Graduate Degrees

During summer vacation, professors encourage everyone to participate in a workshop at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, which has a close relationship with RIT furniture design. I also participated in Haystack Mountain School of Crafts' collaborative introduction, and also worked at the American Craft Show. Those experiences enriched my studies and provided me with opportunities to learn about the industry.

The industrial design MFA program helped me develop the skills and qualities essential to a good designer. I especially value the program’s emphasis on design thinking. Besides the projects, I enjoyed and benefited from RIT activities such as T-Minus 151, Thought At Work, Imagine RIT, and IdeaLab. They provided me with great opportunities to interact with clients on their real-life design issues, collaborate with my peers, and get exposed to successful designers in the industry.

We got exposed to a little bit of everything. It's prepared me to be a more well-rounded designer and work in multiple programs and use other technical skills besides pure animation. I was prepare for the real world.

“The level of kindness I experienced here is overwhelming. Everything here makes you want to succeed. I discovered with American potters, it's about signature – the ability for one to, in a room of 100 potters, distinguish yourself to the point you do not need to sign your work. Coming here, it opened me up to a world I didn’t know existed. I went on a search to develop my own signature work."

It was a game changer coming to RIT because the professors are so good. They genuinely care about you and make it a supportive environment.

My experience at RIT was more of a transformation of life. I learned to be dependent on myself to make decisions and take a stand for what I believe in. I not only learned techniques in making jewelry, but also how to be confident in myself as an artist.

I wanted to go to a program that wasn’t just renowned but was going to be challenging and was going to push me, not just as a photographer, but as an artist. I felt like I was definitely wanted. I felt like RIT was saying, ‘we’re here for you, we want you to be a part of our community,' adding to that type of diversity that the campus offers.

I can’t speak enough about how I found so many opportunities, connections, and experiences that I didn't even imagine possible, being here at RIT. It's strange and gratifying to reflect on how it all happened, really. I started out here just wanting to soak everything in and make fun things. With the unending support and mentorship I was able to get from the faculty and the program, something valuable came out of even the things I didn't get to finish to the caliber I had wanted.”

I was able to make connections with companies like Netflix — I was invited to a masterclass. I took a class with somebody from Disney. It has opened so many possibilities for me. It has been the best investment in my life.

I chose RIT for the faculty. Their investment in my work as one of the most valuable components of my RIT education. The faculty and administration were always willing to change the playbook to make sure there was a path for the work I wanted to make. I never really hit an unmovable roadblock. Plus, it seemed like there was an expert on everything.

The program taught me invaluable design knowledge and provided unlimited opportunities to work with new technologies, along with the freedom to explore and implement ideas. The faculty's vast industry experience and their investment in us as students created a great learning environment to develop as designers. Words can't express how thankful I am to have attended RIT.

It really felt like I centered myself in a world of photography history, which was magnificent and something I desired. I couldn’t have asked for anything greater than to be (at RIT). I received exactly what I set out for. I sought to explore all facets of photography and other mediums in conversation with it. RIT became most ideal for grounding my interests.

The facilities and the professors were all incredibly helpful. I can’t speak highly enough about my experience. RIT allowed me to grow as an artist and how I think about my work. It pushed me in ways that I wasn’t expecting. I also tried to experience as much of the equipment offered here as I could. I shot about 90 percent of my thesis on one specific camera system that I never would have had access to if not for the Cage.

It’s thinking about visual strategy as a way to approach things. You might tell it one way visually but you can also approach it from another angle, or do some experimentation to blur a boundary or support an idea. I probably wouldn’t have considered those things in such detail if it wasn’t for working with Ahndraya Parlato or the other artist faculty in the program like Greg Halpern and Eduardo Rivera.

I was one of those students who wanted to take classes outside of my core discipline. All those perspectives infused me with a curiosity — the ability to communicate about other disciplines — and have me an open mind, not just about art but also how technology could influence it.

As a grad entering the industrial design program with a fine art and education background I was welcomed in and encouraged to build on my previous knowledge and apply it to design thinking. The mentorship from faculty and staff in the program as well as the incredible facilities and resources at RIT allowed me to reach my full potential as a designer.

I got experience in research, the classes were very intensive and everyone in the program is like family. We worked together with real companies, big companies, which was really great. I did more than I ever imagined I could. RIT is an amazing place and I loved my time there.

The opportunities and support I received during my time at RIT were invaluable. I went from having no experience in the field to becoming a GA, TA, leading events, and volunteering abroad for research. It's impossible to feel like you don't belong. You could take classes in glassblowing, screenprinting, furniture making, or biology; you could focus your thesis on sports, architecture, the environment, or children in third-world countries. We were encouraged to follow our passions in whatever direction they led us, the professors truly care, and most importantly, we were taught not only how to be good designers, but designers for good. 

I couldn't imagine going to any other grad school than RIT. It is such a nurturing, creative environment where I was able to ask new questions about glass and explore interests that I've wanted to while being pushed creatively in every direction. It was 100 percent the right choice and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about getting an MFA in glass.

Having a (high school art) teacher as the graduate director is huge because she is plugged in with what's happening right now in schools. It's not theoretical. Everything that comes down from New York State, she experiences it at the district level. I learned so much in one year. You have to absorb so much, so quickly, and it's well put together.