MIT Curriculum Guide

This guide will help you understand how MIT sequences its courses within each discipline and what courses MIT requires for a complete program of study. MIT OpenCourseWare provides this guide for informational purposes only. You cannot receive a degree, a certificate, or any kind of credit for your study of courses on OCW.

MIT is organized into five schools:

All together, there are over 30 degree-granting departments, programs, and divisions.

In addition, a great deal of research and education takes place in interdisciplinary programs, laboratories, and centers whose work extends beyond traditional departmental boundaries. Interdisciplinary education programs are offered at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels.

Undergraduate Education

MIT strives to provide students with a strong scientific, technical, and humanistic foundation, and to encourage them to develop creativity in defining problems and seeking solutions. For the Bachelor of Science degree, students must complete a core requirement that is equally divided between science and mathematics, and the humanities, arts, and social sciences. The science/mathematics requirement includes chemistry, biology, physics, and calculus, as well as laboratory and science electives. The humanities, arts, and social sciences requirement must be fulfilled by taking one course each in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, along with a three-subject concentration. Students must also complete a four-subject communications requirement.

MIT undergraduate General Institute Requirements include:

  • An eight-subject humanities, arts, and social sciences requirement
  • A six-subject science requirement
    • Two terms of calculus
    • Two terms of physics
    • One term of chemistry
    • One term of biology
  • Two restricted electives in science and technology subjects
  • One laboratory subject

See the MIT Course Catalog for detailed information about General Institute Requirements and the Communication Requirement. Beyond these requirements, students must meet the standards of their chosen major(s). See the MIT Undergraduate Curriculum Requirements links in the tables below for specific information about each major.

A typical course load is four to five courses each term. Freshmen are subject to a credit limit of no more than five courses, as they adjust to the pace and intensity of an MIT education. Upperclassmen are free to take as many courses as they like, with their academic advisor's approval.

To apply for admission as a student, please contact the MIT Admissions Office for an application.

Office of Admissions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 10-100
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone: +1.617.253.3400

 

Graduate Education

Traditionally a leader in engineering graduate education, MIT has also attained national prominence for its doctoral programs in mathematics and the physical and life sciences. In addition, top-ranked graduate programs in economics; political science; linguistics; science, technology, and society; architecture; urban studies and planning; and management have broadened the spectrum of graduate education at MIT.

Graduate students may pursue any of the following degrees:

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  • Doctor of Science (ScD)
  • Engineer
  • Master of Science (SM)
  • Master of Engineering (MEng)
  • Master of Architecture (MArch)
  • Master in City Planning (MCP)
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA)

The Institute has a single faculty that is responsible for both undergraduate and graduate instruction. Each department exercises a large measure of autonomy for its graduate programs, under general guidelines established for the Institute as a whole. The administration of graduate education rests with the president, the provost, the chancellor, the dean and associate dean for graduate students, and the Committee on Graduate School Programs.

 

Curriculum Details by Department

School of Architecture and Planning

 

School of Engineering

DEPARTMENTS UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES GRADUATE STUDIES

Aeronautics and Astronautics

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering/Course 16

Bachelor of Science in Engineering as Recommended by the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics/Course 16-ENG

Graduate Program

Biological Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering/Course 20

Graduate Program

Chemical Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering/Course 10

Bachelor of Science in Chemical-Biological Engineering/Course 10-B

Bachelor of Science as Recommended by the Department of Chemical Engineering/Course 10-C

Bachelor of Science in Engineering as Recommended by the Department of Chemical Engineering/Course 10-ENG

Graduate Program

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Engineering as Recommended by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering/Course 1-ENG

Graduate Program

Data, Systems, and Society

No undergraduate program

Graduate Program

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Science and Engineering/Course 6-1

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science/Course 6-2

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering/Course 6-3

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Molecular Biology/Course 6-7

Graduate Program

Health Sciences and Technology

No undergraduate program

Graduate Program

Materials Science and Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering/Course 3

Bachelor of Science in Engineering as Recommended by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering/Course 3

Graduate Program

Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering/Course 2

Bachelor of Science in Engineering as Recommended by the Department of Mechanical Engineering/Course 2-A

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering/Course 2-OE

Graduate Program

Nuclear Science and Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Science and Engineering/Course 22

Graduate Program

 

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

 

Sloan School of Management

 

School of Science

 

Curriculum Details for Interdisciplinary Programs

Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs

 

Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs

 

MIT Undergraduate Curriculum Map and OCW

map_thumb_curric.JPGExplore OCW's coverage of the MIT undergraduate curriculum with this interactive visualization. See prerequisite relationships and how topics are covered by different MIT departments.

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