Freshman Convocation officially welcomes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's incoming first-year students to the campus community. Held just before the start of classes, the ceremony features remarks from Institute leadership, a keynote address, and a welcome from the Grand Marshal, celebrating the beginning of each student's academic journey. An ice cream dessert reception follows the ceremony.
Events
The mandatory TA training for all incoming PhD students will take place on August 26. There will be two sessions (9 am-12 pm and 1 pm-4 pm). Session ONE- Coffee/Snacks/Check-in 8:30 am. Session ONE Lunch 12:00- 12:30 pm. Session TWO - Check-in and lunch 12:30-1:00 pm. Additional information will be emailed to all students closer to the date. All materials will be included in the orientation LMS course.
Assigning reading assignments and micro video lectures prior to class is always a great option to allow students to gather initial knowledge. This session will review some tips on how we can engage and motivate the students through these readings or video lectures to guide them in pulling out the important details/understandings. To register for this workshop and see a list of other upcoming workshops, please use the link in the See section.
Department orientation event for new ECSE graduate students (including co-term students).
This boot camp is designed for doctoral students, PhDs, and postdocs from all academic disciplines who are preparing to apply for faculty positions. Topics covered include the following: Cover Letters (Aug 24), Research Statements (Aug 25), Teaching Statements (Aug 26), Teaching Portfolios (Aug 27), and What if I am Not Successful This Year (Aug 28). Unable to attend a session live? Replays will be available — register in advance to receive access.
This boot camp is designed for doctoral students, PhDs, and postdocs from all academic disciplines who are preparing to apply for faculty positions. Topics covered include the following: Cover Letters (Aug 24), Research Statements (Aug 25), Teaching Statements (Aug 26), Teaching Portfolios (Aug 27), and What if I am Not Successful This Year (Aug 28). Unable to attend a session live? Replays will be available — register in advance to receive access.
If you are living off campus this semester, please make sure your local address is up to date in the student information system (SIS).
Keeping your local address current helps RPI communicate important information and provide support when needed.
In-person screening followed by Q&A with Director, Sandi Dubowski and Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.
For 21 years, filmmaker Sandi DuBowski (Trembling Before God) follows Amichai Lau-Lavie’s journey from radical drag queen to influential Rabbi of a God-optional, artist-driven New York synagogue. To watch Lau-Lavie interrogate the questions we must all face regardless of our faith—questions of who we are and who we will be—is a deeply stimulating and moving experience.
This boot camp is designed for doctoral students, PhDs, and postdocs from all academic disciplines who are preparing to apply for faculty positions. Topics covered include the following: Cover Letters (Aug 24), Research Statements (Aug 25), Teaching Statements (Aug 26), Teaching Portfolios (Aug 27), and What if I am Not Successful This Year (Aug 28). Unable to attend a session live? Replays will be available — register in advance to receive access.
The Founders Award of Excellence was established in 1994 to honor students who embody the qualities of creativity, discovery, and leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility. The award includes a cash prize, a special certificate, and recognition by faculty, staff, and peers at the Honors Convocation ceremony.
Nominations should be submitted via our Qualtrics Form no later than Saturday, August 29.
Talks Without Borders will be hosting a Thrift Store at the Union. Please see these items that are always use for the store books, clothing, household items/linens, decorative home items, along with small appliances/electronics.
The Hours of Operation for the Fall & Spring Semester will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00am - 2:00pm.
We will see you there!
With any questions, please contact Donna at the Mueller Center.
Graduate Christian Fellowship is a group of graduate students who regularly meet for a meal and Bible study throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. We meet in the Library Conference Room from 6:00pm to 7:30pm every Tuesday. Anyone is welcome to come.
ISSS is holding a Town Hall to share information about the recent regulatory change to Duration of Status (D/S) that affects individuals in F-1 and J-1 status and their dependents. This event is open to the campus community, and this session focus is on answering graduate student questions. Join us in-person on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Academy Hall Auditorium, Room 3500. The RPI ID card is required to access the building.
September 2–5 | What does music know about us that we don't yet know ourselves? Join us at EMPAC & The Sanctuary (North Troy) for a festival of concerts, podcasts, and conversations bringing together different forms of music—not as genres, but as provocative sites of experience. Festival passes & single tickets for select events, available at empac.rpi.edu
New students are invited to a fun, relaxed intro to the RPI Libraries to help you succeed at RPI. Grab a bingo card and explore library services, research help, interlibrary loan, study spaces, technology, the Student Success Center, and more. Enter to win raffle prizes from local restaurants and shops. Even better, the first 100 students to complete bingo will enjoy free ice cream and a library goodie bag! Stop in, meet our friendly staff, learn about library resources, and win big!
Filmmaker Edward George is in Troy for the American premiere of Black Atlas, with author Fred Moten joining for the post-screening talk. Drawing from an archive of 3,000 images held by The Warburg Institute in London, George creates a new film that reanimates historical imagery through narration, sound, and montage. Followed by a conversation between George and scholar, NYU professor, Fred Moten. Part of TOPOS 2026. This one-night-only screening takes place at The Sanctuary.
his 30-minute information session is hosted by Aric Krause, Ph.D., and will focus on RPI's Systems Engineering graduate degree. The degree is digitally delivered, flexible, and project-based to prepare decision-makers with broader and deeper capabilities in leading dynamic organizations. The session will highlight program details and how you can select graduate certificates relevant to your work to complete your graduate degree. Please register to attend
Join Beyond Graduate School for this webinar where we'll discuss what master's students need to know about career fairs. You'll learn what the purpose of a career fair is, how to prepare before you attend, and how career fairs fit into your broader job search strategy. A career fair is just one part of your job search but knowing how to use it effectively can make a significant difference in your results.
Join us for an ECSE Distinguished Mercer Lecture: "Sub-THz electromechanics and optomechanics" with Prof. Hong Tang of Yale University. Abstract and bio can be found at the event URL.
Starting a job search as a PhD can feel overwhelming, especially when most job searches take 6+ months to explore career options, build a network, and apply strategically to positions. Knowing where to begin makes a difference in how prepared and focused you are throughout the process. In this webinar, you will learn how to make the most of the PhD Career Training Platform. Access to this platform means you have a research-informed toolkit designed specifically to support your job search.
You’ve made it through Orientation and NRB, and completed your first few days of class! Now what? Learn how to navigate online and offline campus systems, the best spots to visit in Troy, and tips and tricks for your first year from the LA team!
TOPOS Music Festival 2026 welcomes filmmaker, writer, broadcaster, and musician Edward George to EMPAC for a live version of his acclaimed podcast The Strangeness of Jazz. Join us and listen in as George turns his attention to the generative possibilities of the slip—the mistake, stutter, or rhythmic deviation that opens new musical futures. At the center of the program is the work of Jamaican drummer Sly Dunbar. Included with festival pass.
Performing at TOPOS in the ambisonic environment of EMPAC’s Studio 1, IMA conjures a sound world suspended between destruction and renewal—searching for fleeting moments of beauty at the edge of collapse. Included with festival pass.
TOPOS Music Festival welcomes Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, performing Defiant Life. Experience the spiritually and sonically intense improvised music of these two pioneering legends in the EMPAC Concert Hall. Included with festival pass & single tickets also available.