The Global Leader in Project-based Learning
Projects are at the core of the WPI curriculum, requiring students to apply the knowledge learned in classes and labs to real-world situations, developing solutions to problems that matter to real people. Project work helps students become better collaborators, critical thinkers, public speakers, and communicators— vital to success at WPI and the skills that distinguish WPI graduates throughout their careers.
Our signature project-based approach to undergraduate education, known as the WPI Plan, prepares students for success. These great young minds bring ingenious approaches to an astounding array of challenges–and the projects fundamentally change the students, building leaders who possess passion, proficiency, and a certainty that their life's work can change the world.
Theory
In 1970 WPI's technological education was radically reengineered with a student-centered, project-based approach to learning. Seven-week terms create space for team-based immersive experiences, and a unique grading system with a focus on learning, teamwork, and experimentation allows for individualized experiences based on faculty guidance. Our students have the flexibility and support they need to tackle tangible, open-ended problems in a curriculum centered around project work. And since we believe well-rounded students will become better scientists, engineers, and business leaders, all students are required to complete the equivalent of a minor in the humanities and arts.
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7 weeks per term for undergraduate students (The WPI Plan) |
13:1 student to faculty ratio |
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0% failing grades (The WPI Plan) |
100% of undergraduates complete the equivalent of a minor in Humanities and Arts |
Practice
It's not theory then practice. It's theory AND practice.
Projects are at the core of the WPI curriculum: classroom projects across disciplines, projects in the first year, major capstone projects, community-based projects—all requiring students to delve into authentic, real-world problems. From day one of the Great Problems Seminar, early exposure to the culture and practice of project-based learning is motivational (97% of first years return for their sophomore year). It lays the foundation for classroom work and the three team-based major projects they will eventually undertake. Along the way, students expand their world views and gain career-launching professional experiences.
Global
We believe a global consciousness leads to a broader perspective, which is why global projects are at the heart of a WPI education. What’s learned in the classroom is put into practice to effect real change around the world. Our 50+ diverse project centers—strategically positioned in locations ranging from large international cities to small mountainside villages—are hosts to interdisciplinary and major capstone projects and humanities and arts projects. Fully immersed in projects and cultures around the globe, the experience is often transformative for students, having a profound and lasting impact.
| Top 10 Most Popular Study Abroad Programs The Princeton Review (2017-2018) |
100% of students receive a global project scholarship (as of class of 2022) |
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13,500 undergraduate students with off-campus project experience |
940+ students completed an off-campus project (2017-2018) |
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#1 School for a Scientist to Study Abroad Popular Mechanics (2017) |
50+ global project centers on six continents |
| 31 countries with project centers | 45 years of undergraduate project experiences through the Global Projects Program |
Impact
Life-changing. Those are the words students and alumni use most often to describe WPI's distinctive approach to project-based learning, citing its lifelong professional and personal benefits. Tackling authentic problems that matter to others helps students develop perseverance, empathy, and self-efficacy while also gaining valuable skills in critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication, and leadership. As a result, students leave WPI more sophisticated, well-rounded, globally aware, and prepared for whatever the world throws at them. WPI extends that impact to higher education as our Center for Project-Based Learning helps other colleges and universities advance project-based learning on their own campuses.
Project Work Pays Off
WPI’s distinctive project-based educational model has been lauded in the academic world for years, but one of the most compelling acknowledgements is by those who know the benefits of a WPI education firsthand—WPI alumni. A survey of 2,500+ WPI alumni across a span of 38 years revealed the powerful professional and personal impact of project work.
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Center for Project-Based Learning
The impact extends beyond the benefits to students and alumni. Through the Center for Project-Based Learning, WPI is changing the face of higher education by helping other institutions implement facets of project-based learning on their campuses through workshops, seminars, and the flagship Institute on Project-Based Learning. In just four years, the Center has served more than 130 institutions, representing a combined student population of approximately 1.75 million.
UMBC talks about the impact of WPI’s Institute on Project-Based Learning
News
In the News
A case study: The effects of project based learning almost 50 years after Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) re-engineered its technological education.
