Highlights

• Explore Japanese packaging innovations by visiting Japanese companies and exploring how Japanese culture and business practices influence packaging design.
• Learn advanced SolidWorks software skills - This is excellent preparation for students planning to take the Certificate of Solidworks Associate (CSWA) exam, a professional certificate recognized worldwide.
• Spend a week in Tokyo visiting the Japan Packaging Institute, the Museum of Package Culture, and other sites such as the Toyosu Fish Market(the world’s largest fish market), and TeamLabs (an interactive digital art experience).
• Travel to the historic city of Kanazawa, where you will stay and live on campus with one of RIT’s exchange partners, Kanazawa Institute of Technology.
• Tour companies, meet packaging engineers, and experience Japan’s focus on innovation and stringent quality control in packaging design.
• Design a final project inspired by Japanese packaging using acquired Solidworks 3D CAD skills.

Overview
Japan is well known for its creativity and innovation in packaging design. During the spring 2025 semester at RIT, you will learn about Japanese packaging design and innovation, acquire advanced Solidworks skills, and then travel to Japan for 17 days in early summer.

Your first stop will be Tokyo, where you will explore Japanese packaging innovation by visiting several Japanese companies and cultural institutions. You will analyze innovative product packaging structures and incorporate Japanese packaging elements into your final class project.

You will then travel to Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT), an RIT exchange partner, for the remainder of your time in Japan. While living on KIT’s campus, you will participate in workshops facilitated by KIT faculty and interact with KIT students. You will visit food and craft companies near Kanazawa and complete your final project.

Housing
You will stay in a shared hotel room during the first week in Tokyo.
While at KIT in Kanazawa, you will stay in the International Community House (student housing) on campus.

Program Details

• Term: Spring course/summer travel
• Location: Japan (Tokyo and Kanazawa)
• Faculty-director(s): Changfeng Ge (cfgmet@rit.edu)
• Application Deadline: Sunday, October 20^th 2024 by 11:59PM

• Program/Travel Dates:
  • Date of U.S. Departure: 5/12/25
  • Date of In-Country Arrival: 5/13/25
  • Date of Host Country Departure: 5/30/25

(Travel dates are subject to change. Do not make travel plans until you are accepted to the program and receive instructions to make travel arrangements from the faculty director).

Note: You will travel independently to/from your program location and be responsible for booking your flights. Once all students are confirmed for the program, the faculty director(s) will let you know more details about the flights and when to book them.

 Course Details

Course:

• CET-ENGT-518: Global Engineering: Experience Packaging Innovation in Japan

• Total Credits: 3 (must complete Rochester campus AND travel portion)
• Term credits earned: Spring: Students will receive an incomplete grade until the travel portion is successfully completed
• Pre-requisites: No course pre-requisites, however applicants should have some previous experience with SolidWorks software
• Course meeting days/times: TBD- Tailored based on student availability
• Credits may count towards major elective or free elective. Applicants should discuss with their academic advisor how credits will count towards their degree program.
• Program open to graduate students: Yes (but check with your graduate advisor to see if the course will count towards your degree program)

 Class Registration & Grading

• You will receive letter grades for the course(s), which will count toward your GPA.
• You will not register yourself for the study abroad course(s) in SIS. You will be registered by an advisor in CET before the start of the program.
• You will receive an incomplete grade in SIS until the travel portion is successfully completed.
• Please note that you cannot audit study abroad courses.
• Please note that the overseas portion of the course takes place in the first few weeks of the summer term. Students will receive an Incomplete at the end of spring term until the successful completion of the overseas portion and required reflection activities are completed. This means that if you are planning to graduate in May 2025, your certification for graduation could be delayed until the end of summer.

Program Eligibility

• 3.0 GPA
• 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, Grad Year Level
• Must meet all study abroad eligibility requirements outlined below:

Study Abroad Eligibility

All RIT students who study abroad must:

• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (students with lower than a 2.5 GPA would be considered on a case-by-case basis)
• Have a clear conduct record with RIT
• Have no financial holds on your RIT eServices account at the time of your program acceptance/confirmation
• Be an RIT matriculated student at the time of the program
• Have a valid passport at the time of travel that is valid at least 6 months beyond the dates of your travel
• Be able to obtain any necessary visa documents on your own

To Apply

1. Watch the short video below to understand all the application steps and important information.
2. Use the Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program Checklist to make sure you are completing all the application steps
3. Start an application by clicking the "Apply" button for the appropriate term below.

You should have a pending application in the Compass at the time of the deadline to be considered for acceptance into the program. A couple of weeks after the application deadline, you will receive an email regarding your acceptance. You will typically have one week from the time of your acceptance to confirm (or withdraw) your participation in the program. By confirming your participation, you are signing a legal document agreeing to be billed and pay a non-refundable deposit and program fees.

Before confirming your participation, read RIT’s cancellation/refund policy for studying abroad to understand your financial obligations and responsibilities fully.

Program Cost & Financial Aid
Most study abroad programs typically charge tuition, a program fee to cover housing and program excursions, and out-of-pocket expenses such as your flight, food, and spending money.

Student budget worksheet (outlines all program costs) – will be available here soon. Join the interest list for this program and we will email you the budget worksheet once it is available.

As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied.

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment.
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours before your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare).
• Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit:
https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

You should meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline to understand how your aid will apply. If you plan to receive financial aid for this program, it will pay out in the term you are receiving the credits, not necessarily the term of travel if those terms differ.

If you are on tuition waiver or exchange (parents are RIT employees, etc.) let the Education Abroad office know because it may affect your tuition costs (email global@rit.edu).

Scholarship funding for study abroad is available!
• RIT Study Abroad Scholarships
• National Study Abroad Scholarships

Keep in mind that scholarship deadlines are often early, so it's best to investigate these at the start of your application process.

Additional considerations when applying for study abroad:

• If you require Access Services support for this program, contact Angela Hauser (abhdis@ntid.rit.edu) to discuss your needs. Support is most often available for RIT Global Campus, RIT faculty-led, and short-term affiliate programs.
• If you receive disability services support at RIT and would need support on your program abroad:
  1) Contact your Access Coordinator in the RIT DSO office;
  2) Share your Eligibility Letter in your RIT MyDSO portal that outlines the services you receive with the faculty-director for your program to find out what support would be available to you abroad (do this before you commit to the program).
  
  It is important to remember that disability accommodations in other countries vary, and you may not be able to receive the same exact support you receive at RIT.
• As with all international travel, we strongly encourage you to visit the U.S. Department of State website to learn more about the risks associated with this location and recommended safety precautions before deciding to participate.

• Consider how you will manage your health and wellness while you are abroad: Health & Safety
• Before you make any program commitments, understand how your host culture values your diverse characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Identity & Diversity Abroad