Ranking for Computer Science & Electronics in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Facts About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a private research university with campuses in New York and Connecticut. Established in 1824, the RPI is the oldest continuously operating technological university in the English-speaking world.

Today, the RPI offers over 140 bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees through its five schools, which focus on fields of study such as architecture, engineering, humanities, and management and technology. The institute is nationally recognized for its strong academic programs in computing, information technology, and business and management.

Aside from traditional majors, the institute offers interdisciplinary minors, such as Product Design and Innovation. Working professionals can also study at the institute through its Hartford campus, which provides graduate-level education in fields like Business Administration, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering.

The RPI was founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer, a New York landowner and businessman. Originally named the Rensselaer School, Rensselaer had intended for the institution to provide instruction on the application of science to everyday life. By 1832, the school had grown into the Rensselaer Institute, awarding the country's first civil engineering degrees. The university experienced periods of great expansion throughout the 1820s and 1900s, expanding its curriculum to include the liberal arts and building more facilities to accommodate its growing student body.

By the late 1980s, the institute had been recognized for its technological research. It continues to maintain a reputation for high research activity and is known for the achievements of its alumni and staff, many of which are members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and recipients of the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology, and the Fulbright Scholarship.

Today, the institute's research activities are focused around six main thrusts: biotechnology, nanotechnology, energy and the environment, computation and information technology, and media and the arts. The institute currently maintains over 30 research centers, along with the George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation, which was built with a grant from the New York City legislature. The institute is also home to the most powerful supercomputer at a private university, along with over 700 laboratories, studios, and technology spaces devoted to diverse fields of study.

Additional projects of the RPI include the Tetherless World Constellation, a research institution where faculty members, scientists, and students work together to study themes of Future Web, Semantic Foundations, and xInformatics. The institute has also partnered with IBM and the state of New York to establish the Center for Computational Innovations, intended to promote advanced research on nanotechnology innovations.