WPI’s Project-Based Learning Approach Featured in Duke University Report

WPI’s distinctive curriculum-wide approach to project-based learning is featured in a new collection of case studies showcasing how higher education institutions around the country engage students in hands-on, collaborative learning. 

The report, titled Collaborative, Project-Based Learning in Higher Education: Case Studies, was published by Duke University and includes in-depth looks at project-based learning programs at 15 colleges and universities, including WPI. It grew out of a 2023 symposium that Duke hosted to mark the 10th anniversary of its own interdisciplinary project-based program.

WPI’s case describes how project-based learning is woven through every aspect of the undergraduate curriculum: “For over 50 years, WPI has used a project-based curriculum that leads students through four years of increasingly complex challenges in the form of substantial open-ended projects. … The strength of the curriculum is that it places projects at the center and coursework in a supporting role.”

While the scale and longevity of WPI’s project-based learning model is unmatched by any other college or university in the United States, Kris Wobbe, director of the Center for Project-Based Learning and co-author of WPI’s case, notes that every school highlighted in the report offers valuable insights and poses thoughtful questions.

“WPI has made projects the cornerstone of our curriculum. It’s such a powerful practice and these cases provide some great practical advice,” Wobbe says.