After more than 100 years of history and over 4,000 alumni, RIT will no longer offer the Print and Graphic Media Technology bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. This deactivation follows multiple years of low enrollment within the program.

Running Low

Bruce Myers, an associate professor in the Department of Packaging and Graphic Media Science, expressed that he anticipated the program closure due to declining interest from high school students. High school printing programs are typically offered as a vocational option, rather than as a method to transition students into a four-year degree. Additionally, purchasing printing equipment can often cost thousands of dollars. 

“A lot of young people associate printing with newspapers… they don’t see a career in newspapers, so they overlook printing,” Myers explained. “Maybe they’re interested in imaging, like Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite or digital printing. But when you look at RIT, there are nine or 10 majors that claim that space.”

In 1981, the program peaked with a total of 775 students enrolled. Myers proclaimed, “We were the Harvard of printing at one point.”

Current students within the Print and Graphic Media Technology major expressed disappointment and frustration – yet little surprise – about the program’s deactivation. 

Ethan Tourville, a fourth-year undergraduate student in the program, expressed dismay about the limited opportunities for both current and future students following the program’s closure.

“I wasn’t really surprised, but more upset about the fact that it was gone. I don’t like opportunities and options being taken away– fewer opportunities for courses, less academic spheres,” Tourville stated.

Class sizes for the program were frequently small, ranging from two to five students at times, and these numbers have continued to dwindle throughout Tourville’s time at RIT. 

“We wanted to bring more people into the major – one of my assignments was to make a pamphlet to advertise so more people knew about the printing program,” Tourville shared.

Mathew Kiptum Kipruto, a second-year graduate student within the MS program, recounted how he moved from Kenya to Rochester to pursue his master’s in printing, noting that no graduate schools in Africa offer degrees for the discipline. During his undergraduate studies, Kipruto’s professors had recommended RIT’s print program for graduate school, making the program’s deactivation especially disheartening for him.

“I feel low, because it’s something that’s my career, my profession. Apart from being a career, it’s my passion,” Kipruto noted.

What’s Next?

For those still interested in printing and graphic media technologies at RIT, the Technical Association for Graphic Arts (TAGA) is a student club that provides students with an industry-compliant, hands-on print and digital production experience. The club works together to produce print projects like t-shirts and package designs, which are entered into competition at an annual TAGA conference. 

The students in the Print and Graphic Media bachelor’s and master’s programs will now be in a teach-out process. The process allows current students to finish the program’s curriculum and graduate with a Print and Graphic Media degree, while RIT no longer accepts new applicants. 

In the future, two printing-specific courses will be offered in the packaging science curriculum, so that elements of print technology will remain active at RIT on a smaller scale.