Five Year Program in Fire Protection Engineering
WPI offers a special five year program option for high school graduates which saves time and money in preparing for a career in fire protection engineering.
WPI graduates enter the FPE job market with two degrees – one is the bachelor of science (BS) in one of the traditional engineering disciplines like mechanical, civil, chemical or electrical engineering. The other is the master of science (MS) in fire protection engineering. This combination of an accredited BS degree in one of the traditional engineering fields and the MS in fire protection engineering gives WPI graduates exceptional versatility in the job market. Each year the number of FPE jobs available far exceeds the number of FPE graduates, giving our students excellent career choices and highly competitive salary offers.
Usually the WPI student chooses his or her undergraduate major in the freshman year, although this can also be done later in the program. But, ultimately, each student will choose a basic engineering major that will serve as a foundation for FPE studies. The BS degree gives the student fundamental support skills in areas like physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering science and design along with experience in other areas like the arts, humanities and social sciences – areas that all engineers study.
The FPE degree requires 10 courses (or 7 courses and a thesis). Courses are in topics like fire sprinkler, detection and alarm system design, explosions, fire behavior, fire investigation/failure analysis, or computer fire modeling. There are 17 course topics to choose from.
Students can begin taking FPE courses in their junior year. Some also do a fire-related junior project (IQP) as well. In the senior year, more FPE courses can be taken. And some students do a fire-related senior project (MQP). An FPE professor is assigned to each student on the first day of their freshman year, to help them plan their program on a step by step basis, from start to finish.
At the end of the senior year the student graduates with a BS in one of the traditional disciplines. And, by that time, they will have completed three or four of their FPE courses – which were paid for as part of the basic undergraduate tuition package. These fire courses count toward the BS engineering degree. After completing the BS degree, the student continues on to complete the courses needed to earn the MS in fire protection engineering. This normally requires another year, the "fifth year" of the Five Year Program.
One of the advantages of the Five Year Program is that courses can be double counted toward both degrees. For example, if the student completes four FPE courses during their junior and senior years, they only need six more to earn the MS FPE degree. This saves time and nearly $10,000 in tuition costs. Students who have not completed FPE courses during their BS studies would normally require 5-1/2 years and would have to pay tuition for up to 4 additional courses.
How do I apply?
High school students interested in the Five Year Program in Fire Protection Engineering should submit the undergraduate application for admission and they should indicate an interest in fire protection engineering on the form. This will trigger an application review for admission to both the BS degree program and the MS FPE program. Freshmen will be admitted to both, giving them the certainty of knowing they have been admitted to fire studies.
The choice or preference for an undergraduate major can be made upon application for admission – or later since there is ample time to make that decision after the student arrives on the WPI campus. Any of the traditional majors work well as foundations for the MS FPE degree and for professional practice after graduation. The FPE professor who works with the student will provide ongoing advising and mentoring to assist in selection of an undergraduate major, courses and project topics.
For more information about WPI's Fire Protection Engineering Program, contact us at 508-831-5593 or via e-mail at fpe@wpi.edu. For general questions about WPI or admissions, phone 508-831-5286, email admissions@wpi.edu or visit the Admissions Web site.
Maintained by we Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: September 12, 2006 11:44:48