Experiential Learning

While building a network of connections with professors at RIT, you are encouraged to find people who are performing research in an area of your interest. You may have the opportunity to be hired as a research assistant, gaining experience, earning a paycheck, and potentially fulfilling your program’s co-op/experiential learning requirement. Each year, students in the College of Liberal Arts co-author research that is published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at professional conferences. Most degree programs also include a senior thesis or capstone project where you’ll dive into a topic of personal interest.

1. PROJECT T.I.P.S. (Trust, Information, Programs, Services)- Initiative focused on improving relations between law enforcement and members of the communities in which they serve.
2. The Shooting Database Project- Studying how shooting databases can be utilized to guide violence intervention programs.
3. The Gun Debate- Collecting information and points-of-view to further the national discussion on guns, gun violence, and gun policy.
4. Empower - Exploring the differences between what workers are taught in school/training programs and what skills/competencies are required in the 21st century workforce.
5. POWER- Studying skills gaps present in the Rochester-area photonics industry workforce.   
6. Economic Motivations for Software Bug Bounties- Analyzing why software and web developers offer recognition and/or compensation to individuals who detect errors or security breaches in their products.
7. Human-Environment Relationships Throughout History- Examining archaeological evidence to determine how humans hunted and farmed, as well as how constraints in their environment impacted how they lived.  
8. Applied Transmedia Storytelling- Telling stories of complex fictional worlds across multiple media formats, such as books, movies, comics, television, etc., to create a cohesive entertainment experience. (Think fictional universes, like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Marvel.)

International experiences allow you to challenge yourself, enhance your cultural understanding and gain key career skills.

• Examine your field of study from a new perspective and meet global innovators.
• Gain professional skills that will set you apart as a leader in a globalized work environment.
• Solve problems, take on new challenges and discover something you never knew you had in you.
• Follow your curiosity and immerse yourself in a new culture.

Liberal arts students who recently studied abroad have done things like:

• Created an interactive art installation in Paris
• Used the cityscapes of Portugal to create a fictional world
• Stayed with local families in Japan to experience everyday life and enhance Japanese
  language skills
• Examined how museums preserve and enhance cultural heritage in Paris, Rome & Madrid
• Created audiovisual documentary pieces inspired by Spanish media pioneers
• Wrote critical reviews and analysis of London stage performances

RIT offers more than 600 study abroad programs in 60+ countries for as short as one week to as long as a full year.

Faculty-Led Programs
Designed and developed by RIT faculty members, who lead a group of students abroad. Often short-term (between one to five weeks taking place over winter break, spring break or summer) these programs are easy to fit into academic schedules and offer hands-on, project based courses.

RIT Global Campuses
Directly enroll in one of RIT’s international campuses located in Dubrovnik & Zagreb, Croatia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Pristina, Kosovo; Beijing & Weihei, China. Each campus offers a selection of liberal arts coursework.

Affiliate Programs
RIT partners with other universities and organizations to enhance the variety of study abroad locations and course offerings available to students. 

Exchange programs
Culturally immersive programs that allow you to directly enroll in a local university and are usually major specific.

International Research
Conduct research abroad at one of RIT's approved overseas partners with the guidance of an RIT faculty member.

More about study abroad for Liberal Arts majors >
Learn how to get started >
Search programs via the study abroad Compass >

Global Opportunity (GO) Grant
All College of Liberal Arts majors/double majors receive a one-time automatic $500 grant to study abroad on an RIT Global Campus, Faculty-Led, Exchange, or affiliate program.

     To receive the GO Grant you must:

• Meet eligibility requirements to study abroad
• Be going on an eligible program and have applied in the study abroad Compass

     How the grant is awarded:

• You do not need to apply for the GO Grant. The RIT Education Abroad office will automatically award the scholarship funds once you’ve been accepted and confirmed on your study abroad program.
• The grant will post to your RIT eServices account in the term you are registered for your study abroad program.
• Note that while you are able to study abroad more than once if you would like, the GO Grant can only be used once for a study abroad experience.
   

Student Travel Fund
The College of Liberal Arts Student Travel Fund awards grant money to students enrolled in liberal arts degree programs for the purposes of funding travel. Grants up to $500 can be awarded to cover travel costs associated with presenting original research papers at professional conferences nationwide and internationally, while grants up to $750 can be awarded to help fund a study abroad program.

RIT’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program is highly flexible, allowing you to customize the program to match your interests. You’ll take interdisciplinary coursework and collaborate with students majoring in RIT’s engineering programs on research projects addressing the grand challenges.  

 To participate in the program, simply let your academic adviser know you’re interested! He or she will walk you through the on-boarding process and register you for the appropriate classes. Once you join the program, you’ll work with an adviser and submit a proposal that identifies how you intend to achieve the following five core competencies:

1. Research/Creativity – Mentored research or creative experience on a Grand Challenge-like topic
2. Multicultural Understanding – Understanding of cultures, preferably through a multicultural/global experience, to ensure cultural acceptance of proposed solutions.
3. Multidisciplinary – Understanding of multidisciplinary system solutions, developed through engagement.
4. Viable Business/Entrepreneurship – Understanding, preferably developed through experience, of the necessity of a viable business model for solution implementation.
5. Social Consciousness – Understanding that solutions should serve primarily people and society, reflecting social consciousness. 

You will be assigned a faculty mentor to advise you on your plan and progress toward becoming a Grand Challenges Scholar. You’ll also maintain an electronic portfolio of your work in the program which you can use to impress prospective employers or graduate school admissions counselors. Finally, at graduation, you’ll receive a medal and formal recognition as a Grand Challenges Scholar.

To learn more about the RIT Grand Challenge Scholars Program, contact the College of Liberal Arts coordinator Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Lauren K. Hall, Ph.D. at lxhgpt@rit.edu.

RIT University/Community Partnerships is an on-campus resource that supports neighborhood revitalization activities in the city of Rochester while integrating community-based learning and research into RIT’s academic programs. University/Community Partnerships provides you with the unique opportunity to work on hands-on, real world projects with community leaders and neighborhood residents. Through course work, internships, co-ops, independent study, and capstone projects you can strengthen your academic and professional portfolio by partnering with individuals working to transform their communities.  Through University/Community Partnerships' initiatives, you apply what you learn in the classroom to projects identified as critical by individuals working to develop their physical environment (housing, lots, streetscape), to improve their quality of life (health, diet, exercise, art and recreation) and to enhance their skills (leadership, civic engagement, community building).

RIT and the Seneca Park Zoo work together on mutually-beneficial projects and research in areas such as animal cognition and perception, visitor engagement and education, and marketing and social media management. The zoo’s Center for Biodiversity Exploration is a direct result of the partnership with RIT—it’s an interactive experience for zoo guests of all ages to learn more about biodiversity and environmental health. Research on animal perception and cognition conducted at the zoo by RIT

The RIT-GCV&M partnership provides opportunities for you to combine historic and 21st-century techniques to innovate and enrich visitor experiences at one of the country’s preeminent living history museums. Since the fall 2016, RIT faculty, students, and staff have partnered with the museum in areas such as marketing, social media strategy and analysis, driving tourism through events, engineering a historically-accurate printing press, developing interactive digital content for visitors, designing exhibitions and curating galleries, and preparing STEM-focused educational activities. Located 20 minutes from campus, GCV&M is the largest living history museum in New York and the third largest in the United States. The museum campus contains 68 historic structures, 175 acres of nature trails, and a fine art gallery with paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures as well as 3,500 historic costumes.