At the heart of the WPI Plan is student research, open-ended inquiry, and original and creative design to solve problems and to make new discoveries. All students in all majors complete two qualifying projects:
- The Major Qualifying Project (MQP),
- The Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP).
The Major Qualifying Project requires the synthesis of all previous study as well as the development of new knowledge to solve problems in the student’s major field. The MQP challenges the student to perform at an advanced level, as a professional would, and to communicate the results effectively.
The Interactive Qualifying Project challenges students to address a problem at the intersection of science and technology with human need.
These projects are substantial and are each equivalent to at least one-fourth of an academic year’s worth of effort. Most IQPs are completed at an off-campus project center in collaboration with an external sponsor.
Projects must be accepted by a project advisor before project registration can be completed. Many project opportunities come from off-campus organizations, address real-world problems and thus provide experience invaluable for seeking jobs and for professional practice. Students are also encouraged to develop their own project ideas, to identify and work with interested faculty, and to form teams to pool resources and share points of view.
Resources - Getting Started
There are many opportunities for students to learn about project opportunities both in the major (for the MQP) and for the IQP. Advice and links to additional resources can be found on the Undergraduate Studies web page.
Available Projects
Students may obtain information about new or ongoing projects from a variety of sources. Principal sources include discussions with other students, especially those currently involved in a project, the Projects Program web site, department offices, or their web pages. Off-campus projects are discussed annually in the fall. In the spring, Project Opportunities in eProjects can be used as a directory of specific IQP projects or as a source of ideas for developing your own projects. Some students will find a project listed which fits their needs and interests exactly. In other cases, the listing will serve to lead students to a faculty member with whom project involvement can be negotiated. The proposals in eProjects are updated periodically to provide an accurate listing of available projects.
Students are encouraged to check the web site of the department of their major and Project Opportunities for MQPs in eProjects (https://eprojects.wpi.edu/), as well as consulting with their academic advisors and with faculty in their courses. In addition, academic departments hold special events where faculty present project and other research opportunities to connect with students who are currently doing research.
Project Advisor
Academic advisors can assist students in identifying a project. They are aware of the project interests of many other faculty members, and have a list of faculty interests which will enable a student to find a faculty member who can help to develop a project idea. Faculty associated with the Department of Integrative & Global Studies (DIGS) are available to assist students in interdisciplinary and interactive projects.
Project Performance and Time-on-Task
A student is normally expected to expend 15-17 hours per week on the average for each 1/3 unit of credit for project work, and expected achievement is based upon that commitment.
A project group, whether it involves one student or more, should have a minimum of one scheduled conference per week with the advisor(s). Additional time should be scheduled when the effort exceeds 1/3 unit per student or when more students are involved.
Students should be prepared to submit interim project reports to the advisor each week. Students are also encouraged to complete a proposal at the beginning of the project activity to define the scope and timeline for completion of the effort. In addition, oral reports may be required as determined by the advisor. At the end of the project, a report must be prepared to the satisfaction of the project advisor. For projects sponsored by off-campus organizations, both a written and oral report for the sponsors is normally expected.
Qualifying Project Grading
The Faculty of WPI has endorsed the following grading guidelines for qualifying project activity:
- Each term a student is registered for a qualifying project, the student receives a term grade reflecting assessment of his or her accomplishments for that term.
- Upon completion of a project, each student will receive an overall project grade (also known as the “CDR grade,” since it certifies completion of the degree requirement) reflecting his or her individual overall accomplishments for the project.
- The term grades and the overall project grade reflect both the products of the project (e.g., results, reports, etc.) and also the process by which they were attained. The term grades and the overall project grade may be different.
- Project goals should be established and clearly articulated early in the project. This may be done in the form of a formal project proposal. Learning outcomes for the qualifying projects have been established by the faculty and are published in the undergraduate catalog.
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Project advisors should clearly convey in writing their expectations for learning and performance to project students at the start of the project, and provide students with substantive feedback on a regular basis during the project.
The following are some characteristics that faculty should use in communicating expectations and evaluating the quality of each student’s project work.
The degree to which the student:
- developed effective or creative goals or approaches,
- demonstrated initiative and originality,
- showed depth and critical thought in analysis,
- produced high quality results,
- took the lead in discussion, planning, and analysis,
- produced a clear, professional-level report with excellent drafts along the way,
- anticipated work that needed to be done and completed it in a timely manner, and
- worked to advance the success of the team.
