Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Environmental & Sustainability Studies (ESS) program at WPI is designed to focus on diverse aspects of environmental issues and provide hands-on education in the methods of scientific, social science, and humanistic analysis. With growing public demand for greater attention on human consumption and production, and their implications on environmental sustainability, there is an increased need for professionals educated across all aspects of human-environment interactions, from the sciences to sociology to humanities. Through core courses, seminars, and projects focused on integrated approaches to environmental issues, the ESS curriculum helps students address contemporary environmental problems in creative ways that transcend disciplinary boundaries. This interdisciplinary approach also enables students to gain breadth and depth of knowledge in core disciplines such as biology, chemistry, philosophy, history, and environmental law and policy.

With demands for humanity’s needs increasing globally and exponentially, WPI’s Environmental Engineering program prepares graduates for rewarding, groundbreaking careers in consulting, industry, research, policy-making, and business areas, such as: helping keep water supplies safe, designing processes to reduce chemical toxicity, developing new capabilities for energy production, and restoring ecosystems for future generations. Students work closely with pioneers in the field to develop solutions to environmental imperatives and gain experience applicable in a wide range of careers that will improve quality of life.

WPI’s Architectural Engineering program focusses on the science and engineering aspects of building design, preparing engineering graduates for careers in the building professions. Drawing on WPI’s unique strength in project based education, the program provides a high quality education in the fundamentals of engineering and its application to buildings.  WPI’s Architectural Engineering program is one of only a few ABET accredited programs in the U.S. and the only one in New England. The construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of buildings has global impact and consequence. Buildings consume about 40% of the world’s energy and also play a major role in human health and productivity. There is an increasing demand for engineering professionals who can design buildings that require less resources while increasing occupant comfort, health, and safety.   The main goal of our program is to educate the next generation of engineers who will create the sustainable built environment of tomorrow. Drawing from both the architect’s knowledge of design and the engineer’s understanding of structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, the integrated, technically focused program educates students through classroom teaching, architectural design studios, interdisciplinary projects, and hands-on learning. The program is designed to produce graduates who have a fundamental understanding of all building systems, while allowing them to gain design competence in the mechanical or structural areas.

Civil Engineering, https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/civil-environmental-engineering; Society Technology and Policy: https://www.wpi.edu/academics/study/society-technology-policy-bs

Students may earn the minor by completing 2 courses from the environmental studies core, 3 electives in the social sciences and humanities with an environmental focus, and an environmental studies capstone.

Economic Science majors may focus their studies by choosing a Concentration in Sustainable Economic Development. The sustainable development concentration examines the economic, psychological, social, political, legal, and technical issues surrounding the creation of policies aimed at establishing sustainable economic systems at the local, national, and international levels.

The Sustainability Engineering Minor is intended for students who are interested in gaining knowledge and experience in the principles and practices of engineering design for sustainability, and of the critical role of engineering decisions on the sustainability of the resulting designs. Every engineering discipline impacts the environmental and social sustainability of the planet, and knowledge of the principles of sustainability in engineering design will contribute substantially to professional practice.

http://www.wpi.edu/academics/hua/environmental-studies.html Chemical Engineering with an Environmental Concentration http://www.wpi.edu/academics/che/undergradprogram-overview.html https://www.wpi.edu/academics/study/sustainability-engineering-minor