Pillar: Transformative Student Experiences and Success
Empower students to lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving world by expanding our experiential, interdisciplinary, and collective approach to education and fostering their development as well-rounded, future-ready individuals.
RIT’s unique educational model is built on the belief that personal growth and professional success are inseparable. We offer the best of both worlds: the proven results of a dynamic, cutting-edge curriculum that evolves alongside global industry and the boundless opportunities of a vibrant, interdisciplinary campus where curiosity and the joy of learning fuel exploration. Our approach has long been anchored by one of the nation’s premier co-op programs—a cornerstone that will remain central to many RIT degrees. Yet the future calls for an even broader definition of learning by doing.
We are expanding our experiential learning approach beyond the traditional workplace to create transformative student experiences that foster leadership, creativity, and resilience. At RIT, experiential learning is a vast ecosystem, where students gain real-world experience in their field while simultaneously exploring their curiosity through immersive research, high-tech makerspaces, and engagement in student organizations. This evolution empowers students to pursue passions while preparing for their professions.
By balancing academic rigor with a culture of curiosity, we will prepare our graduates for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow, including careers and fields yet to be imagined. This work will be powered by the dedication and expertise of our faculty and staff—the mentors, innovators, advisors, and guides who bring learning to life and provide support for students to thrive. Together, we will ensure our graduates are ready to purposefully lead and succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Strategic Action:
Enhance Our Signature Learning Approach
Enhance our experiential learning approach, deepening the integration of technology, the arts, and design in our curricula to educate students who will lead with creativity and purpose in a rapidly changing AI-enabled world.
RIT will refine our curricula to more deeply integrate technology, the arts, and design across disciplines, fostering the critical thinking, communication, digital fluency, financial literacy, and creative problem-solving skills demanded by the 21st century global economy. We are reshaping our general education framework, creating an innovative core that is anchored in a shared first-year experience.
This robust, interdisciplinary approach includes collaborative project-based experiences that mirror the complexity and diversity of the professional world. This signature learning approach will ensure that every RIT graduate possesses the technical mastery, creative confidence, and adaptability to lead change and tackle society’s most pressing challenges.
Strategic Action:
Create and Expand Academic Programs with Industry and Community Insight
Build on RIT’s strong reputation for career readiness, expanding academic programs in high-demand fields. We will deepen collaboration with industry and community partners to prepare students for the future of work and to meet evolving workforce needs.
Collaboration with industry and community partners has been a cornerstone of an RIT education since its founding. By deepening our relationship with employers and community organizations, we will design and grow academic offerings that anticipate shifting market trends and meet the demands of a rapidly changing workforce. We will build on our reputation for career readiness by introducing and/or expanding academic programs in high-growth areas such as artificial intelligence, the health and clinical sciences, and film and animation while continuing to strengthen our foundation in engineering, computing, science, and the arts. These offerings will serve both degree-seeking and non-degree students, ensuring lifelong learning opportunities. Ultimately, this approach promotes RIT as a leader in flexible, future-focused education, blending academic rigor with real-world insight to meet workforce needs, offer cutting-edge programs, and empower students and learners of all ages throughout their careers.
Strategic Action:
Increase Flexibility in Existing Academic Degree Programs
Increase flexibility within existing degree programs and encourage curricular innovation, boundary crossing, and exploration by breaking down barriers and incentivizing collaboration across departments and colleges.
RIT will build on current efforts to make academic pathways more adaptable, empowering students to explore across disciplines and customize their educational experience to meet their professional aspirations. Over the next decade, we will work to reduce barriers that limit curricular innovation and create space for students and faculty to chart individualized paths within and across degree programs.
We will work to expand flexibility within our majors, allowing students to tailor their course work to integrate diverse interests. By breaking down structural barriers and incentivizing collaboration across colleges, RIT will create a more dynamic academic environment where students can combine fields, pursue passions, and graduate with skills that reflect both depth and breadth. This flexibility will position RIT graduates to thrive in a world that values adaptability and interdisciplinary expertise.
Strategic Action:
Build on Our Strength in Cooperative Education, Enhance and Refine Our Approach to Experiential Learning
Elevate RIT’s commitment to experiential learning through a broader set of beyond-classroom experiences, embedding research, co-ops, service, and project-based learning within local and global ecosystems.
We recognize that no two students are the same, and their experiences shouldn’t be, either. We will elevate RIT’s commitment to experiential learning through a broader set of experiences that go beyond the classroom, including research, service, global engagement, entrepreneurship, project-based work, co-curricular activities, and leadership development.
We will also explore platforms that enable students to easily capture, reflect on, and share their accomplishments across both academic and co-curricular settings. All students will have the opportunity to engage in authentic, real-world problem-solving and personal growth during their time at RIT. This ensures experiential learning is not only a hallmark of an RIT education but a powerful differentiator that prepares graduates for success in an interconnected world.
Strategic Action:
Ensure Student Success and Growth
Ensure high student retention and graduation rates, and equip students with the tools, resilience, and leadership skills needed to thrive in their educational journey and beyond.
The university will advance student success through a coordinated, data-informed approach that emphasizes mentoring, academic support, career readiness, and a strong sense of community. We will expand access to mentorship opportunities, strengthen outreach to students who need additional support, and continuously review academic policies to ensure they promote persistence and timely graduation. Our efforts will include evaluating programs that impact student performance in foundational courses and enhancing career services to prepare students for success beyond graduation. At the same time, we will foster a vibrant campus community where students feel connected, supported, and engaged—creating an environment where every student can thrive academically, professionally, and personally.
Humans Are The Nuts and Bolts of RIT Robotics Research
RIT has been advancing robotics for decades. Today, a human-centered design approach drives research and education, ensuring robots make safe, intelligent decisions that support people and manufacturing processes. Students and researchers integrate vision systems, advanced automation, sensors, and control systems across dozens of undergraduate and graduate programs. Robotics content is also offered through minors, concentrations, and courses available to non-engineering majors campus-wide.
What’s Being Made in RIT’s SHED?
Star Wars–inspired 3D models, remote-controlled aircraft, smart crutches, and brainwave-controlled wheelchairs are just a few projects taking shape in RIT’s SHED. With seven specialized workshops—from laser cutting and 3D printing to metal, wood, textiles, electronics, and performing arts—the SHED fosters hands-on creativity, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and innovation.
Vertically Integrated Projects Connect Students with Faculty for Real-World Research
RIT’s Vertically Integrated Projects Program brings together multidisciplinary student teams and faculty mentors to tackle initiatives in areas like virtual reality, gaming, and accessibility. Students earn academic credit while contributing to faculty-led research, gaining hands-on experience, developing teamwork skills, and advancing their professional development. The program allows students to stay involved for multiple semesters, enabling them to deepen their expertise.
Performing Arts at the Intersection of Talent, Technology, and Deaf Culture
More than 800 first‑year students became RIT Performing Arts Scholars in fall 2025. Their work is elevated by the integration of Deaf culture and technology, where the National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s (NTID) vibrant community intersects with cutting‑edge spaces like the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) and the new Performing Arts Center. By weaving ASL, digital media, and inclusive design into live performance, RIT shows how innovation and accessibility shape a dynamic creative ecosystem.