Overview

On February 20, 1865, four years after approval of its founding charter, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened its doors to admit the first class of 15 students. The event marked the culmination of an effort by William Barton Rogers, MIT's founder and first president, to create a new kind of educational institution relevant to the times and to the nation's need, where students would be educated in a way that emphasizes the application of knowledge. A distinguished natural scientist, Rogers stressed the importance of basic research and believed that professional competence was best fostered by the coupling of teaching and research and attention to real-world problems.

Teaching and research—with relevance to the practical world as a guiding principle—continue to be MIT's primary purpose. The Institute is independent, coeducational, and privately endowed. Its five schools—architecture and planning; engineering; humanities, arts, and social sciences; management; and science—and the college of computing encompass numerous academic departments, institutes, and degree-granting programs, as well as interdisciplinary research centers, laboratories, and programs whose work extends beyond traditional departmental boundaries.

Mission Statement

The mission of MIT 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.

The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its students with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community. 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.

Values Statement

Excellence and Curiosity

We strive for the highest standards of integrity and intellectual and creative excellence. We seek new knowledge and practical impact in service to the nation and the world.

We prize originality, ingenuity, honesty, and boldness. We love discovery and exploration, invention and making. We delight in the full spectrum of human wisdom.

Drawing strength from MIT’s distinctive roots, we believe in learning by doing, and we blur the boundaries between disciplines as we seek to solve hard problems. Embracing the unconventional, we welcome quirkiness, nerdiness, creative irreverence, and play.

We accept the risk of failing as a rung on the ladder of growth. With fearless curiosity, we question our assumptions, look outward, and learn from others.

Openness and Respect

We champion the open sharing of information and ideas.

Because learning is nourished by a diversity of views, we cherish free expression, debate, and dialogue in pursuit of truth—and we commit to using these tools with respect for each other and our community.

We strive to be transparent and worthy of each other’s trust—and we challenge ourselves to face difficult facts, speak plainly about failings in our systems, and work to overcome them. 

We take special care not to overlook bad behavior or disrespect on the grounds of great accomplishment, talent, or power. 

Belonging and Community

We strive to make our community a humane and welcoming place where people from a diverse range of backgrounds can grow and thrive—and where we all feel that we belong.

We know that attending to our own and each other’s wellbeing in mind, body, and spirit is essential. We believe that decency, kindness, respect, and compassion for each other as human beings are signs of strength.

Valuing potential over pedigree, we know that talent and good ideas can come from anywhere—and we value one another’s contributions in every role.

Together we possess uncommon strengths, and we shoulder the responsibility to use them with wisdom and care for humanity and the natural world.