Distinctive Features of WPI Education

The WPI educational philosophy emphasizes student responsibility for his/her own learning, the need to "learn how to learn," the value of teamwork and cooperation, and the value of demonstrating outcomes. This following aspects of our system are distinctive:
  1. There are few required courses, although "Distribution Requirements" ensure that students receive exposure to the appropriate breadth of academic disciplines within the boundaries of ABET Criterion.
  2. The grading system does not include failing grades. Students simply receive "no record" of courses that they failed to pass, or in which they would have received a "D." Recorded grades are A, B, and C.
  3. The nine month academic year is divided into four academic terms, called A, B, C, and D. There is a fifth term (E) in the summer. All terms are exactly seven weeks in length. Terms A and B fit into the normal fall semester, with one week term break, and terms C and D represent the spring semester. Students normally enroll in 3 courses or equivalent load in each term, completing six courses per semester. The course meeting schedule is also compressed. Since students study fewer subjects at a time, they can study them more intensely.
  4. Academic credits are measured in "units" and a regular course load for one term represents one unit of work. Most courses are worth 1/3 unit, which represents approximately 3 credit hours in a traditional semester credit system. Each full year of study completed represents 4 units (36 credit hours).

  5. The degree requirements for graduation are following: At least 15 units (the equivalent of 135 semester hours) of credit, completion of three major projects (in the Humanities, the technology/society interface, and the major area of study), a Social Science component, a Physical Education component, and the Distribution Requirements in the major area.
  6. Note that the graduation requirement of 15 units is less than the normal full-time course load that would represent 16 units (4 terms of one unit each for 4 years). This provides some flexibility to the student. A minimum of 8 units must be completed in residence at WPI.
  7. Projects are a major component of the WPI education. The Humanities component is called the Sufficiency; the society/technology project is called the Interactive Project (IQP); and the senior project in the major area is called the Major Project (MQP). The IQP and MQP require one unit of work each, which may be spread throughout the academic year or concentrated into one term, and may be on- or off-campus. The Humanities and Arts Sufficiency Project involves 2 units of work. Completion of 2/3rds unit of work is required in social sciences.
  8. Both the IQP and MQP are often performed for corporate, government, or foundation sponsors, and often by students who reside for a term at the off-campus site (as far off campus as Bangkok). These experiences are then not "academic exercises;" they are real undertakings that are valued by the sponsors. The projects do, of course, have valuable academic content which is assured by the resident faculty advisors. The students receive credit and grades for these projects.
  9. Distribution requirements for academic activity related to the major total no more than 10 units including the MQP and are specified by general topic area rather than by specific courses.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: August 17, 2006 11:36:28