DETROIT – Several engineering undergrads are planning to be the first students from Wayne State University to study in Puerto Rico next fall as part of a new student exchange program between the WSU College of Engineering and Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico in San Juan.
The first group of Puerto Rican students to participate in the program will be one or two graduating seniors who plan to take graduate classes at Wayne State, as well as a faculty member who is expected this summer to pursue a PhD and teach, said Carlos Gonzalez, the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico dean of engineering. Up to five Puerto Rican students and faculty members can study each year at Wayne State.
Wayne State junior classmen and above with a 3.5 GPA or higher, and with good Spanish language skills, will be eligible for the program, said Gerald Thompkins, associate dean of student affairs and lead architect of the agreement. At Polytechnic University, all textbooks are in English, but most of the teachers instruct in Spanish. English is the second language in Puerto Rico and part of the school curriculum beginning in the first grade.
Polytechnic University is located in San Juan, the capital and an active metropolitan area. It is the largest of Puerto Rico?s private colleges with more than 4,000 engineering students. Besides engineering, it offers degrees in architecture and business.
