Call for New System Dynamics Students

["Michael J. Radzicki, Ph.D."]

Dear Colleagues:

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is currently accepting applications
for its bachelor of science degree program in system dynamics. Students
accepted into the program will begin their studies in the fall of 1999.

WPI is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, 40 miles west of Boston, and is
the third oldest private university of engineering, science and technology
in the United States. Its new bachelor of science degree in system dynamics
is the first, and currently only, one of its kind in the world.

Students aspiring to be accepted into WPIs system dynamics major must have
taken two laboratory science courses (e.g., biology, physics, chemistry)
and pre-calculus mathematics during their high school careers.

The goals of WPIs system dynamics major are to train students to be
critical thinkers, communicators, and leaders in society, as well as to
equip them with the skills necessary to become system dynamics
professionals in public and private sector organizations.

Students majoring in system dynamics at WPI are required to take five of
the six system dynamics courses offered by the Social Science & Policy
Studies (SS&PS) Department (Introduction to Economic & Social Systems,
Dynamic Modeling of Economic & Social Systems, Advanced Topics in System
Dynamics Modeling, The Psychology of Decision Making & Problem Solving,
Group Model Building, and the System Dynamic Seminar), five other social
science courses (some of which are taught via system dynamics), two
management courses, eight mathematics courses (calculus, differential
equations, control theory, numerical analysis), two computer science
courses, and five courses in a system dynamics application area.

Currently, twelve system dynamics application areas have been created by
the WPI faculty (computer science, economics, electrical power systems
planning, engineering systems, environmental policy, project dynamics, fire
protection engineering, infrastructure planning, model analysis, public
policy, society-technology studies, transportation planning), and more are
planned. Further, students are invited to create their own application
area, with the approval of the SS&PS Departments Program Review Committee,
by selecting a set of five thematically related
courses from the universitys complete set of undergraduate course offerings.

WPIs undergraduate program emphasizes, among other things, team work and
project work. In addition to the course requirements described above, WPI
system dynamics students must complete three projects as part of their
degree requirements.

The first project, known as the sufficiency, is a humanities project that
is usually completed during the sophomore year. The sufficiency requires a
student to write a paper, under the supervision of a faculty member,
relating information and ideas gleaned from five thematically-related
courses taken in the humanities.

The second project, known as the Interactive Qualifying Project or IQP, is
usually completed during the junior year. The IQP requires a student
(usually working in a team) to do thesis-like research, under the
supervision of a faculty member, into some aspect of the interaction
between technology and society. Often, students do the IQP off campus in a
local public or private sector organization, or at one of WPIs many
project centers located in the United States (e.g., Washington, D.C.,
Puerto Rico) and abroad (e.g., London, Venice, Bangkok). System dynamics
majors may or may not choose to utilize system dynamics in their IQP.

The last project, known as the Major Qualifying Project or MQP, is usually
completed during the senior year. The MQP requires a student (usually
working in a team) to do thesis-like research in their major area of study
(in this case system dynamics), under the supervision of a faculty member.
As with the IQP, the MQP can be completed on or off campus.

In addition to the system dynamics major, the SS&PS Department offers a
system dynamics minor. As a result, a student can take ANY major offered at
WPI and minor in system dynamics. It is also possible to double major at
WPI and information to date seems to indicate that computer science/system
dynamics and management/system dynamics double majors will be popular.

For more information on WPI and the system dynamics major and minor,
contact Professor Michael J. Radzicki (mjradz@wpi.edu) or Professor Khalid
Saeed (saeed@wpi.edu) at WPI. You can also visit WPIs web site at:

http://www.wpi.edu/

or the SS&PS web site at:

http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Depts/SSPS/

Please bring our system dynamics programs to the attention of any high
school students who might be interested.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Radzicki

Associate Professor of Economics
Department of Social Science & Policy Studies
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-2280
(508) 831-5767 (Voice)
(508) 831-5896 (Fax)
mjradz@wpi.edu