International Studies integrates WPI's international courses in the humanities and social sciences with its global projects and exchange programs. As a global technological university, WPI prepares men and women for future leadership roles as citizens of the world. In WPI's academic plan, students develop the ability to work in teams and apply their knowledge to solve real-world problems. 

Since the early 1970s, WPI has pioneered a unique approach to learning by doing on campus and around the world.  The university replaced the rigid and highly structured sequence of semester-length courses that characterizes traditional education in science and engineering with a flexible combination of intensive, seven-week courses and practical, problem-solving projects.

The opportunities to complete projects off-campus were significantly expanded with the adoption of the Global Perspectives Program in the 1980s.  To date, WPI has sent student project teams to work on six continents: in Africa (Botswana, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe); in Asia and Australasia (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam); in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom); and in North and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the United States). See the WPI Project Center Blogs for student's own reports about their experiences in a variety of places around the world!  The faculty and staff of the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division can provide more information about current opportunities. WPI's extensive network of Global Project Centers remains a unique resource for WPI students

WPI significantly enhanced the effectiveness of its global programs with the creation of the International Studies major and minor in the 1990s.  This interdisciplinary initiative brought together faculty from the humanities, social sciences, and other areas of the university to provide the academic framework for the off-campus experience.  International Studies courses on-campus prepare students to go abroad. After they return from an experience overseas, students in either the major or the minor integrate their experiences and explore their career options in a capstone seminar. 

To date, graduates of WPI's International Studies program have gone to further study in law, public health, veterinary medicine, international affairs, medical school, and many areas of engineering and science. Graduates now work in international law firms and businesses, in the Peace Corps, in the military, and more. WPI's international programs have received several national awards from the Institute of International Education and from TIAA-CREF as among the most innovative and most creative responses to the challenge of preparing the next generation of leaders to think and work on a global basis. 

To see the myriad possibilities for students at WPI, read about Virginia Ward '08 who will be a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan and took advantage of WPI's programs in Morocco, Namibia, and Spain.  Find out more about erosion and flood control in Namibia, a project led by Nicholas McBride '07, a Biomedical Engineering major and International Studies Minor.  Or read the Worcester Magazine interview or the WPI Transformations article on Anne St. Martin '06, a double-major in International Studies and Chemistry, who studied in Germany, Russia, Namibia, France and Sri Lanka. 

Consult the other Web pages on International Studies or ask any member of the International Studies Associated Faculty for more information.