Experiential Learning

See it. Do it. Learn it. Love it.

Hands-on, real-world experiences like co-ops and internships, study abroad, and research open the door for amazing opportunities that open your mind and expand your potential. Plus, experiential learning lets you take career options for a test drive and discover the best one for you.

Co-ops and Internships

photo of two students who did a co-op project benefitting Poland

Natalie Crowell and Olivia Croteau, both humanities, computing, and design majors in the College of Liberal Arts, collaborated on a co-op project using AI to develop a tool for the United Nations Migration Agency, International Organization for Migration, to use in its response to the refugee crisis in Poland. Read more >

Co-ops and internships are powerful career prep experiences that allow you to: 

  • Build real-world job skills
  • Network with professionals and alumni in the workforce
  • Test drive and explore different industry sectors, career paths, and job roles

At RIT, a world leader in cooperative education and internships, tap into a vast alumni and professional network and job search tools. You may also qualify for special scholarships or funding that helps offset expenses related to pursuing an internship or co-op in the US or abroad.

Connect with the College of Liberal Arts Career Services Coordinator: 

Gretchen Eshleman
Associate Director, Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education, Academic Affairs

Student Research

psychology students at the zoo doing research with baboons

At Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo, RIT psychology students work with olive baboons through the Primate Portal project, exploring the baboon's cognitive abilities by providing games and tasks for them to solve. One goal: open access to data so that students everywhere can join in the study animal minds. Read more >

Curious minds are seldom satisfied settling with the status quo, and we couldn’t agree more. College of Liberal Arts students are constantly asking “why,” “how,” and “what if…” in the search for answers to some of society’s most challenging problems.  

Through research, we explore how social sciences and humanities complement and intersect to support innovation and progress in nearly every industry, from health care, business, and government to technology, computing, and engineering. This interdisciplinary research leads to real solutions, bridges tech and humanity, and paves the way for lasting, positive change.

Read about Research at COLA 

Review the labs, co-labs, centers, and facilities of the College of Liberal Arts that support and foster collaborative research, discovery, and innovation

Connect with the chair of your academic department or the director of your degree program to learn more about how to begin a new project or participate in research that is already underway.

Study Abroad

a collage of interational destinations

RIT Education Abroad offers five different types of programs, each with different factors to consider, such as length of time, credits you'll earn, costs, and more. You and your study abroad advisor can collaborate to find the best program for your goals. 

600+ study abroad programs in more than 60 countries, short- and long-term opportunities, international campuses, and more—at RIT, your options for study abroad are nearly limitless. Take advantage of these resources and embrace the chance for a transformative experience that can: 

  • Examine your field of study from a new perspective 
  • Meet, collaborate with, and learn from global innovators
  • Build professional skills that will set you apart as a leader in a globalized work environment

Visit the RIT Study Aboard website, the central hub of support and resources for study abroad opportunities. 

There you'll find information about how to apply, a complete overview of options, and a wealth of resources and perspectives to help guide your decision on where and when to study abroad. 

Study Away: RIT in L.A.

the LA skyline at dusk with mountains in far distance

“Making connections with all these legends was so fulfilling. It felt like a great way to jump into the industry,” said Paige McKenna, a humanities, computing, and design major who interned at Juice Magazine and participated in the RIT in L.A. program. Read more about her and other students' experiences >

The entertainment industry isn’t just for filmmakers. It takes all kinds of professionals to bring stories to life, and there’s no better place to explore career paths than the creative hub of Los Angeles. In this semester-long study away program:

  • Take 12 to 18 credits
  • Immerse yourself in the industry
  • Option to pursue an immersion in Transmedia Storytelling
  • Learn alongside faculty with extensive industry experience and networks.

Connect with RIT Global at global@rit.edu

Grand Challenges Scholars Program

a man looking at a water treatment facility

Clean water is a staple of life, yet ensuring its supply to all people across the globe remains a challenge. This is just one of the complex global issues the Grand Challenges Scholars program aims to tackle. 

The complex problems and opportunities facing humanity in the 21st century require a blend of science, technology, and engineering with a solid grounding in the liberal arts. Understanding social, cultural, psychological, and other important factors are key when developing effective and long-lasting solutions. 

