B.S./M.S. in Fire Protection Engineering

Program of Study

Degree Type

B.S./M.S.

High school seniors and engineering students in their first three years can apply for this five-year program. This gives students the opportunity to complete the undergraduate degree in a selected field of engineering and the master’s degree in fire protection engineering in five years. Please note that you will still need to submit a graduate application to the BS/MS program in Fire Protection Engineering in your junior or senior year.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the BS/MS program should be pursuing (or in the last five years obtained) a B.S. in engineering, or the physical sciences at WPI. Students with science degrees and graduates of some engineering disciplines may be required to take selected undergraduate courses to round out their backgrounds. Applicants should have already taken courses in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and calculus through differential equations with a grade of B or better or its equivalent from an accredited institution.

See the M.S. in Fire Protection Engineering section for full M.S. degree requirements.

Obtaining Graduate Credit for Advanced Undergraduate Courses

FPE BS/MS students may count up to three 4000-level Fire Protection Engineering courses and select courses taught by FPE faculty. If undergraduate courses are double counted for both the BS and MS degrees, these courses are also subject to the limit of 12 graduate credits double counted and no course being triple counted (includes FPE minor). A list approved courses is given below:

Course #	Title	Credits
FP 4000	Fire Laboratory	3
FP 4001	Fire, Risk, and Sustainability	3
ME 4424 or 442X	Radiation Heat Transfer Application and Design	3

In order to receive graduate credits for an allowed 4000-level course, the student must earn a B course grade or higher. Course instructors may waive the course grade requirement at their discretion. Faculty may offer, at their discretion, an additional 1/6 undergraduate unit, or equivalently a 1 graduate credit, for completing additional work in the course. To obtain this credit, the student must, with permission from the instructor, register for 1/6 undergraduate unit of independent study at the 4000-level or a 1 graduate credit independent study at the 500-level. The additional independent study must be completed within a calendar year of the completion of the 4000-level course.

Note: Undergraduate courses counted for graduate credit have a conversion rate of 3 undergraduate credits to 2 graduate credits. Thus, an additional 1 grad cred or 1/6 undergrad unit is required to bring the course to 3 grad credits (typical FPE grad course credit).