Rochester Institute of Technology

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was founded in 1829 by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester to promote the learning of literature, science and the arts to the local community, and to offer public lectures and debates.

The modern RIT is a privately endowed, coeducational university set in 1,300 acres of land in suburban Rochester – the third-largest city in New York state – with around 15,400 undergraduate and 3,200 graduate students in attendance.

RIT prides itself on having a diverse campus and outlook. Its students come from all 50 US states and represent more than 100 countries. About 2,700 are international students and an additional 1,700 students are enrolled at its international campuses in Eastern Europe, Dubai, and China.

The university comprises nine colleges and emphasises career focussed, technological education. Among them is the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which supports more than 1,200 students who are deaf or hard of hearing, offering specialised programmes, job placements and support services that is, say RIT, unique among any higher educational institution the world over. 

The main RIT campus is located six miles from downtown Rochester, giving students access to big city resources within a smaller and more accessible environment. New York City, Boston and Philadelphia are a six hour drive away, while Niagara Falls and Toronto are much closer.

As a career-focused university, RIT students benefit from the close proximity of several high-tech, communications and manufacturing companies (many of them Fortune 500) that are located in Rochester.

In addition to RIT’s international campuses, study abroad opportunities are also available via its partnerships with universities throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

RIT athletic teams are known as the Tigers and a Bengal tiger, known as ‘Ritchie’, acts as their mascot.

Every Friday at RIT is designated ‘Spirit Day’, when staff and students wear clothes in the university colours of orange and brown.