News by Topic: Interdisciplinary Studies

At RIT, combining aspects from different fields of study is the best way to make world-changing discoveries and find creative ways to solve problems. RIT encouraged collaboration across academic programs and departments to encourage creative thinking and innovation.

  • February 2, 2024

    college student watching professor looking at a stack of wood lengthwise.

    Students lean into technology and design to improve the environment

    Students in Campus Ecology explored how culture, art, science, and design influence their views and understandings of nature. They also discussed how interdisciplinary collaboration and leaning into the intersection of technology, the arts, and design could improve communication and understanding of ecological concepts and sustainability goals.

  • February 2, 2024

    artist guiding a college student using a pole to rotate molten glass in a hot shop.

    Students embark on ‘bite-sized creative adventures’

    The trial-and-error process of artisan crafts like throwing clay on a pottery wheel or carving a wood sculpture is something that students outside of RIT’s art and design programs may not be familiar with. Through a new program called RIT Art Experience (ArtEx), students from across the university can enjoy hands-on creative exploration with a variety of artistic media ranging from ceramics and wood to molten metal and glass.

  • February 2, 2024

    college student runs a vintage printing press, making a poster that says thinkers, makers, printers in gold ink.

    Maker community fills the new SHED

    RIT’s makerspace capacity has grown exponentially from a crowded room on the fourth floor in an engineering building to three floors in the centrally located SHED. New last fall, the SHED complex showcases different kinds of making and learning under one roof—in workshops, performing arts spaces, and extra-large classrooms designed for active learning.

  • January 26, 2024

    a student dancing in front of a monitor which shows real time motion capture.

    RIT set to host the a2ru 2024 national conference in November

    RIT is set to welcome researchers and educators from across the U.S. and North and South America during the 2024 a2ru national conference. The conference will take place Nov. 14-16, and session proposals are being accepted online with a deadline of March 15 to submit.

  • December 15, 2023

    five people sitting on couches and chairs in a room playing a video game on a large screen.

    ‘That Damn Goat’ now available for purchase on Steam

    That Damn Goat, a game created by nearly 60 students and faculty at RIT, is now available for purchase on Steam. The students and faculty who have worked on the game come from across RIT’s nine colleges, making it a truly multidisciplinary effort.

  • December 13, 2023

    crowd of protestors walking down a street with signs that read, defund the police, and skin color is not reasonable suspicion.

    Resistance Mapping project provides a digital home for antiracist educational resources for K-12 educators

    Resistance Mapping is a local, collaborative digital humanities project focused on how Monroe County, N.Y., has been shaped by histories of institutional racism and collective community resistance. Scholars and students affiliated with RIT’s humanities, computing, and design program and the University of Rochester’s Digital Scholarship at River Campus Libraries helped create a website to host the educational content.

  • December 11, 2023

    five people crowded around a table as another spins a prize wheel.

    RIT Archives hosts The Athenaeum Games

    The Athenaeum Games—a domestic science fair held Dec. 7 in the RIT Archives—showcased 19th century skills and technology that RIT students learned about in the class Hands on History: Examining RIT’s Domestic Science and Arts Program.

  • December 6, 2023

    Computer generated image of a man with glasses and layers of images composed on top of his shirt in an artsy way.

    Generative AI is changing education

    Like many fields, the world of academia is wrestling with the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI tools. While a few K-12 school districts, international universities, and businesses have attempted to ban the use of AI tools, RIT is acknowledging that it’s here to stay and can be used as a force for good.