor

Saunders provides many dedicated resources to support your academic career. Your team of advisors is there to help you at every turn.

Connect to your support team

Globally Connected

Collage of cities with RIT campuses

Saunders College encourages and enables students to broaden their horizons with enriching global experiences including studying abroad. In collaboration with RIT’s four global campuses and countless partner universities, Saunders has specialized programs for students to travel and study during the academic year and throughout the summer, without falling behind. Check out the numerous study abroad options and scholarships available to Saunders students and start planning your global experience today!

International RIT Campuses

Saunders College of Business students can also take advantage of RIT’s global campuses: RIT Croatia, RIT Dubai, and Beijing Jiaotong University in China. The undergraduate business programs offered at these campuses are accredited by AACSB through Saunders College of Business. 

Study Abroad

In addition to our international campuses, RIT provides resources if you are seeking a different study abroad opportunity or international fellowships options. With over 400 programs in 50 countries, there is a study abroad program for students of nearly every major. Visit RIT Global to see all the study abroad programs offered. RIT students and alumni with excellent academic records should consider applying for a competitive RIT Study Abroad Fellowship or Scholarship. There are a number of independent scholarships or fellowships available for study, travel or research abroad.

Visit Saunders Global Blog

Find out what RIT students are up to around the corner or across the globe! Visit the Saunders Global Blog as students share their global experiences for you to explore and start considering your options.

RIT Work Abroad

RIT Work Abroad helps students looking for an internship, co-op, or fellowship who also want to broaden their horizons abroad. Working abroad is a great way to experience a different culture, gain work experience in your field of study, and work for outstanding companies and organizations

Honors Program

As part of the Saunders College Honors Program, “Product and Service Leadership for a Global Economy,” students take courses, participate in seminars, visit companies, and undertake research focused around this theme. Saunders College students also benefit from the generosity of the Renee A. and Charles S. Brown Jr. family endowment that funds travel and research in support of the program goals.

Saunders College students in the Honors Program fulfill the same requirements and are eligible for the same opportunities - including Honors courses, contract courses, research, and travel - as all RIT Honors Program students.

Saunders College students in the Honors Program participate with Honors students from the Kate Gleason College of Engineering in an interdisciplinary, three-course seminar sequence, “Product and Service Innovation for a Global Economy.” Over three semesters, one-credit seminars help students develop an appreciation for the product and service development cycle, from concept to realization. Engineering and business faculty members along with local business leaders address how ideas for goods and services are conceived, how product concepts are refined and then produced, and the special challenges of developing and marketing products and services for a global marketplace.

Honors Program students from Saunders College have the opportunity to take business trips to domestic or international locations that include company visits across various industries. Students see first-hand how companies large and small address product and service development for domestic and global marketplaces. Recent trips have been to Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Silicon Valley, Toronto and Dubai to visit companies such as Amazon, Bloomberg, Boeing, EY, the Federal Reserve Bank, Google, IDEO, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Alumni events, organized in conjunction with these trips, also provide the opportunity for students to interact with a wide array of business professionals.

All RIT Honors Program students are required to complete a research experience. While not all research may be global in nature, Saunders College students in the program can apply for grants that will fund projects that have a significant global aspect and/or are completed abroad.

RIT has one Honors Program at the university and across all of its colleges, including Saunders College of Business. While some Saunders College students (less than 1% of all RIT first-year applicants) are invited to join the Honors Program at the time they apply for admission, Saunders College also encourages and accepts internal admit students for admission to the Honors Program during a special Honors Program application process each January. Saunders College freshmen and sophomores are eligible to apply for late-entry at this time and are considered based on their academic results and their application materials.

RIT Honors students applying to Saunders College of Business graduate programs can now qualify for a 50% scholarship and apply for a GMAT/GRE waiver. This applies to all applicants who successfully complete the requirements of the RIT Honors Program upon certification and are accepted into Saunders College.

Next steps? If you are interested in learning more about the scholarship and GMAT/GRE waiver incentives for RIT Honors students, set up an appointment by emailing gradbus@saunders.rit.edu, or attend a Graduate Information Session.

The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2

Students working together in a lounge​

Biz 1+2 sets the undergraduate business program at Saunders apart from others.

Learn More about the Biz 1+2 Program