RIT in L.A.

Highlights

• Immerse yourself in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles and understand how students of all majors can contribute to this innovative and dynamic field.  
• Hands-on and project-based courses taught by local faculty with extensive entertainment industry experience. 
• Gain substantial experience through an industry internship/professional experience.
• Meet, network, and collaborate with professionals and RIT alumni.
• Required and optional excursions include studio tours, museums, landmarks, beaches, hikes, and more.

Los Angeles is one of the world's leading centers for creative industries, including film and television, special effects, theme parks, video games, music, podcasting, and more. This new media landscape is called transmedia storytelling, where stories are told across multiple overlapping platforms. The entertainment industry requires professionals from diverse disciplines to engage audiences and bring those stories to life. For example, this creative field hires information technology and new media teams to develop interactive apps, engineers to build theme park exhibits

and do extensive set design, accountants to manage massive budgets, and psychologists to consult on character development and storylines. Whether you're in film/animation, motion picture science, computing, game design, business, engineering, liberal arts, or design, there is a place for you in the entertainment industry. And the RIT in L.A. program is a great chance to test it out but still have RIT's full support and structure through classwork, internships, networking, excursions, and career coaching.

In L.A., you will take a minimum of 12 credits, including two anchor courses related to your major or interest in transmedia storytelling. The rest of your credits will be earned through additional courses offered in-person in L.A., internships/professional experience credits, and/or online synchronous/asynchronous courses offered by the main campus. It is possible to earn an entire immersion in Transmedia Storytelling & Entertainment in one semester in this program. Your classes are taught by local faculty members and alumni with extensive industry experience.

Program Details

• Term: Fall 2025
• Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Travel dates: August 22-December 14, 2025
• Credits: 12-18
• Application deadline: Extended to March 30th, 2025
• Video overview of RIT in L.A. program

Student Info. Meeting
Monday, March 24th - 5-6 pm (Eastern Time), on Zoom
Zoom registration and link

Courses:
The graphic below outlines available courses offered in L.A., including required courses depending on your major and additional courses.

.pdf link of RIT in L.A. course offerings

• Download full course descriptions and meet with your RIT academic advisor to discuss the courses you plan on taking in L.A. to ensure they will count towards your degree program.
• You may also take any online synchronous or asynchronous courses offered at the RIT main campus in the fall semester.
• Graduate students: email global@rit.edu to discuss course options that may work for you.

Internships

By interning with L.A.-based companies, you'll gain new skills, meaningful industry contacts, and an insider's perspective on the entertainment industry. A wide range of L.A.-based companies hire interns from diverse majors, including major studios, production companies, post-production houses, theme parks, management companies, PR firms, advertising agencies, journalism outlets, web-based media channels, industry organizations, and more.

It is your responsibility to acquire an internship/professional experience. The RIT Office of Co-op and Career Services, CAD, GCCIS, CLA, and RIT faculty in L.A. will help you identify potential companies and positions, offer guidance as you prepare your application documents, and provide coaching on strategic networking and other successful job search strategies. The internship component of the program is optional but highly recommended. You can earn academic credit for an internship: 8-10 hours per week 3 credits or 16-20 hours per week for 6 credits.

Potential companies for internships

Housing & Living in L.A.
You will live in furnished apartments with other RIT students or students from other universities while in L.A. Two students to a bedroom, two bedrooms per apartment (4 students per apartment total.) The living space is located at the Kapi housing (https://www.kapiresidences.com/rit) in Burbank near many attractions. You will arrange all your own meals (using your apartment kitchen, buying groceries, or eating out). Parking at the apartment complex is an additional $100/per month; 2 parking spots per apartment are available.

Transportation
Los Angeles is a sprawling metropolis with long commute times, which you should take into consideration for commuting to your internship. Transportation options include:

• Los Angeles' public transportation, called LA Metro, includes buses, subways, and trains. The Metro bus system is extensive and provides access throughout Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and the communities east and south of L.A. The Metro's subway and surface rail system is reliable and clean and provides access to many points throughout the greater L.A. metropolitan area. Resource: https://www.thereallosangelestours.com/la-info/how-to-use-public-transpo...
• Ride-share services like Lyft and Uber - budget costs into your personal expenses for the duration of the program.
• Bringing a car or renting a car - you should be comfortable with freeway driving in congested traffic and also keep in mind the availability and cost of parking.

Excursions/Activities in L.A.
Planned activities will take place through the program (usually on Fridays) and may include:

• Tour of downtown L.A. and City Hall

  

• Warner Brothers Studio Tour
• The Academy Museum
• Griffith Park Observatory
• American Film Institute Tour
• The Hollywood Museum
• Universal Studios Tour
• Panavision Tour
• Santa Monica Pier
• Nascent Studios and Apartment D Studio Tours
• Broad Museum
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Company

Program Cost: A budget worksheet outlining all program costs is available here - RIT in L.A. Fall 2025
Students can take a copy of the budget worksheet to a meeting with RIT Financial Aid to determine how their aid may apply towards program costs.

To Apply

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

Application deadline extended to March 30, 2025

Contact

RIT Global
global@rit.edu