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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is the nation’s oldest and one of the world’s most renowned technological research universities. Since its founding in 1824, students, faculty, and alumni have been defining the scientific and technological advances of our world. Today, RPI is recognized as a premier university, noted for its robust and holistic learning community that connects creativity with science and technology. Its 200-year history of innovative pedagogy continues today, and students come to RPI to learn to invent for the future, solve the toughest problems facing humanity and our planet, and deliver life-changing innovation. RPI is the first university to have an IBM Quantum System One on campus.
RPI offers degrees from five schools: Engineering, Science, Architecture, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS), and the Lally School of Management, as well as an interdisciplinary degree in Information Technology and Web Science. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. The Institute’s long standing reputation drew students from 48 states (as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and 57 foreign countries in the fall of 2022.
RPI offers more than 146 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Students are encouraged to work in interdisciplinary programs that allow them to combine scholarly work from several departments or schools. The university provides rigorous, engaging, interactive learning environments and campus-wide opportunities for leadership, collaboration, and creativity at its campus in Troy, New York, as well as several research centers located in New York City.
The RPI Forward Plan
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At RPI, our DNA is one of groundbreaking innovation, bold ideas, and enduring impact. In 2024, we celebrated our 200th anniversary—a milestone that not only honored our storied past but also reaffirmed our commitment to shaping the future. Now, as we embark on our third century, we stand ready to redefine what it means to lead in higher education.
RPI holds an important place in history as the first and longest-running technical university in the United States. Guided by the vision of our founder—”educating the sons and daughters of farmers … and instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life”—we have consistently pushed boundaries and embraced the transformative power of knowledge.
Today, we face a world more interconnected, complex, and dynamic than ever before. It is our moment to reimagine this vision for today and tomorrow’s world and to seize the opportunity to create and sustain a culture of research and a curiosity-driven community of learning, respect, inclusivity, and inquiry.
Our new strategic plan, RPI Forward, charts a pioneering course for the next era of RPI. We will break down traditional silos, rethink outdated binaries—research versus teaching, educating versus learning, and arts versus science—and forge a new polytechnic model. This vision will adapt to the evolving needs of the 21st century and set a standard that others will aspire to follow.
RPI Forward is anchored by five strategic pillars: Education, Research, Translation, Regional Engagement, and Welcoming and Inclusive Community. These pillars are guided by a clear vision that by 2034, RPI will be recognized as the premier science and engineering university for its robust community of learning at the confluence of creativity, science, and technology in service to society’s greatest challenges.
A five-year roadmap defines our near-term focus on three key priorities: strengthening enrollment and student success, facilitating and growing research impact, and enhancing alumni and community engagement.
To learn more, visit rpi.edu/rpiforward
RPI students have a well-deserved reputation as leaders and problem solvers. They embody the Institute’s mission—to solve problems, make a difference, and change the world.
For the 2022–2023 academic year, RPI enrolled 6,236 undergraduates and 1,090 graduate students in residence on the Troy campus, as well as 103 working professionals.
Self-identified underrepresented minorities account for 20 percent of the undergraduate student body and 12 percent at the graduate level. Women represented 31 percent of the undergraduate cohort and 34 percent of the graduate cohort. Among the class of 2026, 54 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
RPI student-athletes belong to 21 NCAA intercollegiate teams (men’s and women’s ice hockey compete at the Division I level; all others compete in Division III), scores of intramural teams, and over 200 clubs.
Approximately 26 percent of RPI graduates pursue graduate school within a year. The average starting salary for RPI bachelor’s degree recipients in 2022 was $85,938, well above the national average.
RPI has ranked among the top 51 universities in the U.S. for 17 consecutive years, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Academic Approach and Educational Innovations
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RPI is anchored by two vibrant roots:
- One root, written into the school’s founding documents, is “…the application of science to the common purposes of life.” This kept the focus on engineering solutions to national and international needs and challenges. RPI graduates constructed the canals, roads, bridges, skyscrapers, and basic infrastructure of America, which helped to form the basis for 20th-century society.
