study spots at MIT by Ankita D. '23

since it’s my last semester, I’ve been trying to spend more time working on campus. or rather, I feel guilty whenever I work in my bed since I could be exploring a new and fascinating part of the institute I’ll soon be graduating from!!

to try to get myself out of my room more, I embarked on a quest to document the best study spots at MIT. most of these are relatively well-known—don’t anticipate many niche hidden gems since those will continue to be gatekept by the student body :)) I tried to find them, I promise :))))

what makes a study spot attractive?

I started by polling my friends to find out where they like to study on campus and what they enjoy about their most-frequented spots. The most popular locations were:

• Hayden Library (31.7%)
• empty classrooms (15.9%)
• the student center (Stud) (11.1%)
• Stata (4.8%)
• Rotch Library (3.2%)
• STEAM (3.2%)

I also asked them to choose the most important characteristics of a given study space:

other factors that they wrote in include:

• enough chairs and stable desks
• nobody gets annoyed if I talk while working with someone
• comfy seats next to a table so I can sit cross-legged
• I don’t know the people there…I get distracted too easily by anyone I know :(
• charging spots near desks
• is far from where I live so I stay there
• is cozy/has warm lighting
• natural light
• windows and sunlight

with all this in mind, let’s dive into my definitely not comprehensive list of well-trafficked spots!

Green Building (Building 54)

54-1725

Pros

• free coffee and tea
• great view
• super comfy couch
• good table space
• has a printer!!

Cons

• not enough natural light

14th Floor Lounge

Pros

• great view
• free coffee/sparkling water
• big tables and comfy chairs/sofas

Cons

• only a few tables, so you’ll probably have to share during the day when it’s busy

Ida Green Room (9th Floor Lounge)

Pros

• incredible view
• spacious
• lots of couch seating
• free coffee/tea

Cons

• only one large table + the seats with it are uncomfortable
• lighting is eh

DUSP⁠01 Department of Urban Studies and Planning (Building 9)

there are tons of nooks to study in on every floor of building 9 (except maybe the 3rd, I didn’t see much there). there’s a lounge on the second floor and a big workspace with a bunch of chairs, tables, and couches on the fifth.

Pros

• lots of seating options
• good outlet access
• plenty of natural light on second floor
• big tables
• small circular tables are a nice height

Cons

• creepy lighting on higher floors at night
• second floor lounge is kind of small and literally never empty

MIT.nano (Building 12)

1st Floor Booths

Pros

• booths are great for solo/partner work
• comfortable seating
• big table
• good outlet access

Cons

• people are always walking by when classes end and it’s distracting

3rd/4th Floor

Pros

• comfy seating
• great view of dome (from 3rd floor)
• quiet
• nano is pretty (I disagree with those who say it looks like an insane asylum)

Cons

• outlet access is bad
• tables are short

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Building 46)

(first pic stolen from Joonho’s blog “places at mit,” which has much prettier pictures and some other spots. check it out!)

“Plant Room” aka Reading Terrace

everyone thinks this is a niche spot, but half of campus has worked here. fun fact: it was the first place I ever psetted at MIT!

Pros

• so pretty
• well-lit
• quiet
• great view of Stata
• vibey even after the sun sets

Cons

• tables usually occupied
  • there are couches, but they can be hard to work on
• outlets hard to reach from certain tables

Main Area

Pros

• building is so beautiful & visually interesting
• quiet
• couches and tables scattered through the floors

Cons

• hard to find an empty spot, especially during lunch hours

BCS Tea Room (46-6005)

located right outside the 6th floor elevators, on the opposite side of the plant room.

Pros

• quiet and much less crowded than plant room
• comfy chairs
• coffee
• whiteboards
• couch
• cute little view of plant room
• natural light

Cons

• only a few tables
• kind of small

Stata Center (Building 32)

home to CSAIL⁠02 Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and probably more study nooks than I could ever hope to discover! the main ones I know are:

First Floor

again, first pic credit goes to Joonho

Pros

• the cafeteria is right there
• lots of people working around you
• nice big tables
• natural light (near the skylights)

Cons

• super busy between classes, hard to get a spot
• you’ll always be bumping into people, which might be a positive but for me is distracting
• food is so overpriced

Fourth Floor Commons

Pros

• very quiet
• nice long tables
• less crowded than first floor
• lots of natural light + windows to work against

Cons

• hard to find unoccupied space midday, especially near lunch time
• finding outlets is annoying near the middle of the space

Rotch Library

Pros

• TONS of study nooks
• hidden desks in the stacks are private & secluded
  • window-side ones have nice views
• large tables
• very quiet
• well-lit
• lots of natural light
• couches

Cons

• closes at 6 PM on weekdays, closed on weekends

Media Lab

6th Floor

I’m a 6th floor devotee. I romanticized it so much last year that I made a playlist for when I study there…yes, I’m serious. but every time I’ve tried to go this year, there’s been some event going on, so I’m not sure how reliable of a spot it is anymore. last year, it was always empty, had a ton of huge desks set up, and had a GIANT display I’d use to play dance videos whenever I needed a break.

Pros

• beautiful at night, incredible view
• huge desks
• lots of outlets
• a nice display to play with if you so desire

Cons 

• it’s kind of creepy to be alone in a big space
• nowadays there’s always events going on here, good luck finding a time it’s empty

5th Floor

if things don’t work out on the 6th floor, you can try here. actually, just kidding—if there’s an event going on upstairs, it might echo through this floor and annoy the hell out of you :)

Pros

• the purple chairs are fire
• nice big tables to work on
• quiet
• plenty of natural light
• so pretty
• lots of different tables to choose from

Cons

• outlets in weird areas
• can be loud if there’s an event upstairs
• weird lighting at night
• benches are uncomfortable

I also love the seating area on the 3rd floor with all the interesting furniture. in general, the Media Lab has a bunch of great study spots!! it’s kind of far, but definitely worth it.

