• Introduction to WPI
• Section 1: The WPI Plan
• Section 2: Department and Program Descriptions
• Section 3: Course Descriptions
• Section 4: Academic Policies and Procedures
  • Grades
  • Grade Appeal and Grade Change Policy
  • Transfer Credit
  • Graduation With Honors
  • Commencement
  • Designation of Major Area of Study
  • Double Major
  • Designation of Class Year
  • Academic Honesty Policy
  • Guidelines for the Determination of Satisfactory Academic Progress, Academic Warning, Academic Probation and Academic Suspension
  • Administrative Obligations and Holds
  • Directory Information and Release Information
  • Course Registration Information
  • Project and Independent Study Registration
  • Registration Policy for Degree Requirements
  • Special Students
  • Project Registration Topic Codes
• Section 5: Resources and Special Programs
• Section 6: Career Development & Graduate School
• Section 7: Admission, Expenses, Financial Aid & Housing
• Section 8: Trustees, Administration & Faculty
• Supplement
• Search

Project and Independent Study Registration

Planning

During the academic planning period, which starts in February, students who intend to conduct project work during the following year should set aside time to plan their projects, meet with faculty, and form project teams. The faculty will list project opportunities on the Projects Program web page in February. (Some Project Centers and special programs may have an application process before that.) Each academic department typically will hold a projects information meeting for students in their major. Students are also encouraged to meet with faculty individually.

The most important and difficult part of a project is the planning which precedes the execution. The planning phase of your project will involve developing a background, talking to people in the field, finding out what has already been done in the area, and determining what your goals are and what you need to do to accomplish them. If any special equipment, financing, or resources will be needed for execution of the project, it is especially important to make this known early to ensure that it will be available to you. In addition, most faculty members require a project proposal before registration of the project.

Registration

Students who intend to do project work must complete a project registration form by no later then the beginning of  the first term of that project work. The Project Registration Form is available on-line at the Registrar's Office. Any student wh will travel to an off-campus locations, such as a Residental Projects Program site, is required to file a project registration form with the Registrat's Office before traveling to that site.

Project/Independant Studt registration for terms A-E will be accepted upto the 15th day of the term (not including weekends) without penility. A $100 late registration fee will be changer per project/independat study after the 15th day.

A Project involving an off-campus organization carry the further obligation of compliance with the rules and regulations of the organization. Often, these are specified in a formal contract between the organization and WPI and are legally binding. At the time of registration, students will be required to review the legal documents in the Registrar’s Office and sign an agreement and release form.

Students may not receive monitary compensation from anoff-campus organization and project credit for the same work.

For an MQP, the project advisor or an associate advisor must be a member of the faculty in the discipline which corropoonds to the major area of study of the student.

Change of Registration Information

For all changes in projects, use the Project Registration Form. Students may change the title, the type or the discipline of the project with the approval of the project advisor but without having to secure the approval of the academic advisor. The student must obtain the project advisor’s written approval and the academic advisor’s approval before changing the number of units in the current or future terms.

All project changes are to be made only during the course-change period of each term.

Changing Project Advisor

To change the project advisor for a degree-required project, students must obtain the authorizing signatures of both the existing and new project advisors and of the academic advisor and submit the form during a course change period.

Project Conferences

Students should report to their project advisor’s office at the beginning of the term to make arrangements for subsequent meetings.

Overloads

If a part of the work in a given term involves qualifying project work, students may not register for an overload without the written approval of both the academic and project advisors on a project overload petition form. This form is available at the Registrar’s Office.

Project Completion

During the final term of registration for the project and sufficiently prior to the deadline for submittal of Completion of Degree Requirement Forms, students must submit their completed project report to the project advisors. Students are also required to submit a copy of the document to the participating off-campus organization sufficiently prior to the end of the term so that proprietary and confidential information in the report can be identified and removed. Most off-campus organizations require 30 days for this review, and the grade and final report cannot be submitted to the Registrar by the project advisor until this review has been done.

The project report must contain a title page similar in format to that specified on the Projects Program web page, in the area entitled, "Finishing Up." The report itself can be submitted in a hard binding equivalent to the pressboard binders available in the WPI Bookstore. (See Documentation and Final Report Procedures under Section 1 Projects.)

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Last modified: February 21, 2008 10:50:26