The institute is well-known for its engineering and photography programs. It also has one of the oldest cooperative education
programs in the United States in which students hold a full time job for a period (while not taking classes) as part of their
graduation requirements. The school year is divided into four quarters instead of two
semesters. Whereas at many other colleges one would attend for two semesters and
take summer off, at RIT students generally attend fall, winter, and spring quarters.The university consists of 8 colleges:
- Applied Science and Technology
- Business
- Computing & Information Sciences
- Engineering
- Imaging Arts & Sciences
- Liberal Arts
- National
Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)
- Science