News
Jenny Sullivan

Peyton D’Anthony enjoys identifying patterns and creating new connections. Those are just two of the skills she hopes to instill in her students as a teacher in Kosovo this fall.

Throughout the course of the academic year, hundreds of RIT students prepare to compete for some of the most prestigious international fellowships and scholarships available. Intensive research projects, applications, essays, and interviews all play a critical role in their selection.

RIT is one of 34 U.S. colleges and universities to be awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program. RIT received $35,000 for its initiative European Deaf Culture: A Pilot Program in Community Engaged Learning.

The earliest written record of hearing loss is believed to date from 1550 BC in ancient Egypt, and written evidence for early sign language and changing attitudes toward deaf individuals comes from Plato in 350 BC—but, according to Sophia Williams ’23, there isn’t much that reflects the significance of these findings in archaeological scholarship. Williams received a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to fund her graduate education at University of York so she can help fill this gap of knowledge.

Several RIT students from a variety of colleges and academic disciplines have been awarded prestigious international fellowships and scholarships.

RIT's Study Away: LA program took its maiden voyage in the fall as students immersed themselves in the Hollywood filmmaking and entertainment landscape.

Study Away: LA gives students in RIT’s School of Film and Animation the opportunity to spend time in Los Angeles for a semester to learn from industry professionals.

Environmental science alumna Sydney VanWinkle ’19, ’21 MS will head to Madagascar this fall to study the impact that conservation initiatives have on local communities and the environment as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Sarah Sabal secured two prestigious international scholarships—a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) and a Boren Awards Scholarship—that will allow her to spend a year intensively studying the Chinese language in an immersive setting. She is one of several students who contributed to a record-breaking year for RIT in terms of securing funding for international experiences.

When Carla Stebbins redesigned the health systems management MS degree, she included a culminating travel course in Sweden for her students to observe a different approach to health care. Stebbins, program director, built the online hybrid program to educate health care leaders to navigate a quickly changing field and widen their perspective. Even though COVID-19 canceled the trip, Stebbins found a solution

The Global Opportunities (GO) grant, a partnership between RIT’s College of Liberal Arts and RIT Global, is the latest incentive program to encourage students to experience learning in other countries.