More than 50 percent of incoming first-years have prior training in the arts, and more than half of all MIT undergrads enroll in arts courses each year—with nearly half of students participating in music and theater arts classes and performance groups. Students can participate in more than 60 music, theater, visual arts, writing, and dance groups.
Arts on the MIT campus are rooted in experimentation, risk taking, and imaginative problem solving. The MIT School of Architecture and Planning offers degrees in Design and Architecture, and even a minor in Art, Culture and Technology. The MIT School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences offers degrees in music, theater arts and comparative media studies/writing.
And at MIT, you don’t have to major or minor in the arts to be fully immersed in arts courses or the creative community. Students of any major can take art, music, and theater courses, and any student can audition to join one of MIT’s premier performance groups, like the MIT Symphony Orchestra or the Musical Theater Guild.
If you’d rather just appreciate art—instead of participate in it—MIT has you covered. The MIT List Visual Art Center curates exhibitions, maintains our public art collection, and organizes the Student Lending Art Program, which loans real works of arts to MIT students to decorate their private rooms or shared residence hall spaces.
Visit Arts at MIT for more info on all things art at MIT.