The Global School

The Global School Mission

The Global School is founded on WPI’s half-century of leadership in global project-based learning. The Global School embodies WPI’s commitment to empower our faculty, students, communities, and collaborators to address urgent local and global challenges. Our distinctive interdisciplinary programs immerse students in real-world projects that foster purpose-driven global learning and collaboration. 

This generation of science and engineering students, social innovators, and business leaders must understand the complex interactions of technology and society in a rapidly changing world. This calls for education in inclusive globally minded approaches informed not only by cutting-edge technologies, but also by the social sciences, humanities, arts, and business. The Global School empowers this kind of integrative education and inspires collaboration for a better world.

The faculty in our Department of Integrative and Global Studies are experts in project-based learning and social sciences. We teach the first year Great Problems Seminar and advise team research projects at more than fifty global project centers through our award-winning Global Projects Program. We also offer interdisciplinary graduate programs that center the critical knowledge, collaborative mindset, and interactive methodological tools needed for meaningful community partnerships.

Global School faculty also have substantial research grants to work on major global challenges, from climate adaptation to public interest technology. You can join us in our Global School Forum where we engage with cutting-edge global research that addresses the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals including topics such as health, energy, environment, food, water, and climate change.