Background for Fire Protection Engineering Majors

Many of our Fire Protection Engineering (FPE) students pursue a graduate FPE degree after earning a BS degree in engineering, science, or engineering technology. Applicants with science degrees and graduates of some engineering or engineering technology disciplines may be required to take selected undergraduate courses to round out their backgrounds. If required, background courses may be taken at WPI or at other universities.

Important Background Courses for FPE Majors

Math:

MA 1001 - Calculus I
MA 1002 - Calculus II
MA 1003 - Calculus III
MA 1004 - Calculus IV
MA 2051 - Ordinary Differential Equations

Science:

CH 1010 - Chemistry I
CH 1020 - Chemistry II
PH 1110 - General Physics - Mechanics
PH 1120 - General Physics - Electricity and Magnetism

As a minimum, students should take three science courses: one chemistry and two physics courses, or two chemistry and one physics course.

Engineering Science:

ES 2501 - Introduction to Static Systems
ES 2503 - Introduction to Dynamic Systems
ES 3000 - Classical Thermodynamics
ES 3003 - Heat Transfer
ES 3004 - Fluid Mechanics

Engineering Design:

At least one engineering design course is also required for students entering without a BS in engineering.

Notes:

These courses are referenced from the WPI Undergraduate Catalog. Equivalent courses at WPI or other schools are acceptable. In all cases, students must secure approvals from their FPE faculty advisors.
CS 1005, Introduction to Programming (or equivalent) is also useful.
Students are required to obtain a 3.0 GPA in background courses in order to enroll in graduate study.

WPI Undergraduate Catalog

WPI Graduate Catalog

Academic Advising