Rensselaer at Hartford is the Hartford, Connecticut branch of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, NY. Until 1997, it was known as the Hartford Graduate Center. The primary focus of the institution is still to offer graduate-level education for working professionals. Around 800-900 students attend the school annually at the Hartford center and at the smaller Groton, Connecticut regional distance learning center. The Hartford Graduate School was established in 1955 by Rensselaer and the United Aircraft Corp (now known as United Technologies) to address a shortage of scientists and engineers in southern New England. United Aircraft bought and equipped the first building and provided annual financing so that its employees could earn graduate degrees at no individual cost, although the facility was and is open to those not employed by United Aircraft. The Graduate Center began with 220 students and seven faculty members who relocated from Rensselaer to Connecticut and adjunct professors from local industry. An additional campus was founded in Groton, Connecticut, to respond to the educational demands of Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics.