Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private institution that was founded in 1861. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 4,524, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 168 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Massachusetts Institute of Technology's ranking in the 2018 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 5. Its tuition and fees are $49,892 (2017-18).
Located outside Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT focuses on scientific and technological research and is divided into five schools and one college. University research expenditures have typically exceeded $650 million each year, with funding from government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense. MIT’s highly ranked graduate schools include the School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, in addition to strong programs in economics, psychology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics and mathematics. Freshmen are required to live on campus, but about 70 percent of upperclassmen do too. Architect Steven Holl designed one dorm, commonly called "The Sponge." The "Independent Activities Program," a four-week term in January, offers special courses, lectures, competitions and projects. Distinguished alumni include Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Question & Answers
What does MIT specialize in?
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers degree programs in a range of subjects, though its mission statement emphasizes science and technology disciplines. The institution’s largest school by far, in terms of enrollment, is the School of Engineering, according to fall 2016 data from the MIT registrar. More than 5,700 of the university’s more than 11,300 students at that time were in the engineering school. The next largest school at MIT is the School of Science, followed closely by the Sloan School of Management.
Is it hard to get into MIT?
Yes. According to U.S. News data, MIT’s acceptance rate for freshmen for fall 2016 was 8 percent, which means fewer than 1 out of every 10 students who applied was admitted. MIT doesn’t use The Common Application, so prospective undergrads will have to apply through the university’s website. MIT offers both early action and regular action deadlines for freshman applicants, and its website states that applying early will not give applicants an advantage in terms of admission.
School Mission and Unique Qualities
Content is provided by the school.
The essence of MIT is our appetite for problems--especially those big, intractable, complicated problems whose solutions make a permanent difference. While MIT is a research university committed to world-class inquiry in math, science, and engineering, MIT has equally distinguished programs in architecture, the humanities, management, and the social sciences. A diverse, supportive campus environment--with an incredible range of student groups and athletic and fitness opportunities--ensures that it's not all about the work. And in MIT's intensely creative atmosphere, the arts flourish in all their forms.MIT admits some of the most talented students in the world on a need-blind basis. The Institute is committed to meeting the financial need of each admitted undergraduate student through MIT scholarships; the average need-based scholarship was $38,871 per year in 2016. As a result, the MIT community is incredibly diverse, and organically collaborative, with students coming from many different backgrounds, across the country and around the world.Students are frequently encouraged to unite MIT's engineering excellence with public service. For example, the required senior capstone design course for mechanical engineering majors centers on making the world a better place through engineering. Recent years have focused on projects using alternative forms of energy, and machines that could be used for sustainable agriculture. Beyond academic coursework, MIT's D-Lab, Poverty Action Lab, and Public Service Center all support students and professors in the research and implementation of culturally sensitive and environmentally responsible technologies and programs that alleviate poverty and improve quality of life in low-income areas locally, nationally, and worldwide.MIT's preeminence in entrepreneurship is rooted in its founding. As one of the first land-grant colleges, the Institute was designed to deliver a practical education rather than to focus on the classical education that was provided by many private universities of that era. This emphasis on practice is infused into the entrepreneurship curriculum and programming, which emphasizes learning by doing. Over the course of the 2015-2016 academic year, more than 60 entrepreneurship courses were offered.Several MIT departments, labs, and centers foster entrepreneurship and innovation at MIT including the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program, and the MIT Innovation Initiative to name a few. MIT also has over 40 student clubs and initiatives involved in entrepreneurship or innovation, among them the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, MIT Clean Energy Prize, and conferences such as Hacking Arts and Hacking Medicine.The MIT community brings its energy and creativity outside the classroom as well with 500+ student-run groups, 33 varsity sports, 18 intramural sports, 33 club sports, and more than 60 music, theater, visual arts, writing, and dance groups. It's just a short walk across the Charles River to Boston where students can enjoy the city's fabulous restaurants or take in Boston culture. Many programs around MIT allow students to get reduced-price tickets to various events, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the American Repertory Theater, and Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox games. Students get free admission daily to the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts, and all Harvard University and MIT museums. see less
2018 Rankings
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is ranked #5 in National Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
#5 in Best Value Schools