Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, NY · founded 1829 · 19,000 students · private research university · Liberty League

Known for: Its exceptional programs in technology, computing, and the arts, particularly its renowned National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and its leading co-op program in photography and imaging.

Rankings

U.S. News national: #98
QS World: #1001
Times Higher Education: #801
ARWU Shanghai: #901
Forbes: #155

Top programmes

Computing and Information Sciences
Engineering
Photography and Imaging Arts
Game Design and Development
Business
Deaf Education and Support Services

Notable alumni

Tom Curley — Former President and Publisher of USA Today
N. Katherine Hayles — Notable literary critic and professor
John Resig — Creator of the jQuery JavaScript library
Bernie Boston — Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) — Popular tech YouTuber and reviewer
Bruce James — Former Public Printer of the United States

Traditions

Brick City Homecoming
Imagine RIT festival
Freeze Fest
Springfest

If Rochester Institute of Technology were…

As a food: A Rochester 'garbage plate' from Nick Tahou Hots — A glorious, unpretentious mash-up of seemingly disparate elements (home fries, mac salad, burgers, meat sauce)—like RIT, it's a wildly creative integration of tech, arts, and deaf culture that somehow works perfectly tog
As an athlete: Patrick Mahomes — The innovative quarterback who combines textbook mechanics with creative, no-look improvisation—like RIT, he's fundamentally sound but constantly inventing new ways to execute plays, making the difficult look fun.
As a person alive today: Tommy Orange — The visionary novelist who blends cutting-edge narrative techniques with deep cultural specificity—like RIT, he creates at the intersection of technology and storytelling, giving voice to underrepresented communities wit
As a historical figure: Leonardo da Vinci — The ultimate Renaissance polymath who moved fluidly between engineering schematics, anatomical studies, and artistic masterpieces—the prototype for RIT's ethos where left-brain and right-brain are not just connected, but
As a movie or TV show: Everything Everywhere All At Once — A genre-defying explosion of multiversal creativity where coding, martial arts, tax audits, and hot dog fingers coexist—like RIT, it's a maximalist celebration of technical skill and artistic weirdness colliding joyfully
As a US president: John Quincy Adams — The hyper-competent, multilingual technocrat who served brilliantly as Secretary of State but struggled with political theater—like RIT, his legacy is built on diligent expertise and expansive vision rather than charisma
As a city: Berlin — A historically industrial city reborn as a gritty, affordable hub for artists and technologists to collaborate in raw spaces—like Rochester, it's cold, creative, and built on a foundation of manufacturing reinvented for
As an element: Silicon — The fundamental semiconductor—the literal material that enables both computational tech and creative media (chips, glass, photovoltaics). Like RIT, it's the essential, versatile element at the intersection of digital inn
As a car: 2017 Honda CR-V EX — RIT combines tech pragmatism with co-op culture and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf—accessible, inclusive, and career-focused in snowy Rochester. The CR-V is reliable, accommodating, well-equipped, and gets

Campus life

A large, suburban campus with a diverse and inclusive community, notably integrated with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). Social life is club-heavy, with a strong focus on special interest clubs, gaming, and technology events over Greek life.

The film, scored

This profile answers “if Rochester Institute of Technology were a movie or TV show?” with Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). A genre-defying explosion of multiversal creativity where coding, martial arts, tax audits, and hot dog fingers coexist—like RIT, it's a maximalist celebration of technical skill and artistic weirdness colliding joyfully. It sits in the 55th percentile on rankquant, which re-centres every critic score on the reviewer who gave it, so a percentile means position against peers rather than a raw star average. The full film & TV catalogue ranks the rest the same way.