RIT College of Art and Design

As an ophthalmic photographer and imaging specialist, Leah Kazakevich '19 (RIT Photographic Sciences) is assisting doctors and contributing to groundbreaking research.

Supporting Eye Health With Innovative Imaging Since graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology’s photograp...

Tigers in LA! 🐯

Assistant Professor Phil Szrama and some of his 3D digital design students experienced the 2026 ACM SIGGRAPH conference. They engaged with industry leaders in computer graphics and interactive techniques, many who are alumni!

✨ Student spotlight: Hannah Sitzer ’27 (painting) 🔦

Hannah is a finalist in the AXA Art Prize student art competition! As one of 40 finalists, Hannah’s “Chatter” painting will be featured in a group exhibition this fall at New York Academy of Art — where she is also currently enrolled in the Summer Undergraduate Residency Program.

“This painting is a piece from a body of work I made about intimacy and my journey to become comfortable with it,” Hannah said. “I wanted the viewer to be struck by the figure’s gaze in spite of the busy nature of the diner behind her. By using contrast and perspective, I force the viewer to connect with the figure.”

Our RIT School of Photographic Arts and Sciences just wrapped up its second semester of the RIT in NYC program — which places students at the center of the creative universe!

🎥 https://brnw.ch/21x4x1V

RIT Pulitzer Legacy spotlight: William Snyder ’81, professor in RIT School of Photographic Arts and Sciences

Among William’s four Pulitzer Prizes wins was in 1989, when he was honored in Explanatory Journalism with fellow Dallas Morning News staff writer David Hanners and graphic artist Karen Blessen. Their long-term study reported on a 1986 airplane crash, the follow-up investigation and the implications on air safety.

Many other RIT Alumni Association members have won or been finalists for a Pulitzer Prize. Find more of their work ➡️ rit.edu/pulitzers

Young artists added dynamic drawings to their portfolios during our annual Pre-College Portfolio Prep Workshop! It was two weeks of faculty instruction, engaging demos, and creative fun. ✅ 🖌️ ✏️

📸 Elizabeth Lamark

Jill Schmid ’26 (industrial design) brought her jewelry to the world stage! ✨ 💎

She was a finalist for the Kering Generation Award X Jewelry. For the competition, select designers around the world were invited to make a piece or collection of sustainable jewelry. With her Acacia earrings, Jill found a new, stunning purpose for wood shavings. She presented them July 9 at Kering’s Paris headquarters and the whole experience landed her an internship with Dodo Jewels!

📸 (1-2): Elizabeth Lamark

‘The Hollywood Reporter’ names RIT as one of the top film schools in the nation Tech-forward curriculum and successful alumni earn RIT’s School of Film and Animation a spot in The Hollywood Reporter’s list of top 25 film schools.

Gavin Komoda '28 (RIT Industrial Design) is spending his summer with Church & Dwight Co. exploring the feasibility of bringing a product born at RIT to market.

Classroom collaboration leads to student internship at Church & Dwight After Gavin Komoda '28 (industrial design) built connections during a program-wide collaboration with Church & Dwight, he was offered an internship in the product engineering department of the consumer goods company. 

It’s become an annual occurrence: once again, our students were named finalists in the Paperboard Packaging Council's Student Design Challenge! The prompt for 2026 was to design an influencer PR box for a new luxury confectionery brand. Each submission contained the retail product while elevating the user experience with a memorable unboxing moment.

The multidisciplinary RIT team, named Pacha Cacao, featured: Ava Moran, Max Mazgelis and Natalie Randolph of RIT Graphic Design, Joanne Tong of RIT Industrial Design, and Emily Zhao of packaging science, all led by the faculty duo of Lorrie Frear and Irma Abu-Jumah.

The winning team will be announced in the fall.