- The second root, also built into the school’s origin, is the employment of unique educational strategies. In the earliest days, after initial instruction, students taught what they knew to each other — since teaching reinforces learning. Likewise, students performed scientific experiments — rather than watch faculty conduct them, as had been the common practice.
Today RPI students are well-equipped not only to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors but also to blaze new paths. They are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary studies and conduct research, even as undergraduates. And they have ample opportunities to develop as leaders, problem solvers, and doers—to do their part to fulfill the Institute’s promise and to change the world.
RPI’s approach to education prepares students for leadership and for life. Students benefit from an innovative technological educational experience that extends beyond traditional classroom or campus boundaries. Comprehensive educational and research programs cut across academic disciplines, giving students the opportunity to learn and to grow into world leaders in their chosen fields.
As part of these efforts to adapt and enhance opportunities for unique educational experiences, RPI has introduced The Arch. Through the addition of a full summer semester and a junior “away” semester, this program adds flexibility to the undergraduate curriculum and exceptional experiences for student development and growth.
By restructuring the academic calendar, The Arch offers expanded opportunities for experiential learning to complement curricular and co-curricular offerings. The calendar provides for rising juniors to attend a full summer semester between their sophomore and junior years, followed by an “away” semester taken during either the fall or spring of the junior year. This allows students to take advantage of the numerous curriculum-related and real-world learning activities available off campus, including international travel, internships, co-ops, research opportunities, and engagement in community service projects.
The Arch program seeks to develop students who are global, multicultural, and self-aware leaders; critical and creative thinkers; exceptional communicators; and inventive and enterprising problem solvers who are prepared to lead in addressing the challenges and opportunities of society.
For more detailed information on The Arch, see the Educational Programs and Resources section of this catalog.
RPI’s nearly 500 faculty members form a collaborative and interdisciplinary community. They work closely with students on basic research, problem-solving, and dynamic classroom instruction.
The faculty includes National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipients and members of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.
RPI faculty are dedicated educators and innovators, constantly improving curricula and developing active learning environments. Often organized into multidisciplinary “constellations,” teams include senior faculty, early-career researchers, and students at all levels.
Research at RPI addresses the world’s greatest challenges: sustainability, health, energy, infrastructure, and more. The Institute fosters inquiry through interdisciplinary collaboration across departments, schools, and research centers.
Key platforms include the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, the Center for Computational Innovations, and the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. RPI also maintains partnerships with academic institutions, industry, and government.
RPI supports student research at all levels through programs like the Undergraduate Research Program and offers opportunities in labs, clubs, and coursework. Graduate students contribute to innovations in health, sustainability, and the social implications of technology.
In April 2024, RPI and IBM launched the world’s first IBM Quantum System One on a university campus. This collaboration supports quantum research, education, and workforce development across the region and beyond.
Notice Regarding Intellectual Property All members of the RPI community, including, but not limited to, graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, administration, visiting scholars and scientists, and guests, are bound by the RPI intellectual property policy. For additional information about intellectual research, click here.
RPI has a strong tradition of technological entrepreneurship. Faculty, students, and alumni regularly translate discoveries into applications and ventures that create value.
The Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the Rensselaer Technology Park are national models. The Severino Center works with campus partners to support entrepreneurship courses, mentoring, speaker series, workshops, and competitions like the Change the World Challenge and the Elevator Pitch Competition.
RPI’s main campus in Troy, New York, overlooks the Hudson River and is centrally located with access to New York City, Boston, and Montreal. The area offers a range of recreational and cultural opportunities, including nearby mountains for hiking and skiing and performance venues like the Troy Music Hall and Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
RPI also operates:
- The Darrin Fresh Water Institute on Lake George
- The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) in New York City
- The Institute for Energy, the Built Environment, and Smart Systems (EBESS)
- The Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (CEPM)
Rensselaer at Work offers graduate programs to working professionals through an online, project-based format, with alumni in leadership roles worldwide.