As one of fewer than 75 schools in the world participating in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges Scholars Program, RIT students and faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Kate Gleason College of Engineering are working together to improve life on the planet for all people by addressing 14 grand challenges:

  • Provide access to clean water
  • Advance personalized learning
  • Make solar energy economical
  • Enhance virtual reality
  • Reverse-engineer the brain
  • Engineer better medicines
  • Advance health informatics
  • Restore and improve urban infrastructure
  • Secure cyberspace
  • Provide energy from fusion
  • Prevent nuclear terror
  • Manage the nitrogen cycle
  • Develop carbon sequestration methods
  • Engineer the tools of scientific discovery   

For more information on the goals of the program, visit the NAE Grand Challenges and the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program.

RIT’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program is highly flexible, allowing you to customize the program to match your interests. You’ll take interdisciplinary coursework and collaborate with students majoring in RIT’s engineering programs on research projects addressing the grand challenges.  

To participate in the program, simply let your academic adviser know you’re interested! He or she will walk you through the on-boarding process and register you for the appropriate classes. Once you join the program, you’ll work with an adviser and submit a proposal that identifies how you intend to achieve the following five core competencies:

  1. Research/Creativity – Mentored research or creative experience on a Grand Challenge-like topic
  2. Multicultural Understanding – Understanding of cultures, preferably through a multicultural/global experience, to ensure cultural acceptance of proposed solutions.
  3. Multidisciplinary – Understanding of multidisciplinary system solutions, developed through engagement.
  4. Viable Business/Entrepreneurship – Understanding, preferably developed through experience, of the necessity of a viable business model for solution implementation.
  5. Social Consciousness – Understanding that solutions should serve primarily people and society, reflecting social consciousness. 

You will be assigned a faculty mentor to advise you on your plan and progress toward becoming a Grand Challenges Scholar. You’ll also maintain an electronic portfolio of your work in the program which you can use to impress prospective employers or graduate school admissions counselors. Finally, at graduation, you’ll receive a medal and formal recognition as a Grand Challenges Scholar.

To learn more about the RIT Grand Challenge Scholars Program, contact the College of Liberal Arts coordinator:

Rochester Area Partnerships

at the SHED the Weirheim Gallery is a product of RIT's partnership with GCMV

The Wehrheim Gallery in the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) showcases work made possible by RIT’s partnership with the Genesee Country Village and Museum and that benefits our museum studies students and others. 

The Rochester region has a long history of change-making and innovation. Through partnerships with regional organizations, you’ll have access to leaders and opportunities for engaging, meaningful, resume-bolstering work that also supports our community. 

Researching on how penguins perceive the world and writing the script for a Halloween tour of a 19th century historic village are just two examples of efforts our students have participated in through partnerships with organizations such as: 

  • Seneca Park Zoo
  • The Genesee Country Museum and Village
  • University/Community Partnerships

University/Community Partnerships

RIT University/Community Partnerships is an on-campus resource that supports neighborhood revitalization activities in the city of Rochester while integrating community-based learning and research into RIT’s academic programs. University/Community Partnerships provides you with the unique opportunity to work on hands-on, real world projects with community leaders and neighborhood residents. 

Through coursework, internships, co-ops, independent study, and capstone projects you can strengthen your academic and professional portfolio by partnering with individuals working to transform their communities.  

Through University/Community Partnerships' initiatives, you apply what you learn in the classroom to projects identified as critical by individuals working to develop their physical environment (housing, lots, streetscape), to improve their quality of life (health, diet, exercise, art and recreation) and to enhance their skills (leadership, civic engagement, community building).

Seneca Park Zoo

RIT and the Seneca Park Zoo work together on mutually-beneficial projects and research in areas such as animal cognition and perception, visitor engagement and education, and marketing and social media management. 

The zoo’s Center for Biodiversity Exploration is a direct result of the partnership with RIT—it’s an interactive experience for zoo guests of all ages to learn more about biodiversity and environmental health. Research on animal perception and cognition conducted at the zoo by RIT

Genesee Country Village and Museum

The RIT-Genesee Country Village and Museum partnership provides opportunities for you to combine historic and 21st-century techniques to innovate and enrich visitor experiences at one of the country’s preeminent living history museums. 

Since the fall 2016, RIT faculty, students, and staff have partnered with the museum in areas such as marketing, social media strategy and analysis, driving tourism through events, engineering a historically-accurate printing press, developing interactive digital content for visitors, designing exhibitions and curating galleries, and preparing STEM-focused educational activities. 

Located 20 minutes from campus, GCV&M is the largest living history museum in New York and the third largest in the United States. The museum campus contains 68 historic structures, 175 acres of nature trails, and a fine art gallery with paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures as well as 3,500 historic costumes.

Connect with the chair of your academic department or the director of your degree program to learn more about how to begin a new partnership or participate in community partnership that is already underway.