The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced that it has “expanded its M.S. [Master of Science] in Lighting degree program to include a paid career externship at a leading lighting manufacturer, design firm, or government organization.” Students will now have the ability to choose, at the time of graduation, an externship option—for three months or more—with one of the companies or organizations that have signed on to host students. Business entities that have agreed to participate include Current by GE, Osram, Philips Lighting, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Bridgelux, Hubbell Lighting, Ketra, and USAI Lighting.
“The new externship program is an excellent opportunity for students to gain additional real-world career experience in lighting, outside of the classroom and laboratory,” said Rensselaer Professor Nadarajah Narendran, the LRC’s director of research in a prepared statement. “It is a bridge to a career in lighting.”
As the press release notes, “In 1990, the LRC became the first university research center to offer graduate degrees in lighting and today, offers a M.S. in lighting and a Ph.D. to educate future leaders in lighting. The LRC is part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, America’s first technological research university, founded in 1824. With more than 35 faculty and staff working closely with 15 select graduate students, and a 30,000 sq. ft. laboratory space, the LRC is the largest university-based lighting research and education organization in the world.”
The M.S. in Lighting program at Rensselaer is a nine-month course of study and focuses “on lighting technology, design, human factors, and applications.” The student population represents a diverse makeup of science and design disciplines including engineering, physics, biology, psychology, and architecture. The application deadline for the Fall 2017 term is January 2, 2017. For more information about the LRC’s M.S. in Lighting program, visit the LRC website.
