Develop an Immersion

Immersions are intended to provide opportunities for learning outside of an undergraduate student’s major area and consist of a series of three related general education courses (nine credits) that will complement a student’s program but may not overlap with program requirements. Students can take the immersion courses anytime (if they meet the pre/co-requisites) and declare the immersion later, provided that they are not in an excluded major.

The new immersion must be prepared using the Immersion Proposal Form.

Before proposing a new immersion, review the General Education Requirements for Immersions and Criteria for Immersions (RIT login required).

• Immersions require students to complete a minimum of nine credits and three courses.
• Immersions should offer enough choices and offerings of courses for students to be able to complete the immersion in a timely way. Proposed immersions with very few and/or infrequently offered courses may be returned for revision and require the addition of more courses. Note that seats in a course may be reserved for students within an immersion if there are capacity concerns.
• To ensure that students can complete an immersion in a timely way, courses in Immersions should not include significant nested prerequisites, such that students must complete courses that are not part of the immersion. 
• Requiring entry-level General Education courses (such as Perspectives) prior to the immersion is permissible (e.g. first year language courses, or first year science courses).
• Disciplinary immersions should include at least one 300+ level required course. 
• If the immersion includes courses from multiple academic units, then each unit (and college, if applicable) must approve the immersion before it is submitted to the GEC for approval.
• Immersions are intended to be opportunities for student exploration outside of their programs. Students in a related program, or in a program requiring one or more classes in the immersion curriculum, should be excluded from the Immersion.

• Before a new immersion can be approved by the General Education Committee, all courses within the immersion be approved for General Education credit. 
• To submit a series of courses for a General Education Immersion, the Immersion Proposal Form must first be approved by the curriculum committees associated with the proposing academic unit(s), and then the college(s) or center(s) where the courses are offered. 
• Once these approvals are in place, the Immersion Proposal Form must be sent to the Chairperson of the General Education Committee by the college’s GEC representative. View the contact information for the current GEC Chairperson and college representatives.

• If the GEC approves the proposed new immersion, the GEC Chair will send the approved immersion proposal to the Office of the Vice Provost.
  • The Office of the Vice Provost will request a plan code from the Registrar’s Office and send an official campus notification, and the proposal, to the Registrar’s Office, Marketing and Communications, the applicable Dean and Associate Dean, and the GEC Chairperson.
  • The new immersion will be added to the undergraduate bulletin and RIT Programs of Study website during the annual bulletin process.
  • After the new immersion is approved and implemented, it will appear on RIT’s List of Approved Immersions where students can click on an immersion to view an overview and curriculum.