About WPI

A Distinctive Approach to STEM Education and Research

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Today, WPI recognizes the essential nature of preparing and supporting future scientists, engineers, and business leaders in their journeys to become the empathetic, collaborative, and resourceful STEM professionals the world needs now.

WPI’s award-winning, pioneering project-based and globally engaged curriculum engages students in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education—on campus and at more than 50 project centers in the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. In both academics and research, undergraduate and graduate students pursue interdisciplinary collaboration with each other, with faculty across WPI’s four schools, and with public and private partners to develop broad-scope solutions to socially relevant problems.

More than 70 PhD, master's, bachelor’s, and certificate programs are offered both on campus and online, providing flexible options and opportunities for students to advance their careers and succeed in today’s—and tomorrow’s—world.

Grace Wang, PhD, Formally Installed as WPI's 17th President

WPI celebrated the inauguration of Grace Wang, PhD, on March 22, 2024. The ceremony was attended by faculty, staff, and students; delegates from more than 30 colleges and universities and learned societies; federal, state and local dignitaries; and special guests.

Read about President Grace Wang's Inauguration Watch Inauguration Highlights

The Global Leader in Project-Based Education

For over half a century, projects have been at the core of WPI's signature undergraduate curriculum (known as the WPI Plan), requiring students to apply their acquired skills, knowledge, and abilities to develop solutions to real-world problems. As the global leader in project-based learning (PBL), WPI is now helping other colleges and universities around the world advance PBL across higher education through the Center for Project-Based Learning.

Project-based Learning at WPI

Our Community

a group of students standing in a line looking up

At WPI, our greatest strength is our people. We are home to a passionate community of faculty, staff, researchers, and students who are dedicated to using their talents, expertise, and intellectual curiosity to solve the most complex global challenges.

Meet Our Students Meet Our Faculty

Our Campus

image of campus center and fountain area in spring

To know what WPI is all about, you have to experience it firsthand. WPI’s campus, set on a secluded hilltop, doesn’t look or feel like an urban university. Yet just down from “The Hill,” a vibrant college town awaits, with the amenities, opportunities, and lively cultural scene one would expect from New England’s second largest city.

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Annual & Special Events

From Homecoming to Founders Day, the university hosts a number of annual events, ceremonies, athletic competitions, and educational programs that celebrate achievements, honor traditions, and evoke a sense of pride, school spirit, and community at WPI.

University Calendar

WPI Athletics

WPI Traditions

Annual Events

WPI Land Acknowledgement

WPI acknowledges the painful history of genocide in the U.S. for native and indigenous peoples. As a public statement that honors the indigenous people as native inhabits on this land, WPI honors and respects the many and diverse tribal nations who were forcefully removed from their sacred lands.

WPI would like to recognize the people of the Chaubunagungamaug and Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work. We take this moment to honor their elders, past, present, and emerging. WPI strongly advocates for higher education professionals to honor the land, the original tribal occupants, and the history of where they are located.

George C. Gordon Library Guide: Land & Labor Acknowledgements Tribal Government of the Nipmuc Nation