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The Institute

The oldest degree-granting technological university in North America, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was founded in 1824 for the purpose of instructing persons in the application of science to the common purposes of life. Rensselaer has become one of the worlds premier technological research universities, offering more than 144 programs and 1,000 courses that lead to bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. Undergraduates pursue their studies in the Schools of Architecture, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management and Technology, and Science and in the multidisciplinary area of information technology (IT). As a pioneer in interactive learning, Rensselaer has a long tradition of providing real-world, hands-on educational experiences to its students. Many of the courses cut across academic disciplines. Students have ready access to laboratories and often work in teams on research projects. Classes involve lively discussion, problem solving, and faculty mentoring, which encourages students to formulate new ideas and new discoveries. Rensselaers approach to education has created generations of graduates who are known for their ability to solve some of the worlds most challenging technical problems.

Rensselaers 5,000 undergraduate and 1,200 graduate students are a bright, ambitious, and technologically savvy group who come from forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and sixty-seven other countries. A wide variety of nonacademic activities, virtually all of which are run by the students, is available. There are thirty-three fraternities and sororities, a weekly newspaper, a progressive 10,000-watt FM stereo station, dramatics groups, musical ensembles, and more than 160 clubs, special-interest groups, professional societies, sports, and organizations. More than 5,000 students participate in twenty-four intramural sports. Rensselaer is a member of the NCAA. Varsity sports include Division I mens and womens ice-hockey teams and twenty-one Division III mens and womens teams in twelve sports. Recreational facilities include the Mueller Fitness Center, an indoor track, all-weather track and field facilities, handball and squash courts, weight rooms, several indoor tennis courts, and two swimming pools. The Student Union, Chapel and Cultural Center, and Houston Field House bring many forms of entertainment and nationally known performing groups and lecturers to the campus.

The Office of the First-Year Experience offers a comprehensive array of programs and initiatives for both students and their primary support team that begins before students arrive on campus and continues well beyond their first year. This office sponsors the Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond orientation program, family programs, community service, and the Information and Personal Assistance Center (IPAC), along with many other programming initiatives for students and families.

Rensselaer continually upgrades residence halls and dining facilities across the campus. The Institute also is pursuing the development of several new athletic facilities, including a new field house, basketball arena, and natatorium as well as new administrative space, locker rooms, and weight rooms.

Location

Rensselaer is located in the northeastern United States in the heart of New Yorks Capital Region. The region, which includes the cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy and their suburbs, has a combined population of approximately 870,000 and is an important business, government, industrial, and academic hub. There are more than 40,000 college students at fourteen colleges and universities in the immediate area. Overlooking the city of Troy and the historic Hudson River, Rensselaers 275-acre campus blends recently constructed facilities with a cluster of classical-style, ivy-covered brick buildings dating from the turn of the century. A program of extensive renovation has equipped the campus with ultramodern teaching facilities while preserving the traditional elegance of its historic buildings. Rensselaer retains the quiet and natural beauty of a parklike setting while offering many conveniences of an urban campus. Students enjoy easy access to Boston (3 hours away), New York City (2 hours away), and Montreal (4 hours away). The Adirondacks, the Berkshires, and the Catskills, all within an hour of Troy, offer hundreds of areas for camping, hiking, and skiing. Many student clubs take full advantage of these natural resources.

Majors and Degrees

The Bachelor of Science is offered in aeronautical engineering; applied physics; biochemistry/biophysics; bioinformatics and molecular biology; biology; biomedical engineering; chemical engineering; chemistry; civil engineering; communication; computer and systems engineering; computer science; economics; electrical engineering; electric power engineering; electronic arts; electronic media, arts, and communication; engineering physics; environmental engineering; environmental science; geology; hydrogeology; industrial and management engineering; information technology; interdisciplinary science; management; materials engineering; mathematics; mechanical engineering; nuclear engineering; philosophy; physics; psychology; and science, technology, and society.

Professionally accredited degree programs are offered in the fields of architecture and engineering. Architecture students may earn the Bachelor of Architecture after five years or the Master of Architecture after six. A five-year professional engineering curriculum can be accelerated to allow completion of both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in four years. Rensselaers professional program in engineering is one of the first of its type in the nation.

Accelerated physician-scientist students earn a B.S. degree in biology and an M.D. (from Albany Medical College) in seven years. Accelerated law programs allow management or science, technology, and society majors to earn a B.S. degree from Rensselaer and a J.D. from Albany Law School in six years. Other programs allow students to earn a B.S. in three years and a B.S./M.S. in four or five years.

Undergraduates at more than forty-four liberal arts colleges may transfer to Rensselaer and earn a B.A. from the first college and a B.S. or a masters degree from Rensselaer.

Academic Programs

While each of Rensselaers schools has its own sequence requirements, the following minimums apply to all students: 124 credit hours and a 1.8 quality point average in all courses; 24 credit hours in physical, life, and engineering sciences; 24 in humanities and social sciences; 30 in a selected discipline; and 24 in electives. Students are strongly encouraged to learn outside the classroom through independent projects, study abroad, cooperative education, internships, and partnering with faculty members on specific research projects. The Undergraduate Research Program offers hands-on experience to students in hundreds of areas where a full-time undergraduate may participate for credit or pay during the academic year or the summer. Co-op assignments give students the opportunity to add practical experience to their academic study. Air Force, Army, and Naval/Marine ROTC programs are available on an elective basis. Computing is integrated into the curriculum at Rensselaer, and all incoming undergraduates are required to have a laptop computer. Rensselaers Mobile Computing Program provides students with the latest computing technology choices. Students may bring their own laptops to the campus, but they must comply with Rensselaers computing requirements.

