Introduction
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has undergone what can only be described as a “renaissance.” From its roots as the oldest technological research university in the English-speaking world, RPI has launched an ambitious agenda of renewal and growth. The university has transformed itself through expanding research initiatives, massive campus building projects, and growing academic programs. Breathtaking new facilities, such as the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center and the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, have set the tone for a new vision for Rensselaer as a premier research university in the twenty-first century. RPI is located in New York State’s Hudson-Mohawk Valley, just a few miles north of the capital city of Albany. The university sits on a 275-acre hilltop in the city of Troy, overlooking the Hudson River. Troy provides easy driving access to New York, Boston, and Montreal, as well as the beauty and recreation of the nearby Adirondack Mountains. The campus community is one of intellectual discovery, research, and bold exploration; from engineers and scientists to artists and entrepreneurs. Students at RPI are ambitious, original, fun, and intelligent with a global perspective and sense of citizenship. The university offers academic programs across a wide range of disciplines: engineering, the sciences, business, architecture, information technology, humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
RPI was founded in 1824 as “The Rensselaer School,” the first academic institution of its kind. Stephen Van Rensselaer, visionary of the Erie Canal, created the school for the instruction of “the application of science to the common purposes of life.” That mantra has propelled Rensselaer forward as a unique institution of higher education for more than 180 years. Over time, RPI graduates have done amazing things, from building the Brooklyn Bridge to masterminding the first moon landing. They have established and led successful enterprises, from Texas Instruments (inventors of the first silicon transistor) to Vicarious Visions (creators of Guitar Hero). At Rensselaer, students walk in the footsteps of pioneers— and become pioneers themselves.
If you have those kinds of ambitions, you will find great satisfaction at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. You will enjoy access to world-class research facilities, and work alongside exceptionally talented researchers on challenges that range from eradicating cholera to combating global warming. Whether you study mechanical engineering or music, bioinformatics or business, Rensselaer is a place for those who yearn to fulfill their dreams, and change the world in the process.
As a top-tier research university, Rensselaer has produced some of the foremost entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries in the world. The undergraduate experience provides our students with the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our distinguished graduates, and equips them to be driving forces behind the world’s next great innovations. Our campus culture supports an environment that encourages discovery, creativity, innovation, and diversity. Students learn and grow inside and outside the classroom through myriad opportunities to explore new interests and passions while forming lifelong friendships and social connections with their peers. The robust living-learning experience students find at Rensselaer prepares them for academic achievement, entrepreneurship, creative expression, and global leadership. This is where great adventures begin.
