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President's Welcome

Welcome to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the university with a difference.

Since our founding in 1865, WPI has been recognized as a pioneer in technological higher education. We were the first university to understand that students learn best when they have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they gain in the classroom to the solution of real problems.

In the early days, that meant students working side by side with professionals in a real manufacturing plant here on our campus. Today, our students, working in teams, at locations around the globe, put their knowledge and skills to work to solve important problems, doing professional-level work that can have an immediate positive impact on society.

Our innovative undergraduate curriculum is integrated seamlessly with our robust programs of graduate education and research. At our Worcester campus and at two branch campuses in Eastern Massachusetts, we offer programs leading to the master's and Ph.D. in more than 30 disciplines, as well as adult educational programs. And in our research laboratories, our faculty and students are conducting cutting-edge work that is winning recognition for the university in a broad range of fields of science, engineering, management, and the humanities and arts.

Students emerge from our academic programs well rounded, with the confidence, the interpersonal skills and the commitment to innovation they need to make a real difference in their professional and personal lives. We truly believe our approach to education is the best preparation students can receive for life and work in a world that is being transformed by the rapid pace of technological change and by the rise of a true global economy.

You don't need to take my word for it. Leaders in industry, government and academia are looking at our innovative, globally focused curriculum as the model for the technological education of tomorrow. I invite you to experience the future of technological higher education here on this Web site, and at our campuses and project sites here in Massachusetts and around the globe.

Edward Alton Parrish
President