Off-Campus Programs

Rensselaer has study-abroad programs in Australia, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Cooperative programs with fifteen 2- and 4-year area institutions allow Rensselaer students to take courses for credit at no additional cost. More than 200 Rensselaer students use this cross-registration program each year. Rensselaer has transfer agreements with more than ninety institutions, including the 107 campuses of the California community college system.

Academic Facilities

Studio classrooms and laboratories across the campus use the latest educational technologies and encourage collaboration and team learning among students, with extensive wireless computing capabilities as well as more than 8,000 data ports available on campus, along with specialized systems such as the visualization laboratory for high-performance computing.

Student research projects are supported by excellent facilities such as the Low Center for Industrial Innovation, the Darrin Fresh Water Institute at Lake George, the Center for Integrated Electronics, and the Lighting Research Center. One of the newest facilities, the Social Behavioral Research Lab (SBRL) provides a platform for research on the social, cognitive, and behavioral impact of IT on society. The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies provides a fertile environment for student research and learning at the intersection of science and engineering. The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) plans to showcase Rensselaers distinctive programs in the electronic arts while providing facilities to broaden campus discourse and allow students and artists-in-residence to fully engage the larger community in the performing arts.

The entrepreneurial spirit is infused throughout the curriculum at Rensselaer and supported by one of the first university-sponsored business incubators in the country. The Rensselaer Incubator Program harnesses academic, research, and community resources to assist technology-based start-up enterprises. Many Rensselaer students have created new companies, nurtured them in the incubator, and then moved them to Rensselaer Technology Park, which is owned and operated by the university.

Costs

Tuition for 200809 is $36,950. Fees are $1040. Room and board costs average $10,730. Books and miscellaneous personal expenses are $1815. A required laptop, offered through Rensselaer, costs $2000. All incoming undergraduate students are required to have a laptop computer that meets Rensselaers specifications.

Financial Aid

Nearly all freshmen who have financial need are offered assistance under a comprehensive program of scholarships, loans, and part-time employment that provides annual assistance ranging from $100 up to full tuition, room, and board. Available federal funds include student loans, Federal Work-Study Program awards, and ROTC scholarships.

Faculty

Rensselaer has embarked on a program to hire the brightest faculty stars in selected fields and cluster them into constellations, where they engage in innovative research to the benefit of the Institutes students as well as society. To date, Rensselaers constellation initiative has met with great success in the areas of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology. During the past seven years, Rensselaer has welcomed 180 new faculty members, 73 into entirely new positions. Approximately 450 tenured and tenure-track faculty members call Rensselaer home. Indicative of the talent of Rensselaers young faculty members, more than 40 of them have won the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. Faculty members are highly accessible to students, due to the universitys internationally recognized studio-style classes, faculty-undergraduate research opportunities, and academic advising programs. While graduate students assist in some laboratory and recitation sessions, it is Rensselaers policy to have professors teach undergraduate courses. Ninety-six percent of the faculty members have earned a Ph.D., first professional, or other terminal degree in their field.

Student Government

Students have an active voice in major university decisions through involvement in student government, a vital and influential force at Rensselaer. Elected student leaders include a Grand Marshal (student government president) and the President of the Student Union. The President of the Union and the Executive Board manage an $8.7-million budget to oversee more than 165 student clubs, intramural sports, and organizations.

Admission Requirements

All applications are reviewed individually by the admissions committee. It is important to note that some differences in preparation and academic background may be considered. The applicants who are best suited for Rensselaer have completed four years of English, four years of mathematics through precalculus, three years of science, and two years of social studies and/or history. In addition, the admissions committee pays particular attention to candidates who demonstrate qualities and talents that will contribute to the richness of the Rensselaer community.

Students must submit official scores for the SAT (critical reading, math, and writing); the ACT, which must include the optional writing component, may be substituted for the SAT. Applicants for accelerated programs must also submit scores for SAT Subject Tests in a math and a science; ACT scores, which must include the optional writing component, may be submitted in lieu of the SAT and SAT Subject Tests.

Portfolios are part of the application process for some students. Electronic arts applicants are required to submit a creative portfolio by November1 (early decision I), January1 (early decision II), or January15 (regular admission). Architecture applicants should submit a creative portfolio by November1 (early decision I), January1 (early decision II), or January15 (regular admission). Students with unusually strong academic profiles may be reviewed without the portfolio. Students expressing interest in product design and innovation who have completed design projects should submit a portfolio or documentation describing program-related work.

International applicants official transcripts must be translated into English, and the international financial statement should be completed and mailed with the application. International applicants who do not achieve a minimum SAT verbal score of 580 must take the TOEFL. Rensselaer expects a TOEFL score of at least 230 on the computer-based test, 88 on the Internet-based test, or 580 on the paper-based test.

The early decision application deadlines are November1 for early decision I and January1 for early decision II, and the regular admission application deadline for Septemberadmission is January15 of the students senior year. Rensselaer admits qualified students without regard to race, color, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, or disability.

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