Hayden

1st Floor

Pros

• natural light!
• quiet
• nice view
• café with sandwiches/snacks/coffee/smoothies etc open weekdays 9-5
• lots of people working peripherally
• bookable study rooms
• comfy couches and desks by the windows
• whiteboards
• some chairs are configurable

Cons

• circular couch tables are small
• so crowded all the time, especially since Stud closed
• outlet access annoying in places
• café is overpriced (as most things are)
• study rooms are booked super fast

2nd Floor

Pros

• natural light
• large tables
• quiet study room with single-person sofas and dividers
• outlet availability
• quiet

Cons

• crowded
• tall grey sofas are difficult to work on

Building 66

3rd Floor

Pros

• always empty
• couches! art!
• whiteboards everywhere

Cons

• short tables
• couches are mid

3rd Floor Connection to 68

Pros

• always empty
• nice big table
• chairs are comfortable enough
• room is closed off

Cons

• I feel like I’m going insane if I’m here for more than two hours

Barker Library

Pros

• pin drop silent, if you’re into that
• the dome is so pretty
• couches and tables available
• the tables have dividers
• desks around circumference

Cons

• couches hard to work on
• personally, I find it too quiet (I always end up falling asleep)
• closes at 6 PM on weekdays, closed on weekends

Stud 5

note that I’m limited in my ability to document other study spots in the student center since a pipe burst a few weeks ago and certain parts are closed off now. it’s going down for renovations soon anyways

Loud Side

(literally my least favorite place to work ever. haven’t been here since freshman year)

Pros

• fun place for working on group projects
• seating is nice
• study rooms with whiteboards
• good sized tables
• ambient
• close to food places located in building

Cons

• loud
• busy, you’ll probably see people you know all the time & get distracted
• study rooms aren’t closed off so they don’t feel private

Quiet Side

Pros

• deathly silent
• close to food places located in building
• huge tables
• dividers
• everyone around you is extremely productive

Cons

• depressing
• lighting is weird at night

iHQ (E38 3rd Floor)

the innovation headquarters!

Pros

• very nice study rooms with monitors, whiteboards, and couches
• close to Chipotle
• nice communal working areas
• monitors and charging spots everywhere
• water fountain and bathroom three feet away at all times

Cons

• far

Empty Classrooms

Pros

• having a whole room to yourself is great
• natural light, esp. in buildings 2/4

Cons

• outlet availability, sometimes
• hard to find depending on the time of day
• awkward interactions with people who walk in thinking it’s their class
• you might get kicked out for office hours or something

STEAM (Building 7 4th Floor)

Pros

• has a café open on weekdays
• large tables
• good natural light
• great for (quiet-ish) group work
• good outlet access

Cons

• uncomfortable seating
• elevator is slow and annoying
• people give you death glares if you’re too loud

Cheney Room (3-308)

Aims to promote community and empower all students at MIT who experience gender-based systems of oppression as it relates to being a women or being coded as a woman. This includes (but is not limited to) self-identified women, transgender women, non-binary women as well as gender diverse individuals who relate to the purpose of the Margaret Cheney Room.

Pros

• adorable and vibey, cute art everywhere, soothing color palette
• plenty of natural light
• tables and cute comfy booths available
• lounge space with sofas, pillows, and blankets
• TVs with Disney+/Hulu/Netflix if you’re trying to take a study break
• kitchen with snacks
• free tea and coffee
• nice view
• outlets everywhere

Cons

• sweltering….I get so sweaty whenever I go

Banana Lounge

Pros

• free bananas
• free coffee (although I personally find it repulsive)
• hot chocolate!
• wide array of seating
• good sized tables
• dark space to nap/work on beanbags

Cons

• faint to strong scent of rotting bananas..
• ranges from ambient to loud
• the people always coming in and out are distracting

Martin Trust Center (E40)

the entrepreneurship space, located right next to Sloan

Pros

• free coffee and tea + a bevi
• sometimes if you scrounge around enough you can find free ramen/snacks
• you can book study rooms or phone booths to take/hold meetings
  • phone booths are very conducive to grind sessions…have been in there until 5 AM more than a few times
  • the bigger rooms have whiteboards!!

Cons

• quite the trek from main campus
• sometimes there are events going on and it gets pretty loud
  • if you don’t blast music, you’ll hear people pitching their shitty startups to randos

Sloan (E51/52/62)

Pros

• well-lit
• quiet
• lots of couches
• close to [overpriced] Sloan cafeteria

Cons

• far from main campus
• short tables
• proximity to MBA students (kidding)
• busy during the day

Walker Memorial 2nd Floor

this building might traumatize you because of all the exams you’ve taken on the 3rd floor, but the 2nd floor is a nice place to work

Pros

• couches!
• tables!
• lots of seating space

Cons

• lighting is mid
• there’s dance practice in the studio adjacent to this area, so it might get loud between 7 and 11 pm

Building 36 8th Floor

 

Pros

• so much natural light—there are floor to ceiling windows⁠03 the windows are so huge that they serve as perfect mirrors when it gets dark. dancers used to use this as a practice space. that's been banned since, but I still use them to dance when I need a break from work
• large tables in the middle, smaller ones by the windows
• perfect place to work as the sun goes down
• convenient bathroom access

Cons

• gets really hot sometimes?
• benches aren’t comfortable
• outlets hard to reach from bigger tables depending on location
• the water fountain barely works

 

and finally,

my personal favorite spots:

• Hayden
• Cheney Room
• iHQ
• plant room
• Building 36 8th floor

let me know what spots I missed!