The campus features:
- A 276-acre main campus
- State-of-the-art research centers
- The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center
- The East Campus Athletic Village
- The Mueller Center fitness facility
- Undergraduate and graduate housing, including Blitman Commons and City Station
- The 1,250-acre Rensselaer Technology Park with 77 companies and over 2,000 employees
RPI’s 276-acre Troy campus and its off-site facilities support the exploration, discovery, learning, and enrichment of our students and faculty. In the past 15 years, we have completed $750 million in new construction, renovation of facilities, and technology upgrades for research, teaching, and student life.
The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is a 218,000-square-foot facility that contains laboratories for molecular biology, analytical biochemistry, microbiology, imaging, histology, tissue and cell culture, proteomics, and scientific computing and visualization.
The Center for Computational Innovations houses one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. It advances semiconductor technology to the nanoscale, it enables key nanotechnology innovations, and it supports research in the fields of energy, biotechnology and the life sciences, new materials, arts, medicine, cognitive science, computer science, engineering design, and computational science and engineering.
The 220,000-square-foot Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center is a platform for the largely unexplored territory where art, science, and technology come together in ways that empower the creation of entirely new work that cannot be done anywhere else. Its linkage to the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and to the Center for Computational Innovations is propelling RPI to the scientific, engineering, and artistic frontiers of the 21st century.
The East Campus Athletic Village supports RPI students’ overall development and enhances the student experience. The complex includes a multipurpose stadium with seating for 5,200 spectators, a basketball arena with seating for 1,200, upgrades to the Houston Field House, and expanded and updated playing fields. The facilities are designed to meet the needs of current students, more than 75 percent of whom participate in athletic activities on campus.
Indoor and outdoor athletic facilities include the Houston Field House, which is the home of the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s Engineers ice hockey teams. The Mueller Center, a 32,000-square-foot fitness center, houses more than 40 pieces of aerobic exercise equipment.
RPI provides accommodations for more than 3,700 students in a variety of living environments. The newest residence facility for undergraduates is the Howard N. Blitman, P.E. ‘50 Residence Commons situated at the bottom of the Rensselaer Approach, the century-old granite staircase that symbolizes the connection between the city of Troy and the Institute. Blitman offers expanded housing options for RPI sophomores, while bringing approximately 300 students downtown to engage in the vibrant community of Troy.
College Suites at City Station is a housing community in Troy built for RPI juniors, seniors and graduate students, located within walking distance of campus.
The 1,250-acre Rensselaer Technology Park is home to 77 companies and 2,157 employees, representing a wide diversity of technologies including physics, electronics, biotechnology, and software. Park tenants collaborate with faculty and students on research projects, making the site a “living laboratory.”
RPI supports student development through first-year programs, academic advising, career services, leadership training, and global opportunities. Technology plays a central role, with robust IT support, laptop requirements, and advanced computing infrastructure.
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a national initiative to provide more access to online courses while maintaining compliance standards with state regulatory agencies. SARA allows institutions to provide online courses outside of their own state borders by seeking and maintaining state approvals via a streamlined process. To learn more about SARA, visit: nc-sara.org. New York State is a member of SARA, and Rensselaer has been approved for participation by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).
None of Rensselaer’s distance learning programs lead to licensure or certification.
Distance Learning Complaint Process for Out-of-State Students
Students residing in states other than New York while enrolled in a course offered by Rensselaer are encouraged to contact their academic department to resolve the matter informally, or they may follow the Report a Concern complaint process prior to filing a complaint with their state agency or agencies. If a complaint related to distance education (not issues related to grades or examinations) is not resolved satisfactorily within the Institute, then students may also file a complaint with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) (http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university) which oversees higher education in New York State. A student may appeal the institution’s decision to the SARA State Portal Entity in New York State within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made.
Contact Information:
New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
Supervisor of Higher Education Programs
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
Ph: 518-474-1551
Email: IHEAuthorize@nysed.gov
More information about the student complaint process can be found on the NC-SARA website at https://www.nc-sara.org/sara-student-complaints-0. Please note that SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades or student conduct violations.
RPI has more than 110,000 living alumni and alumnae who are active in a broad range of professions. The RPI Alumni Association fosters lifelong connections through events, mentoring, and engagement with current students and university leadership.
RPI is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Professional accreditations include:
RPI admits qualified students regardless of age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national or ethnic origin, or veteran status.
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