Wentworth Institute of Technology

Wentworth Institute of Technology, or WIT, is a high-ranking private college in Boston, Massachusetts. Its urban campus is in the heart of the city, by far the largest in the state, and its capital.

Founded in 1904, WIT gained degree-awarding powers in 1957, and has been coeducational since 1972. It now offers more than 15 undergraduate programmes, and six at master’s level, including a number of online courses. There are four colleges: the College of Arts & Sciences, Architecture, Design & Construction Management, Engineering & Technology, and Professional & Continuing Education. 

One of the oldest cities in the US, Boston is one of the country’s true higher education hubs, with more than 30 institutions being located within the city’s boundaries. New England’s cultural and economic capital, Boston is sometimes known as the City of Champions in reference to its highly successful sports teams, the Boston Celtics (basketball), Boston Red Sox (baseball), Boston Bruins (ice hockey) and New England Patriots (American football), the latter of which are the only franchise to play outside the city centre. Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, is less than a mile from the university.

WIT alumni include Russell Colley, a mechanical engineer who designed the spacesuits worn by Alan Shepard and his colleagues on Project Mercury, which put the country’s first astronauts in space, and David Lovering, the drummer for Boston alternative rock band the Pixies who is one of its three ever-present members but pursued a career as a magician during the group’s hiatus.