Massachusetts Institute of Technology Parent Guide
Welcome to MIT
We hope you’ll enjoy your time with us, exploring the campus, learning about our new initiatives (global, green, and otherwise), and touring facilities known as much for their architectural design as for their cutting-edge laboratories inside.
MIT stands among the world’s preeminent research universities. Our formal mission is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.
MIT believes in the power of learning-by-doing, the value of working collaboratively, and the importance of continually reassessing the effectiveness of our own teaching strategies. Whenever possible, our courses include hands-on engagement with the subject, and students tackle new material in teams. The latest and most effective techniques and learning technologies are transforming the way many subjects are taught at the Institute.
MIT is coeducational and privately endowed. Its faculty of more than 1,000 is dedicated to helping more than 4,000 undergraduate and 6,000 graduate students pursue their degrees in one of five schools:
- Architecture and Planning
- Engineering
- Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
- Management
- Science
An MIT education combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community. Students come from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries; our diversity is reflected in our long roster of ethnically and culturally oriented clubs and organizations. Underrepresented minority students will find a lively community here, as well as a range of support services. Likewise, MIT’s unmistakably international atmosphere is welcoming to students from around the globe.
Overall, MIT is a community open to new approaches and ideas, deeply committed to collaboration and unimpressed with social credentials—a place where people take great pleasure in tackling hard problems, together. The MIT community exudes a crackling energy—the passion, curiosity, playfulness, creativity, and drive of thousands of bright minds working together on the great problems of the world. As your visit concludes, you may find that you, too, have been infused with the energy and inquisitiveness present in our Institute.
We hope you enjoy your visit.
Sincerely,
The MIT Parents Association
