Technology, the Arts, and Design
Fueling creativity, innovation, and ingenuity.
Harnessing diverse ways of thinking, exploring, and making.
Advancing knowledge and addressing complex problems.
The intersection of Technology, the Arts, and Design is what makes RIT exceptional.
The Fabric of RIT
Technology, the arts, and design is woven into nearly every aspect of RIT. It’s an intentional approach we infuse into our academic programs, research initiatives, experiential learning opportunities, interdisciplinary collaborations, and more.
Because today’s college graduates need more than skills in their field of study. They have to be flexible, nimble, collaborative, and adaptable.
120K+
Square feet dedicated to makerspaces and performing arts studios and theaters in the SHED, our creative hub.
1,800+
Students across all majors who are involved in the Performing Arts Scholarship program
185+
Interdisciplinary minors and immersions that encourage students to expand their knowledge and explore their passions and interests
Places and Spaces
Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED)
As the university’s creative hub, the SHED centralizes RIT’s makerspaces and performing arts under one roof. This dedicated space is for students to create, imagine, and build through inspired learning, making, testing, performing, and doing.
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
A hub of research, education, and creative inspiration that houses over 750,000 artifacts across all fields of design. Iconic works by Lella and Massimo Vignelli are featured at the heart of the Vignelli Center collection and their legacy forms the foundation of design excellence and innovation that the Vignelli Center celebrates today.
ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute
The ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute is a state-of-the-art facility focused on cybersecurity education, training, and research. Taking a holistic approach to cybersecurity, the institute encourages collaboration between academic disciplines, industry, and government to expand cybersecurity knowledge and make it usable in the real world.
MAGIC Spell Studios
World-class facilities that bring together RIT’s academic strengths in game design and development, film and animation, and digital media, with a focus on commercialization that provides Hollywood-scale virtual production experiences for students and clients.
Research Facilities
Throughout the RIT campus, students can access high-tech classrooms, state-of-the-art labs, and renovated research spaces that foster collaborative exploration across science, engineering, art and design. With access to faculty working on research grants from NIH, NSF, and NASA, students get first-hand experience in the latest innovations.
Business Infused with Tech and Design Thinking
With a forward-thinking educational approach of integrating business with technology and design thinking, Saunders College of Business offers spaces that support collaboration, boost professional networking, encourage applied research, and foster business community engagement.
Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship enhances innovation and entrepreneurship activities at RIT, and helps to make students’ product and business ideas a reality. The center offers contests and competitions for startup capital; offers courses and programs in innovation, entrepreneurship, business creativity, and more; hosts a speaker series and an annual entrepreneurship conference; and provides business and innovation coaching to teams of students to guide them through the processes of customer discovery, design thinking, and business model development.
Technology, the Arts, and Design News
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November 15, 2024
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National conference celebrates interdisciplinary collaborations and research
More than 170 higher education professionals from across the country came to RIT Nov. 14-16 for the 2024 a2ru National Conference. The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations and perspectives in the arts.
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November 6, 2024
![Undergraduate students at Rochester Institute of Technology at the Flexographic Technical Association Flexo Forum in Kansas City as part of the Phoenix Challenge]()
Students recognized for excellence in graphics and research at national flexographic printing challenge
Undergraduate students at Rochester Institute of Technology took top placements at the Flexographic Technical Association Flexo Forum in Kansas City this Spring. Their project, Aş Evi, was part of the Phoenix Challenge, an annual student design competition, and was recognized for Excellence in Research, Excellence in Graphics, and Excellence in Execution categories.
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November 4, 2024
![a professor works with students at the digital anatomy board.]()
Digital anatomy table gives RIT’s physician assistant BS/MS program a high-tech teaching tool
A digital anatomy table programmed with dynamic medical simulations is changing how RIT physician assistant students learn about the human body. Three-dimensional simulations modeled on real cadavers allow students to understand how the body functions as a system and deteriorates from disease.
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November 1, 2024
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Upcoming cluster hires in artificial intelligence solidify RIT as a leader in the field
As RIT continues its drive to become a leader in the higher education artificial intelligence space, more than 40 positions spanning multiple disciplines are expected to be filled as part of the university’s commitment to expand its AI expertise.
