School of Design
Overview
The School of Design is ranked among the best, with Business Week naming it one of the top 10 design schools in the country. Effective design combined with creativity and professionalism are the school’s tenets. Using both technological and theoretical approaches to find solutions to design problems, students work with award-winning faculty who are creatives, critical thinkers, and innovative problem-solvers. Students have access to state-of-the art laboratories and computer facilities as well as the Cary Graphic Arts Collection and the entire archive of renowned designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli, housed in RIT’s Vignelli Center for Design Studies.
6
Number of designs from the industrial design program’s Metaproject senior studio that are currently in production through various companies.
12
Our Fab Lab is equipped with 12 3D printers - in addition to laser cutters, CNC routing devices and other technology - to complete submitted projects by students, faculty, and staff.
20
Faculty are professional members or affiliates of more than 20 national, international, and local organizations.
Latest News
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June 17, 2025
RPL rolls out new library on wheels
Rochester Beacon reports on RPL GO!, a new library vehicle in the Rochester Public Library system. The design was in part created by students in RIT's College of Art and Design.
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June 16, 2025
Alumna keeps watchful design eye on ESPN streaming experiences
As a lead product designer for the Walt Disney Company, Becky Yaeger '18 (new media design) and her team focus on the user experience (UX) of browsing, finding, and watching sports content across ESPN's apps and sites.
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June 12, 2025
The real reasons your appliances die young
The New York Times interviews Alex Lobos, director of the School of Design, about the product designs of appliances that consumers are looking for.
Featured Work and Profiles
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German Design Fellowship
Daeya Shealy '21 (Industrial Design) earned a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals fellowship to study and work as a designer in Germany for one year.
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Building a Virtual Production Curriculum
Supported by MegaGrant from Epic Games, MAGIC Spell Studios has brought groundbreaking research and filmmaking techniques to RIT.
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New Media Design Portfolio Showcase
How can design do good? From games, apps and installations, students from the New Media Design program create exciting new experiences.
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Portfolio Showcase
Visual Communication Design MFA students to dive deep into emerging and future design, technology, interaction and motion trends.
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Medical Device Designs
RIT students in the Industrial Design (BFA and MFA) and Graphic Design programs showcased the power of industry partnership as they worked with medical technology company Stryker to design home...
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3D Digital Design Reel
A compilation of student work from the last few years.
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Undergraduate Programs
Innovative and creative design solutions that enrich the ways in which people live, work, and play is the emphasis of the school’s undergraduate programs. The school offers BFA programs in 3D digital design, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, and new media design.
Graduate Programs
The School of Design offers two MFA programs and an MS program. The MFA in visual communication design focuses on all areas of design, including graphic design, user experience/interaction design, design studies, motion graphics, and 3D digital design. The MFA in industrial design includes seminar courses in design history and research and studio courses focusing on sustainability and design process. Meanwhile, the MS in integrative design establishes a variety of creative design thinking techniques in multiple areas.
Student Resources
For internal College of Art and Design resources such as academic information, forms, FAQs and more, visit inside.cad.rit.edu. For information about academic advising, visit here.