Academics
WPI offers a variety of majors in engineering, science, management, liberal arts, and social science at the undergraduate and graduate level. It is most well known for its engineering disciplines and is one of the top-ranked schools to attend for engineering in North America and the world over. Unlike many peer universities, WPI does not combine related departments into colleges or schools.
WPI's undergrad schedule is also unusual compared to most universities. Instead of a normal semester, WPI has 7-week terms, labeled A-D, with an optional E term in the summer. A term typically begins on the second to last Thursday in August, while D term is usually scheduled to end on the first Tuesday of May. Each term is claimed to be roughly equivalent to a third of a year at another university. Thus, students are able to complete a year's worth of Chemistry, Physics, and Math in only a semester and a half. This faster pace allows for more study (by a student's senior year, they have already completed a normal four-year course track, essentially giving them an "extra" year). The graduate student calendar follows a conventional two semester schedule.
WPI's student performance evaluation system uses grades A, B, or C. If a student were not to satisfactorily complete the course or they elect to drop the course, they would receive a No Record (NR). The NR designation is used since there is no differentiation between a dropped course or an unsuccessful attempt to complete it.
WPI Corporate and Professional Education (CPE) also offers academic opportunities to individuals and companies. Programs can be offered online, onsite, on campus, or in a blended format. CPE has graduate programs, online degrees and professional development workshops. Most recently, CPE launched its Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program that helps companies with process improvement.
Read more about this topic: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)