WPI offered the very first undergraduate robotics engineering degree in the country with the introduction of our Bachelor's program in the Fall of 2007, offering a Master's degree soon after in Fall of 2009. WPI has since dedicated resources each year to helping students pursue the field of robotics as a career path, both through instruction, research & project opportunities, and career guidance for WPI students, and through scholarships for high-school level robotics participants.
Learn more about the scholarships that WPI offers to high school students involved in various robotics organizations within their schools.
Scholarship Applications are Available Now!
The WPI Robotics Scholarship Applications are now available!
Begin applying for any of the scholarships mentioned below.
All applications must be submitted by March 3rd, 2025 to be considered.
FIRST Robotics Scholarships
WPI is a longtime supporter of the FIRST robotics programs and offers scholarships for FIRST alumni. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global, nonprofit organization that engages students in STEM through friendly team competition. They are guided by core values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and (of course) fun!
WPI Design Innovation Scholarship
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What is it: A full-tuition, four-year undergraduate scholarship (valued at approximately $220,000) to a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), or FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) team student participant. In addition to the full-tuition scholarship, WPI offers three $40,000 scholarships ($10,000 per year for four years of undergraduate study) to applicants to the Design Innovation Scholarship who are not selected for the full-tuition award, but whose applications merit receiving an award.
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Who is eligible: Each team participating in one of the programs may nominate one of its student members. The nominee must be in their final year of high school and be an active member of their FIRST (FRC, FTC, FGC) team in the 2024-2025 season. Nominees must have submitted an admissions application to WPI and should demonstrate enthusiasm for engineering, science, and innovation.
Please note: if multiple submissions are received from a single team, they will not be considered. Please work with your team and your mentor to determine your team’s nominee. For teams with two students interested in applying for the scholarship, we recommend that one student apply for WPI FIRST Design Innovation Scholarship, and one student apply for WPI FIRST Community Scholarship.
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How to Apply: All scholarship applicants must first submit a complete admissions application to WPI no later than February 1st (Regular Decision deadline). Details on how to apply to WPI can be found here.
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Scholarship submissions can be made here. The submission will consist of an application form, a signed nomination form to be completed by the adult team leader (mentor, coach, teacher, etc), and a video presentation.
The video submission should focus on one or more of the design innovations of your team’s robot. The presentation should also touch on one of three topics: how your team builds spirit, how your team demonstrates sportsmanship, or the importance of teamwork in robot development. The most competitive applications make use of imagery (photos, videos, slides) and narration or spoken responses to the prompt. Videos must be 5 minutes or less in length.
- When to Apply: The scholarship application will open on December 1st, 2024, and will close on March 3rd, 2025. Initial offers will be sent out at the end of March. Final scholarship notifications will be sent out on April 15th.
WPI FIRST Community Scholarship
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What is it: A full-tuition, four-year undergraduate scholarship (valued at approximately $220,000) to a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), or FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) team student participant.
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Who is eligible: Each team participating in one of the challenges may nominate one of its student members. The nominee must be in their final year of high school and be an active member of their FIRST (FRC, FTC, FGC) team in the 2024-2025 season. Nominees must have submitted an admissions application to WPI and should demonstrate enthusiasm for engineering, science, and innovation.
Please note, if multiple submissions are received from a single team, they will not be considered. Please work with your team and your mentor to determine your team’s nominee. For teams with two students interested in applying for the scholarship, we recommend that one student apply for the WPI FIRST Design Innovation Scholarship, and one student apply for the WPI FIRST Community Scholarship.
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How to Apply: All scholarship applicants must first submit a complete admissions application to WPI no later than February 1st (Regular Decision deadline). Details on how to apply to WPI can be found here.
Scholarship submissions can be made here. The submission will consist of an application form, a signed nomination form to be completed by the adult team leader (mentor, coach, teacher, etc), and a video presentation.
The video submission should focus on how you have exemplified WPI’s values of Respect, Community, Inclusion, Innovation, and Achievement in the FIRST Community or in your life. Please be sure to touch on all five values in your submission. The most competitive applications make use of imagery (photos, videos, slides) and narration or spoken responses to the prompt. Videos must be 5 minutes or less in length.
- When to Apply: The scholarship application will open on December 1st, 2024, and will close on March 3rd, 2025. Initial offers will be sent out at the end of March. Final scholarship notifications will be sent out on April 15th.
VEX and RECF Drone Program Scholarships
WPI offers scholarships for VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) and REC Foundation Drone Program alumni. Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) brings together student scientists and engineers and prepares them to be future innovators.
Each year, WPI awards a grand prize scholarship of $80,000 ($20,000 per year, for four years) and two runner-up scholarships of $40,000 ($10,000 per year, for four years).
Application Process
- All scholarship applicants must first submit a complete admissions application to WPI no later than February 1st (Regular Decision deadline). Details on how to apply to WPI can be found here.
- The VEX Scholarship application will open on December 1, 2024, and will close on March 3, 2025.
- Scholarship submissions can be made here. The submission will consist of an application form, a signed nomination form to be completed by the adult team leader (mentor, coach, teacher, etc), and a video presentation.
- The video submission should focus on your contribution to your team’s robot design or drone game strategy and coding, as well as touch on one of the following three topics: how your team builds spirit, how your team demonstrates sportsmanship, or the importance of teamwork in robot development or in the drone competition environment. The most competitive applications make use of imagery (photos, videos, slides) and narration or spoken responses to the prompt. Videos must be 5 minutes or less in length.
VEX Scholarship Eligibility
Each base team number participating in one of the challenges may nominate one of its student members (i.e. Teams 190A and 190B may only nominate one student to represent both 190 teams). The nominee must be in their final year of high school and be an active member of either their VEX team or REC Foundation Drone team in the 2024-2025 season. Nominees must have submitted an admissions application to WPI and should demonstrate enthusiasm for engineering, science, and innovation.
Please note: if multiple submissions are received from a single team, they will not be considered. Please work with your team and your mentor to determine your team’s nominee.