For both terms and overall project, the available grades and interpretations are:
| A | This grade denotes excellent work that attains all of the project goals and learning outcomes. The product and process of this work meet all of the expectations and exceed them in several areas. |
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| B | This grade denotes consistently good work that attains the project goals and learning outcomes. The product and process of this work meet but generally do not exceed all of the expectations. |
| C | This grade denotes acceptable work that partially attains project goals and learning outcomes. The product and process of this work meet some but not all expectations. |
| SP | This grade denotes satisfactory progress and certifies sufficient accomplishments to earn credit for that term. Faculty who assign this grade should provide clear feedback to the student regarding his or her progress during the term. The use of the SP grade is discouraged except in circumstances where the faculty member is unable to judge the quality of the work, yet can attest that the granting of credit is appropriate. This is a temporary grade and must be replaced by a permanent grade consistent with the criteria outlined above by, if not before, the end of the project. |
| NR | This grade denotes work that did not attain the project goals or learning outcomes and is insufficient for registered credit. Both product and process were inconsistent with acceptable project work at WPI as outlined above. |
| NAC | This grade is reserved for performance that is unacceptable. It might mean that a student’s performance (or lack of it) has seriously impeded group progress, or it has embarrassed the group, a project sponsor, or WPI. Note that this grade remains on the transcript. |
Electronic Project Submission
WPI requires that all undergraduate students submit their Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) and Major Qualifying Project (MQP) electronically (https://eprojects.wpi.edu/).
Students must be registered for a minimum of 1/6 unit of qualifying project credit in the term in which the final project report is submitted.
No matter which format is used to create the original report document (Microsoft Word, LaTeX or other), the final report must be converted to a PDF format in order to be submitted as an eProject. The final PDF is required, and additional related files such as simulations, computer programs, multimedia, and data sets may be submitted as a component of the project. Guidance on eProject report formatting and file formats for the final report and any supplementary files is provided within the online submission process, and detailed instructions are available from an online guide at the Gordon Library: https://libguides.wpi.edu/submitprojects.
The final project report should be carefully proofread. Once the submitted project has been approved by the advisor and released to WPI’s digital repository (Digital WPI) by the Registrar’s Office, it is considered an academic record and cannot be edited.
The deadline for the submission of the initial report draft and the final document may be established at the discretion of the project advisor. Drafts and reports need not be accepted by the advisor after the established deadline.
A project that is completed by a team of students, except in extenuating circumstances, will submit ONE project report from the group. After the MQP or IQP team submits the final version of the project report, the advisor must review the work and approve or reject it online at https://eprojects.wpi.edu/.
Group Qualifying Project Efforts
Students meeting a qualifying project degree requirement by participation in a group, or team effort, will submit, at the discretion of the project advisor, either a single, comprehensive written report from the group, or individual written reports from each member of the group. A single, comprehensive written report must, however, include some means by which each individual’s contribution to the group effort may be clearly identified. This identification may take the form of an “authorship page,” simply a list of individual chapters and their respective authors, or of a prefacing statement in which each contributing group member is named as having carried out one or more specific tasks within the overall project effort.
In the case where one or more students leave an ongoing group project after having contributed at least one unit each of project effort, those students, again at the discretion of the project advisor, will submit either a single written report or individual written reports in satisfying the qualifying project documentation requirement. The same means of identifying individual contributions will be employed as described above.
Dissemination of Project Reports
Completed project reports are made available to the public through Digital WPI, managed by WPI’s Gordon Library (https://digital.wpi.edu).
MQPs and IQPs completed for off-campus agencies are usually distributed within the sponsoring agency by the agency project liaison. A project report may be redacted or restricted from public viewing for a defined period of time, if it contains confidential or proprietary information of a sponsoring agency.
Students are responsible for keeping personal copies of project reports for their own permanent professional records. In this way, reports can be reviewed for later use, and incorporated into a professional portfolio.
Thus, MQPs and IQPs are best viewed as research reports which establish good professional practices as well as being potential sources for further study and research.
Pay & Credit (for students working on sponsored projects)
Project Planning
During the academic planning period, which starts in February, students who intend to conduct project work during the following year should set aside time to plan their projects, meet with faculty, and form project teams. Any pre-planned projects will be posted on the project opportunities section in e-projects (https://eprojects.wpi.edu/). Students are also encouraged to meet with faculty individually.
The most important and difficult part of a project is the planning which precedes the execution. The planning phase of your project will involve developing a background, talking to people in the field, finding out what has already been done in the area, and determining what your goals are and what you need to do to accomplish them. If any special equipment, financing, or resources will be needed for execution of the project, it is especially important to make this known early to ensure that it will be available to you. In addition, most faculty members require a project proposal before registration of the project.
Project Registration
Students who intend to do project work must complete a project registration form by no later than the beginning of the first term of that project work. Students will complete their registration request through e-projects after the project is built by the project advisor and the student is added as a member. Instructions for this process can be found on the Registrar’s website. Any student who will travel to an off-campus location, such as a Residential Projects Program site, is also required to fill out an electronic project registration form.
