Special Programs for First Year Students

Insight Program

In WPI's Insight Program, groups of 25 to 30 first-year students are advised by a faculty mentor who makes a real commitment to working with first-year students. These faculty members represent all the departments and programs at WPI, and in many cases are the senior faculty members and the most experienced advisors. Each faculty advisor works with two advanced undergraduates, the Community Advisor and the Residence Advisor, to schedule activities focusing on time management, study skills, test-taking strategies, and community service. The Insight Program purposefully blends the academic and social aspects of life at WPI.

Great Problems Seminars

This is a two-course sequence designed to serve as an introduction to project work and university-level research with a focus on themes of current global importance. The Great Problem Seminars (GPS) are all about important problems. Everything students do is tied to current events, societal problems and human needs. The skills students develop are exactly what they need to be successful both in project work at WPI and in their future careers.

Example: In 2007, the Feed the World Seminar was built around a sequence of projects tied to food, ranging from the biology of genetically engineered corn to the ethics of price supports and fair trade. This seminar provided one course credit in Chemistry and one course credit in Humanities.

Example: In 2007, the Power the World Seminar was built around a sequence of projects tied to energy, ranging from the physics of power generation to the ways that new technologies have changed societies. Students in Power the World earned credit for one course in Physics and one course in Humanities.

New themes will be offered each year.
Enrollment is limited.

Additional Resources on the Web

The Undergraduate Programs Web Site
The Academic Advising Office
The First Year Web Site