Packaging Science

RIT’s packaging science program, established in 1972, is one of the most unique and respected in the country. One of only a handful in the nation to offer the program, the discipline provides students exposure to laboratory experience and real-life problem solving. Embedded into the program is the required full-time co-op with a company, and RIT is the only institute in the country that requires all packaging science students to experience this opportunity. This allows students to develop their professional skills, expand their real-world experience, and, most importantly, broaden their industry contacts. RIT's relationship with industry leaders and the skills students obtain in development, sales, and purchasing results in professional careers within this multi-billion dollar industry. This relationship, along with the faculty being packaging professionals, ensures that students acquire the most current technological knowledge base.

With a faculty committed to excellence, our undergraduate program provides a significant theoretical background coupled with extensive design and project experiences throughout the curriculum. Cooperative educational work is the hallmark of an RIT education, and the packaging science undergraduate program includes at least two of these experiences combined with faculty research opportunities.

Mathematics and the physical sciences are introduced in a just-in-time fashion while technical courses are incorporated every semester. Students are introduced to the multidimensional packaging field each semester. Progressing through the curriculum, projects become larger and design experiences more intense. By the final year of the program, students participate in realistic project-based design challenges as they ready themselves to be self-sufficient in the workplace.

Graduate Programs

The Master of Science degree in packaging science is designed to educate packaging professionals to become experts in the packaging development process. Students learn how to select raw materials, design, and create packaging to withstand environmental hazards during transportation, and to create aesthetically pleasing packages to pique consumer interest. Through a combination of theoretical and application-focused learning experiences, students gain comprehensive knowledge related to packaging design, package testing, product marketing, project management, and quality control.