College of Art and Design News
Production Option - Film and Animation BFA

Nathaniel Bartsch, a dual-degree student studying history and film production, uses interdisciplinary expertise in history and film to get his an internship at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

RIT's MAGIC Spell Studios' Maker program provides students with the funding and support to manage their own digital media projects, and prepares them for publication and investment-readiness.

Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Film and Animation is among the top 25 film schools in the United States, according to the most recent list published by The Hollywood Reporter. RIT was ranked number 21 this year, marking a continued rise in rank from previous years.

RIT’s School of Film and Animation has been continuously recognized as being among the best film and animation schools in the country. The latest recognition comes from Variety magazine’s 2026 Education Impact Report.

Forward-thinking faculty; curriculum that fuses technology, the arts, and design; and a legacy of priming students with a maker mentality helped RIT’s School of Film and Animation maintain its place on TheWrap’s list of Top 50 Film Schools of 2025.

Ricky Figueora taking over as the new director of RIT's School of Film and Animation headlines exciting promotions and additions to the College of Art and Design faculty.

The Character Mosaic Project is a recently revived initiative that aims to build a library of 3D characters — diverse in their ethnicities and backgrounds — that are open source for animators to seamlessly use as a broader range of subjects in their films. The project is led by Kevin Bauer, graduate director of the film and animation MFA program.

Having the right networking connections can make or break a career in the film industry. Thankfully for Marica Joseph, there are plenty of RIT alumni who she can learn from.

Accomplished alumni, creative technology research, and interdisciplinary program offerings set RIT’s School of Film and Animation apart from others on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 top film schools list. RIT was ranked number 22 this year, a leap ahead from the school’s rank in 2024.

RIT graduate Sebastian Nazario-Colon presented at the Cannes Film Festival. He says documentary filmmaking courses and the RIT in LA study away program paved the way to his success.

Carson Munn '26 has taken advantage of the endless resources available in RIT's School of Film and Animation, including well-equipped facilities, supportive faculty, and an opportunity to spend a semester studying in an entertainment epicenter, Los Angeles.

Lights, camera, music: Colin O'Brien '25 (production option) blended artforms at RIT, creating film scores for dozens of students while also making his own films.