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>> Hello.
I'm Jamie Winebrake, dean of the
College of Liberal Arts at RIT.
And first of all, I want to congratulate you
for being accepted to our exceptional university
and the College of Liberal Arts.
If you're watching this video, you've
probably been accepted into one of the degree
programs in our college
in the humanities or social sciences,
and I think what you're going to find
in the College of Liberal Arts
is a very supportive community,
a rigorous curriculum,
and just a ton of opportunities
to do research with faculty and peers,
and explore new careers and new
graduate school options.
>> And I can say without a doubt
that the experience at RIT
is fantastic.
You will not regret it.
I not only say that as a faculty member,
but also as an RIT alumni,
class of 1991, criminal justice.
And because of my RIT education, I've
been able to go on to some wonderful things.
For example, I was an employee
in the New York state
legislature for 20 years, and that
was a fantastic experience.
And I know for a fact
but not for my RIT education,
I would not have had an opportunity to do that.
So the experience here is wonderful.
>> Now for curriculum, you should explore
the different curricular options
that we have in our college.
You're going to find a number
of exceptional programs
in the social sciences and humanities.
And these programs have a
strong infusion of technology
that really makes them unique and distinctive.
>> One of the things that I think
really makes RIT unique,
and in particular, the College of Liberal Arts
is the ways in which
we really know our disciplines,
know them well, and then build these bridges
to other parts of the university
and to other parts of a student's framework
and curriculum for learning.
That's really one of the things that the
College of Liberal Arts does very well
in terms of helping students
to attain all of their academic goals,
not just those focused in our college
and within the major
that they take in our college.
So really what we focus on is this intersection
between learning and doing.
>> I knew that I found a program where
it would be very helpful in getting
a specific job in the field.
And I've always wanted to work in a museum
with fine arts.
So I figured that with museum studies,
I would get a broader education,
knowing more about museums
and how they function, as well as
for myself being able to work
with fine art and artists.
>> The liberal arts experience at RIT is, I think,
is unique because it prepares you
for a lot of what you're going to have
to deal with in real life.
You're going to have to be prepared,
and we are going to make certain
that preparedness
is what you're going to have in abundance.
We stress the writing,
we stress working in a team environment
with other students because, again, it's
a simulation of real life,
and you're going to get that.
Sometimes as a student,
you just don't understand the things
that you actually do need until you get out
in the working world and you go,
wow, I wish I had gotten that.
But at RIT, we're very prepared.
We know what you're going to need,
and we're going to do our best
to make sure that you get that.
>> I'm often asked by parents, why would
I want my son or daughter to study liberal arts
at a technical institute?
I have to say when I hear that question,
I ask them, why would you not?
We're at a time in our world
where technology is everywhere.
It's ubiquitous.
Digital technology, new media technology,
engineering concepts, science.
We want our liberal arts students
to be well aware of these different technologies
and how they integrate
into the liberal arts programs
that we offer.
>> There's definitely a lot of unique opportunities.
In my one class last year, we either
had to use 3D printing, laser printing, basically
going to The Construct and using technology
that we'd never used before.
>> So this is the 3D-printed hand.
So we created it here at RIT.
And it's an example of a way
that we can build a bridge
to a museum in our community.
This was 3D printed here at RIT
and then sanded down, painted,
and applied to a mannequin at Genesee Country
Village and Museum.
Those mannequins are actually important
in the display of clothing at the museum.
This collection happens to be Victorian clothing.
And what's interesting about Victorian clothing is,
of course, the body sizes were different
during the Victorian era.
And now when you go to
Genesee Country Village and Museum,
you can see hands that were created
by students using
techniques and methods that we developed here,
like nowhere else in the world.
So this is one example of how
we really, really explore
the idea of learning by doing and really build
that bridge to technology and innovation
that we have here as specialities at RIT.
>> Because the College of Liberal Arts
is at RIT, which is a very
career-oriented university,
we really focus on career placement,
internship opportunities, and cooperative education
opportunities for our students.
We have an extensive network of organizations
around the country where we can place students
for those types of experiences.
For example, our criminal justice program
has contacts throughout
the entire federal government,
state government, local governments,
police departments all over the country,
and even in other parts of the world.
And they've done a great job placing students
in many of those organizations.
>> I am currently on co-op at
the George Eastman Museum
in the city of Rochester.
My supervisor is a curator.
So for me personally, wanting to be a curator,
just working alongside her and learning from her
is really helpful because it gives me
an idea of what I will be doing eventually.
So I think between the relationship
I've built with my professors and the work
that I've done for myself,
I definitely feel prepared.
>> This is practical hands-on experience
that the students gain while they're students.
A lot of students go to other schools,
they graduate, they have a wonderful degree,
but they're missing that experience,
and that is critical in terms of your career
and getting started.
I can't emphasize that enough.
>> The other thing you can do
in the College of Liberal Arts at RIT
is look at a BS/MS degree, where in five years
you can achieve a bachelor's degree in one
of our liberal arts degrees and move on and get
a master's degree in one of our five
graduate programs that we offer.
Many students take advantage of this.
There's some tremendous economic savings
when you do a BS/MS five-year program.
>> We have a number of projects in the works
that should be ready, up and running
within the next year or two.
For example, the 3+3 program
that we're developing with the
Syracuse University law program.
In other words, you come to RIT as a student
for the first three years, and your fourth year,
your senior year here
will be your first year of law school
at Syracuse University.
So those credits will transfer back
and you will have completed
your undergraduate degree.
We're very excited about that initiative
and we want students to be excited about that,
to explore that opportunity.
>> A really important part of RIT is
the community and the community
in our College of Liberal Arts.
Our community is exceptional.
We have faculty, staff,
advisers, and other support
mechanisms for our students.
Every student in the College of Liberal Arts
will have a faculty adviser,
a professional adviser,
a department chair they can count on,
and an Office of Student Services
that is continuously looking out
for their best interests.
>> And we are really, really proud
of our alumni base.
The one thing that happens
as a result of this sort of small,
close-knit, but growing alumni base
is that we maintain close contact
with a number of these alumni.
And we've really seen how those alumni really
inform where our students
go for internships and job
placements, but also where they turn
to for information about the program,
what they liked about it,
what they thought was awesome,
and how they might pursue their own career.
That whole array of opportunity is really
set before the students,
and our alumni base really
helps to flesh that out.
We have alumni come back physically
on campus for events.
We also bring them in virtually
through Skype, Zoom,
and other means.
And we also have alumni
who are a really wonderful resource
for students seeking internships,
and we have alumni who have actually placed some
of our students in internships.
And for me, that really speaks volumes
about the academic program here at RIT,
but also what we're building
in terms of a community.
And we would really love to see you
join that community.
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