School of Public Affairs

RIT’s School of Public Affairs prepares students to navigate the complex political, economic, and ethical challenges of the 21st Century.

Programs and courses provided by the School of Public Affairs offer interdisciplinary perspectives on important national and international issues and opportunities for students to work directly with our research-active faculty.

Our focus on systems-level analysis of complex problems and professional communication skills prepares students for a range of career outcomes in business, government, law, consulting, and non-governmental organizations at the national and international levels.

$4.8M

Research Funding FY25

Total value of award actions within specified dates on awards with a PI in the School of Public Affairs

1,750+

Students

Enrolled in degrees, minors, or immersions offered by the School of Public Affairs

49

Faculty

Teaching for programs offered by the School of Public Affairs

Degree Programs

Undergraduate Degrees

A criminal justice bachelor’s degree that explores issues of law and justice as you evaluate the intended and unintended consequences of criminal justice policies and decision-making.

Learn more about the Criminal Justice BS program

An economics bachelor’s degree prepares you to collect and analyze information, monitor economic trends, and develop forecasts to guide industries in making critical decisions.

Learn more about the Economics BS program

Examine complex problems, challenge ideas, and communicate clearly in RIT’s versatile philosophy degree.

Learn more about the Philosophy BS program

RIT’s Political Science BS integrates the fields of government and international relations to prepare you to become a principled leader and responsible citizen. 

Learn more about the Political Science BS program

Graduate Degree

Shape public policy in science, tech, energy, and environment through hands-on research.

Learn more about the Science, Technology, and Public Policy MS program

Minors and Immersions

More than 20 minors and immersions are offered by the School of Public Affairs. Click below to expand and read the full list of options offered within each discipline. 

The criminal justice immersion provides students with the appropriate foundation to analyze crime, crime control policy, and the role of the criminal justice system in the maintenance of order in society. Courses focus on the social definition and measurement of crime, a broad understanding of the causes of crime, and societal responses to crime through the police, courts, and corrections.

Learn more about the Criminal Justice Immersion program

The criminal justice minor provides a foundation in the formal process of social control through the criminal justice system, how behavior is defined as criminal, how crime is measured, and how society responds to crime.

Learn more about the Criminal Justice Minor program

The legal studies immersion provides students with a foundation in the study of law and legal institutions, and in the relationship of law to other aspects of society and culture. Courses provide a broad perspective on law and legal institutions including historical, ethical, sociological, political, and philosophical approaches to these areas.

Learn more about the Legal Studies Immersion program

Recognizing the critical role that law plays in societies, the minor in legal studies provides students with courses that deepen and expand their understanding of law as practiced, especially its influence on social, political, and economic institutions.

Learn more about the Legal Studies Minor program

The economics immersion provides a systematic analysis of economic issues through the study of the allocation of scarce resources into production and the distribution of production among the members of society.

Learn more about the Economics Immersion program

An economics minor provides a systematic analysis of economic issues through the study of the allocation of scarce resources into production and the distribution of production among the members of society.

Learn more about the Economics Minor program

The legal studies immersion provides students with a foundation in the study of law and legal institutions, and in the relationship of law to other aspects of society and culture. Courses provide a broad perspective on law and legal institutions including historical, ethical, sociological, political, and philosophical approaches to these areas.

Learn more about the Legal Studies Immersion program

Recognizing the critical role that law plays in societies, the minor in legal studies provides students with courses that deepen and expand their understanding of law as practiced, especially its influence on social, political, and economic institutions.

Learn more about the Legal Studies Minor program

Employers show a preference for effective communicators with strong analytic or logical reasoning skills. An immersion in analytic and expressive communication provides you with the opportunity to develop both oral and written communication abilities grounded in reasoned argument, which in turn contributes to your individual confidence and empathetic thinking. Courses in this immersion may rely in part upon great or transformative texts selected for their relevance for learning rhetoric, argument, critical thinking, and/or ethics, and have the option to incorporate activities in RIT’s Expressive Communication Center.

Learn more about the Analytic and Expressive Communication Immersion program

The ethics immersion teaches students to identify and critically consider ethical issues on both the theoretical and applied levels, including contemporary issues related to artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Students gain insights into how ethical problems can emerge from complex social structures and learn how strategic changes in these structures can help prevent ethical dilemmas.

Learn more about the Ethics Immersion program

The ethics minor provides students with the ability to recognize ethical issues and to think critically to resolve them, both generally and within their chosen discipline. Students also learn how ethical problems can result from complex social structures and how changing structural features may avoid ethical problems. Three courses in philosophy are required plus two electives from the approved list, at least one of which must be outside philosophy. Only one 100-level course may be counted as part of the minor.

Learn more about the Ethics Minor program

The global justice immersion examines attempts to create lasting peace and social justice on the international scale. Courses in philosophy and the social sciences help students to understand concepts of human rights, world poverty, and global solidarity. The immersion is well suited for students considering careers in law, politics, or public policy related fields.

