Projects

Project activity is an integral part of the educational experience for all students under the WPI Plan. The two types of qualifying projects are:

  1. A project in the major field of study (the Major Qualifying Project, or MQP).
  2. A project which relates technology and science to society or human needs (the Interactive Qualifying Project, or IQP).

Projects should be chosen in consultation with the student’s academic advisor and must be accepted by a project advisor before project registration can be completed. Many project opportunities come from off-campus organizations, and provide challenges to solve real-world problems and thus gain experience invaluable for seeking jobs and for professional practice. Students are encouraged to develop their own projects, to solicit support for their ideas from potentially interested faculty, and to form teams to pool resources and share points of view.

The Major Qualifying Project should focus on the synthesis of all previous study to solve problems or perform tasks in the major field with confidence, and communicate the results effectively.

The Interactive Qualifying Project should challenge students to relate social needs or concerns to specific issues raised by technological developments.

Pay and Credit

The WPI Faculty approved the following project policies in 1973:

  1. A student may receive pay for related work that is above and beyond the work clearly defined for academic credit for a project.
  2. Wherever possible remuneration for this extra work will be paid by WPI to the student from funds directly obtained through grants from the company to the college.
  3. Results obtained from paid or unpaid work performed while students are not registered for project credit at WPI may be used in projects only after consultation with the project advisor. When possible such consultation should take place before the work begins.
  4. Students who wish to pursue project work off-campus for WPI credit can do so only if 1) they are registered for that term at WPI, 2) their project advisors have established appropriate methods of supervising the off-campus work. Such supervision must make adequate provision for periodic review and advising.

Resources - Getting Started

Students are encouraged to avail themselves of the many resources and advice areas found in the Projects Program web site.

In addition, personal advice can be provided by meeting with the Projects Administrator (Daniels Hall) or the project coordinators listed on page 176.

Available Projects

Students may obtain information about new or ongoing projects from a variety of sources. Principal sources include discussions with other students, especially those currently involved in a project, the Projects Program web site, department offices, or their web pages. Off-campus projects are discussed annually in the fall. In the spring, “Available Projects” on the Projects Program web site can be used as a directory of specific projects or as a source of ideas for developing your own projects. Some students will find a project listed which fits their needs and interests exactly. In other cases, the listing will serve to lead students to a faculty member with whom project involvement can be negotiated. The proposals in the Projects Program web page are updated periodically to provide an accurate listing of available projects.

Project Advisor

Academic advisors can assist students in identifying a project. They are aware of the project interests of many other faculty members, and have a list of faculty interests which will enable a student to find a faculty member who can help to develop a project idea. Faculty associated with the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division (IGSD) are available to assist students in interdisciplinary and interactive projects. The Projects Office can also assist in finding an appropriate project advisor. See pages 261-262.

Project Performance and Time-on-task

A student is normally expected to expend 15-17 hours per week on the average for each 1/3 unit of credit for project work, and expected achievement is based upon that commitment.

A project group, whether it involves one student or more, should have a minimum of one scheduled conference per week with the advisor(s). Additional time should be scheduled when the effort exceeds 1/3 unit per student or when more students are involved.

Students should be prepared to submit interim project reports to the advisor each week. Students are also encouraged to complete a proposal at the beginning of the project activity to define the scope and timeline for completion of the effort. In addition, oral reports may be required as determined by the advisor. At the end of the project, a report must be prepared to the satisfaction of the project advisor. For projects sponsored by off-campus organizations, both a written and oral report for the sponsors is normally expected.

Electronic Project Submision

WPI requires that all undergraduate students submit their Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) and Major Qualifying Project (MQP) electronically (“eProjects”).

Students must be registered for a minimum of 1/6 unit of qualifying project credit in the term in which the final project report is submitted. An eProject must be submitted via the web site, wpi.edu/+eprojects, following the steps outlined there.

No matter which format is used to create the original report document (Microsoft Word, La Tex, or other), the final report must be converted to a PDF format in order to be submitted as an eProject. For information on converting to a PDF, go to the ATC's How-To Center. Every eProject must include a title page and must follow the formatting guidelines described at Project Program's Finishing a Project page.

The deadline for the submission of the initial report draft and the final document may be established at the discretion of the project advisor. Drafts and reports need not be accepted by the advisor after the established deadline.

The final PDF is required, but additional related files such as simulations, computer programs, multimedia, and data sets may be submitted as a component of the project.

A project that is completed by a team of students, except in extenuating circumstances, will submit ONE project report from the group. After the MQP or IQP team submits the final version of the project report, the advisor must review the work and approve or reject it online at wpi.edu/+eproject.

The final project report should be carefully proofread. Once the submitted project has been approved by the advisor and released for archiving by the Registrar’s Office, it is considered an academic record and cannot be edited.

A completed electronic Completion-of-Degree-Requirement (eCDR) form, must be printed for signature by each student and signed individually by the advisor as the final step in the submission process. The eCDR form must be submitted in person by the project advisor or a member of the academic department of the advisor to the Office of the Registrar by no later than the second day of the next academic term.

Group Qualifying Project Efforts

Students meeting a qualifying project degree requirement by participation in a group, or team effort, will submit, at the discretion of the project advisor, either a single, comprehensive written report from the group, or individual written reports from each member of the group. A single, comprehensive written report must, however, include some means by which each individual’s contribution to the group effort may be clearly identified. This identification may take the form of an “authorship page,” simply a list of individual chapters and their respective authors, or of a prefacing statement in which each contributing group member is named as having carried out one or more specific tasks within the overall project effort.

In the case where one or more students leave an ongoing group project after having contributed at least one unit each of project effort, those students, again at the discretion of the project advisor, will submit either a single written report or individual written reports in satisfying the qualifying project documentation requirement. The same means of identifying individual contributions will be employed as described above.

Center for Communication Across the Curriculum 

(Upper Level; Project Center)

Accompanying strong emphasis on project work at WPI is strong emphasis on high quality presentation of materials such as proposals, written reports, term papers, and abstracts. To assist you in developing your writing and oral presentation skills, WPI has established a Center for Communication Across the Curriculum that offers writing and presentation consultations, style guidelines, writing manuals and presentation videotapes. Style guidelines, writing manuals and specially prepared handouts concerned with report writing are available. Small group or individual conferences scheduled by appointment with the writing tutors constitute an additional service provided by the Center to help students with their writing skills. For further information, contact Dr. Higgins at x5503.

Dissemination of Project Reports 

MQPs and IQPs completed for off-campus agencies are usually distributed within the sponsoring agency by the agency project liaison. A project report may be restricted from public viewing if it contains confidential or proprietary information of a sponsoring agency.

Students are responsible for keeping personal copies of project reports for their own permanent professional records. In this way, reports can be reviewed for later use, and incorporated into a professional portfolio.

Thus, MQPs and IQPs are best viewed as research reports which establish good professional practices as well as being potential sources for further study and research.

Off-Campus Insurance and Legal Agreements

WPI’s insurance program includes a broad range of coverage for students doing projects in cooperation with off-campus organizations. This insurance coverage requires proper documentation of individual student participation. All students doing project work with off-campus organizations must complete the pertinent portion of the project registration form. In certain cases, where the project is included as part of a regular course, the course instructor must submit to the Projects Office a list of the students going off campus and the name(s) and address(es) of the organization(s) involved.

WPI has entered into a variety of agreements with offcampus organizations, covering a wide range of issues common to the projects program. Students agree to abide by these agreements during the registration for the project.

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Last modified: January 28, 2008 08:26:09