Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private, independent institution of higher learning in Troy, New York. It was founded in 1824 as Rensselaer School by Stephen Van Rensselaer, a U.S. Army officer and congressman from New York. The school changed its name to Rensselaer Institute in 1832 and then to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1851.