Rochester Institute of Technology
AC-4: Graduate Program

In the sustainability Ph.D. program, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from areas across the entire university to develop your own innovative approach to the field, building off of methodologies such as life cycle assessment, environmental risk and impact assessment, design for the environment, pollution prevention, closed loop supply chain management, and product life assessment. Moreover, you’ll work side-by-side with our world-renowned faculty who are avid researchers in diverse areas including biofuels, transportation, energy policy, resource recovery, smart products and systems, and more.

The Ph.D. degree helps you think innovatively about how sustainability can positively impact systems all over the world through big-picture solutions, from training future business leaders to maximizing natural resources. You don’t need a background in sustainability to join this program; you just need a desire to create positive change in the world. We bring in students of all ages, from all backgrounds—from biotechnology to business—and from all over the world. You’ll also find a wide range of experience—many of the program’s students have more than 10 years of career experience and/or education when they enroll.

Sustainable systems accepts students from any academic background and encompasses a wide range of interdisciplinary studies in sustainability science. Here, you won’t be restricted to one sustainability topic or methodology. You will comprehensively learn and experience the methods that lead to environmental, social, technological, and business success, working one-on-one with a faculty advisor to tailor the degree to your sustainability interests.

In the sustainable systems MS, you will start with a broad foundation of knowledge in environmental life cycle assessment, sustainable decision making, economic and policy strategies, and more. Then, you will have the opportunity to customize your degree in areas that suit your interests and career goals—such as renewable energy or mobility—as well as get the hands-on experience that employers are seeking. In as little as one year of study, you will be prepared to make sustainability decisions that you can apply to any career.

Sustainability concerns are changing how we think about architecture. Buildings account for a large percentage of the world’s energy expenditures and carbon emissions, which has driven demand for more sustainable architecture. In RIT’s accredited master of architecture program, we’re moving sustainability forward to elevate the value of architectural design. As a student here, you’ll learn how to design with context and substance in areas such as positive energy, performance building, climate-responsive designs, passive resiliency, and more.

Our accredited architecture program offers an immersive program focused on investigating the complexity of designing buildings with people, space, and the environment in mind. Whether you have a background in the building design sector or are new to the field, the program will prepare you for a path to positively contribute to the design of tomorrow’s buildings, neighborhoods, and communities.

Our program offers foundation courses as well as more in-depth classes exploring integrated building systems, urban planning, industrial ecology, and more. You’ll also have the flexibility to choose electives in other subject areas based on your unique talents and career goals, such as business, engineering, energy, or additional design skills.

Sustainable Engineering MS https://www.rit.edu/study/sustainable-engineering-ms
Environmental Health and Safety Management MS https://www.rit.edu/study/environmental-health-and-safety-management-ms
Environmental Science MS https://www.rit.edu/study/environmental-science-ms

The MS degree in science, technology, and public policy enables you to work at the intersection of engineering, science, technology, and public policy. The program builds on RIT’s strengths as a technological university, enabling students to interact with faculty and researchers who are working on scientific developments and technological innovations that drive new public policy considerations. This technology policy master's degree is interdisciplinary and draws significantly from disciplines and courses throughout RIT. It is geared toward producing graduates who will make significant contributions in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. All students in the program complete a set of policy core courses that emphasize analysis, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary approaches. Students work with an adviser to choose electives that focus their policy studies in a particular area, such as environmental policy, climate change policy, health care policy, STEM education policy, telecommunications policy, or energy policy. The program consists of required core courses, elective courses, and the completion of a thesis or comprehensive exam. The thesis option allows students to work with a faculty adviser on an independent research project in their area of interest.

Technical training and retraining for artists and printmaking professionals seeking a comprehensive working knowledge of non-toxic printmaking techniques, including a study of methodology and aesthetic applications. In the advanced certificate in non-toxic printmaking, you’ll learn the fundamentals of print creation, and applied skills for current and emerging industry and career demands. Students incorporate industry best practices and principles through the design and production of printmaking projects.

A mechanical engineering master's degree that focuses on the in-depth examination of dynamics, robotics, nanotechnology, biomechanics, and energy systems to prepare you to enter a career in industry or research.

All students must develop a focus area of study, with prior approval from their advisor and the department head. The focus area should consist of at least 9 semester credit hours of graduate study in mechanical engineering and be related to the student’s technical and professional development interests. Examples of focus areas include automotive systems, business, controls, manufacturing, mechanics-design/materials, product development, sustainability, thermo/fluids engineering, and vibrations engineering.