Project registration for terms A-E will be accepted up to the 10th day of the term (not including weekends) without penalty. A project involving an off-campus sponsor (MQP mostly, but some IQP) carries the further obligation of compliance with the rules and regulations of the sponsor. Often, these are specified in a formal contract between the sponsor and WPI, and are legally binding. At the time of registration, any affected student will be required to indicate the sponsor on the electronic registration form.
For an MQP, the project advisor or an associate advisor must be a member of the faculty in the discipline which corresponds to the major area of study of the student.
Change of Registration Information
Students must make all project registration changes through e-projects. Students may make changes to the project by making an addendum to the previously registered project and submitting the changes electronically to the project advisor for approval. Credit distribution can be changed for the current term through day 10, or any future terms. No changes in credit distribution can be made after day 10 of the term.
Changing Project Advisor
To change the project advisor for a degree-required project, students should contact the Registrar’s Office.
Project Conferences
Students should report to their project advisor’s office at the beginning of the term to make arrangements for subsequent meetings.
Overload with Project
Students are strongly encouraged to consult with their project advisor(s) before registering for an overload. Students are not permitted to overload during a one-term off-campus project offered in the Global Projects Program or during the prior term when students are enrolled in ID 2050, Social Science Research for the IQP and an associated pre-qualifying project.
Project Completion
During the final term of registration for the project and sufficiently prior to the deadline for submittal of Completion of Degree Requirement Forms, students must submit their completed project report to the project advisors. Students are also required to submit a copy of the document to the participating off-campus organization sufficiently prior to the end of the term so that proprietary and confidential information in the report can be identified and removed. Most off-campus organizations require 30 days for this review, and the grade and final report cannot be submitted to the Registrar by the project advisor until this review has been done.
Directions for submitting the project report electronically are available from the Gordon Library. A final project report is submitted electronically through the e-projects website (See Electronic Project Submission) The electronic eCDR must be submitted by the project advisor no later than the 10th day of the next academic term.
A student who has filed an application to receive their degree in May must submit a completed eCDR to the Office of the Registrar by the last Thursday in D-term.
Registration Policy for Degree Requirements
The completion of a degree requirement (MQP, IQP or Humanities and Arts Requirement) will not be recorded in the Registrar’s Office after the tenth day of classes of a term unless the student is registered for a minimum of 1/6 unit of the same activity in that term. The deadline for receipt of the Completion Form is no later than the tenth day of classes for the next term. Any exceptions to this policy must be handled by written petition from the project advisor.
Note: Candidates for degrees must meet graduation deadlines if they differ from the above. Deadlines for degree candidates will be strictly enforced!
Only Completion of Degree Requirement (CDR) forms which are complete, correct and consistent with the student’s registration records will be accepted by the Registrar’s Office. (See PROJECTS AND RESEARCH section, page 14.)
Off-Campus Insurance and Legal Agreements
WPI’s insurance program includes a broad range of coverage for students doing projects in cooperation with off-campus organizations. This insurance coverage requires proper documentation of individual student participation. All students doing project work with off-campus organizations must complete the pertinent portion of the project registration form. In certain cases, where the project is included as part of a regular course, the course instructor must submit to the Projects Office a list of the students going off campus and the name(s) and address(es) of the organization(s) involved.
WPI has entered into a variety of agreements with off-campus organizations, covering a wide range of issues common to the projects program. Students agree to abide by these agreements during the registration for the project.
Pay and Credit (for students working on sponsored projects)
Many WPI projects, including both the IQP and the MQP, are completed with an external partner or sponsor. It is important to emphasize that WPI project work is different from traditional internships or co-op experiences in two important ways. First, the primary purpose of the project work is always student learning, as defined by the learning outcomes associated with each project. Second, there must be a WPI faculty member advising the project who has primary responsibility for guiding the student work, for setting the goals of the work, and ensuring that the focus of the project remains student learning.
There do arise situations in projects sponsored by an external organization, usually a company or government agency, when the sponsoring organization requires that the students are classified as employees or interns and receive pay in order to work on the project. In these situations, approval from the Office of Undergraduate Studies is required.
WPI students may receive pay for work on an externally sponsored IQP or MQP when all of the following three conditions are met:
- There is documentation, shared with the students, sponsors, and the faculty advisor(s), stating that the primary purpose of the project work is student learning.
- WPI faculty advisor(s) have a central role in the project and have the responsibility and authority to guide and evaluate student work done on the project. The sponsor does not assign grades or evaluate student learning.
- The Sponsored Project Agreement and the Scope of Work document is reviewed and approved/denied by the Office of Undergraduate Studies before project work begins. Proposals for pay and credit projects must be submitted for approval/denial by the Office of Undergraduate Studies before the fifth day of the academic year term (A, B, C, or D) or summer term (E1 or E2) preceding the term when project work will begin.
Note that, in order to receive academic credit, students must be registered for the project during the terms in which project work is being done. Work performed with an external sponsor prior to registration – and outside the three conditions described above – will not receive academic credit.