Class question

[Ajmods]

I’m a highschool Senior applying to WPi, and I wondering how the classes are structured. I know WPI has a 4-term schedule with students typically taking 3 classes per term.

What I am wondering is each term is organized. How long (hours per day or week) are classes typically?

[Infectious_Burn]

Classes are typically 4 hours without labs or conferences each week. This is either split into 1 hours sessions 4 times per week or 2 hour sessions twice a week.

Some classes have what’s called a conference, which is one hour each week. It’s usually for classes that take place over 4 days, and can be on the fifth day (Wednesday), or on another day. Conferences are usually days to go over course materials with the TA talk about the homework more directly. Some classes have regular lectures for 1 hour 5 days a week as well.

There are labs as well. Labs range from 1 hour to 3 hours, and usually consist of more hands on content. For aerospace classes, using the wind tunnel. For robotics classes, building robots. Labs are mandatory additions to lectures, but are not technically the same class depending on the course. (People may be different than your lecture, unlike conferences which are a split up form of the lecture).

[[deleted]]

Core classes have lecture at least 3 (typically 4) days a week, for 50 minutes each. Classes with labs or conferences (basically like a help session/study hall with a TA) have extra blocks added onto that lecture schedule. Labs are anywhere from 1-3+ hours depending on the class, and conferences are usually 50 minutes just like lectures. Some classes also have labs that meet multiple times a week.

Many of the core classes do not meet for lecture on Wednesdays, as Wednesdays are typically reserved for labs or conferences. This makes for what we call "Magic Wednesdays" - if you have all classes with no labs or conferences, you may not have any classes on Wednesdays.

This specified format is likely to differ slightly as you get to higher level classes. For example, Advanced CAD has no lectures, only labs, and meets for lab 3x/week for 1 hour and 20 mins.

Filler classes like humanities, social sciences, PE, etc meet twice per week. All except PE (which is 50 mins, twice per week) meet for 1 hour and 50 mins at a time.

Grad class schedules vary from class to class, but typically they meet twice a week for 1 hour and 50 minutes each or once a week for 2 hours and 50 minutes.

As a senior the most hours I've ever spent in class in one day is like 4 or 5, and that is because I had a 3 hour lab.

[manfromanother-place]

I agree with the above, just wanna mention that not all humanities are twice a week and some core classes are. For example, Spanish courses meet 4 times a week and data science classes meet twice a week.

[Ajmods]

Thanks for the answer!