Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Location and Contact Information

100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
USA
Main Tel: (508) 831-5000
Web Site

The campus is in a medium-sized city.

Overview

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, WPI, is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. This private university was established in 1865 by popular Worcester industrialists, Ichabod Washburn and John Boynton, just after the Civil War. It was originally known as Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science. WPI offers its students a range of majors in liberal arts, management, engineering and social science.

WPI offers a variety of student clubs and organizations for its students including Eta Kappa Nu, the Photography Club, the Indian Student Organization, the Ice Hockey Club, and Alpha Psi Omega. The students operate a radio station on campus called WWPI 90.1FM. Students also participate in sports such as rugby, basketball, soccer and ice hockey.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

  • Many students concentrating in mathematics, engineering, science, and computer science and engineering.
  • High faculty salary.
  • High male/female ratio.
  • High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
  • Large number of programs of study offered.
  • Good faculty-to-student ratio.
  • Number of dorm rooms for students.
  • Large number of students.

School characteristics:

  • The school is private, not-for-profit.
  • Academic calender: Quarter.
  • Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Intensive.

Features of note:

  • The school offers a faculty tenure system.
  • There are one or more libraries on-campus.
  • Campus housing is available.
  • Students have meal (board) plans.
  • Students may study abroad.
  • Distance learning is available.
  • Part-time classes are available.
  • ROTC.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

ItemCost
State Tuition and fees$ 37,440
Room$ 6,530
Board$ 4,630
Books and supplies$ 1,000
Other$ 1,200

Financial Aid

WPI participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 99% of students received financial aid of some sort.

Grants% of
Students		Average
Amount
Any Grant96%$17,004
Institutional Grant96%$16,130
Federal Grant11%$6,671
Pell Grant11%$3,325
Other Federal Grant10%$3,526
State or Local Grant7%$1,900

Loans% of
Students		Average
Amount
Student Loan62%$11,492
Federal Loan60%$6,405
Other Loan18%$18,214

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Worcester Polytechnic Institute:

Click a column header to sort.

 SchoolLocationEnrollment
1Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA10,299
2California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA2,126
3Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA10,875
4Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteTroy, NY6,777
5Rice UniversityHouston, TX5,357
6Washington and Lee UniversityLexington, VA2,155
7Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH5,848
8University of ChicagoChicago, IL14,788
9Stanford UniversityStanford, CA17,833
10Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester, NY15,055

Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

DegreeTotal
Earned		Different
Programs
Bachelor62032
Master29927
Doctorate2516

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Full-Time Faculty  Total
With tenure  163
Without tenure; working toward tenure  56
Without tenure; tenure not available  49

Students

Student enrollment was 4,556 in 2009-2010 (3,228 full-time equivalent).

About 69% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 31% of the class.

Undergrads are 67% of enrolled students and graduate students are 33%.

Students under 25 years old represent 78% of the student body. About 5% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 99% are full-time and 1% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

ApplicantsAdmitted
Men61%
Women72%
All63%

Room and Board

WPI provides on-campus housing for 1,590 of its 3,228 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 21 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football (Other), basketball (New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference), baseball (New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference), and track (New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference).

Graduate School Focus

WPI offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is STEM Dominant.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (54 awarded)

  • Business Administration and Management
  • Business Administration, Management and Operations
  • Business, Management, Marketing & Related Support Services
  • Business/Commerce
  • Management Information Systems
  • Marketing

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (92 awarded)

  • Computer Science

ENGINEERING (583 awarded)

  • Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
  • Biomedical/Medical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
  • Engineering Physics
  • Engineering
  • Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Materials Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

LIBERAL ARTS (55 awarded)

  • Economics
  • Humanities/Humanistic Studies
  • International Relations and Affairs
  • Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
  • Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Social Sciences

MATHEMATICS (51 awarded)

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Mathematics and Statistics
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics
  • Systems Science and Theory

MEDIA (2 awarded)

  • Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric

SCIENCE (107 awarded)

  • Biochemistry
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Biology/Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Science, Technology and Society

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (0 awarded)

  • Psychology