Learn more about the Global Justice Immersion program

The philosophy immersion provides students with an opportunity to study the nature, methods, problems, and achievements of philosophical inquiry. The immersion emphasizes the following goals: the ability to think rationally and critically, an awareness of ethical values, an appreciation of aesthetic values, an awareness of how the past affects the present and future, and an understanding of the relationship between individuals and the social settings with which they interact.

Learn more about the Philosophy Immersion program

The philosophy minor provides students with the critical skill of philosophical analysis while they take courses on a wide variety of issues central to everyone’s existence. Students get a solid grasp of the major philosophers, movements, and topics of philosophical debate that continue to shape our lives and how we act.

Learn more about the Philosophy Minor program

Religion plays a major role in human affairs. To understand more fully the nature of the relationship between society and the individual, it is essential to have some understanding of religion. The religious studies immersion engages students in the study of religion from the perspective of major Western and non-Western traditions through courses in disciplines such as anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, and psychology.

Learn more about the Religious Studies Immersion program

Students are introduced to the fundamental principles, institutions, and issues of American government. In addition, the strengths and limitations of American constitutionalism are emphasized throughout and current political and policy questions facing the country are examined. The overarching intention of the immersion is to give students the necessary tools to deliberate upon the political questions of the day and to actively participate in the political process.

Learn more about the American Politics Immersion program

Study the basic principles and institutions of the American political order and their implications for current political practice. The strengths and limitations of American constitutionalism are emphasized throughout and contemporary political and policy questions facing the country are examined.

Learn more about the American Politics Minor program

An immersion in cyberpolitics allows students to explore linkages between politics and technology, particularly in cyberspace. Connections include the politics of network effects, cyberspace and extremism, the ethical implications of cyberwar, computing and the digital space as disruptors of traditional governance, the political implications of artificial intelligence, and more.

Learn more about the Cyberpolitics Immersion program

A minor in cyberpolitics enables you to explore linkages between politics and technology, particularly in cyberspace. Connections include the politics of network effects, cyberspace and extremism, the ethical implications of cyberwar, computing and the digital space as disruptors of traditional governance, the political implications of artificial intelligence, and more.

Learn more about the Cyberpolitics Minor program

The international relations immersion combines the study of the complexities and shifting trends of international politics with the study of the global system. Particular emphasis is placed on the interactions and interconnectedness of nation-states at the international level and other participants in international affairs, such as international organizations, non-governmental organizations, sub-national entities, and individual citizens. Global issues studied include democratization, international and regional conflicts, terrorism, international trade and economic integration, economic development, international law and organizations, and human rights.

Learn more about the International Relations Immersion program

The international relations minor helps students to make sense of the world through exploring ideas that have shaped it. Students explore the thoughts of various thinkers and approaches to international relations and use these perspectives to understand key themes in world politics. Important topics include democratization, globalization, terrorism, war and peace, human rights, and international law. Students reflect upon the interplay between domestic and international politics and how changes in the world order affect the internal politics of various countries.

Learn more about the International Relations Minor program

The political science immersion emphasizes the interdependence of domestic politics and international relations in the age of globalization. The immersion brings together components of American politics, international relations, and comparative politics to provide students with both national and global perspectives on politics. Perhaps most important, the political science immersion seeks to help students make sense of the increasingly complicated political environment that confronts them in their role as citizens.

Learn more about the Political Science Immersion program

The political science minor emphasizes the interdependence of domestic politics and international relations in the age of globalization. The minor brings together components of American politics, international relations, and comparative politics to provide students with both national and global perspectives on politics. Perhaps most important, the political science minor seeks to help students make sense of the increasingly complicated political environment that confronts them in their role as citizens.

Learn more about the Political Science Minor program

This immersion provides students with a clear understanding of public policy, the policy process, and policy analysis. Students have the opportunity to develop perspectives on a variety of contemporary public policy issues, especially those that emerge from scientific and technological advancements. 

Learn more about the Public Policy Immersion program

The public policy minor provides students with a foundation in the field of public policy and allows them to make connections between public policy and other fields of study. The minor underscores the role of public policy on science and technology-based problems. Students obtain a deeper understanding of public policy and the policy making process, how policy analysis impacts policymaking, and how public policies operate within a number of specific science or technological domains.

Learn more about the Public Policy Minor program

Faculty and Staff

Within the School of Public Affairs, directed by Eric Hittinger, departments are led by Jason Scott (Criminal Justice), Bharat Bhole (Economics), Lawrence Torcello (Philosophy), Ray Dongryul Kim (Political Science), and Eric Hittinger (Public Policy). 

Featured Work and Profiles

Latest News

  • June 8, 2026

    Hands bound by heavy chain sit on a black table with an ashtray of cigarette butts in the upper left corner.

    Rochester Business Journal publishes a commentary by Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics and head of the Department of Sustainability, exploring new research on the two-way relationship between cigarette addiction and educational attainment, and how tobacco policy may influence long-term educational outcomes. (This content will require a subscription to read.)

  • May 19, 2026

    students sit working at desks in a rural classroom in india

    Basis Point Insight features a column by Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics and head of the Department of Sustainability, examining how gaps in teacher subject knowledge in India may be affecting classroom learning outcomes and educational equity.