You don’t have to travel to Cambridge to get a feel for MIT. Since folks at the Institute are always making, writing, and discovering new things—whether on campus or off—there’s more than enough to explore from home. Consider this your starting point as you get to know MIT.

Let’s get started

At the bottom of each page—starting with this one—you’ll find a link to the next stop in this virtual-MIT-choose-your-own-adventure experience. While we recommend reading through each page at least once, we hope you click any link and watch any video that piques your interest. (And if several clicks later you find that you’ve fallen down your own rabbit hole deep into the digital MIT universe…we consider that a success.)

We’ve written pretty extensively about each of these topics elsewhere on our site, and you’ll find those pages linked in the headers. When in doubt, check the blogs; out of more than 7,240 posts, there’s likely one that covers whatever you’re curious about.

Up first? Academics.

Academics

MIT’s academic program is as much about developing new ideas and solving problems as it is about mastering course material. As our motto “mind and hand”⁠01 the official motto is actually Latin, “mens et manus” suggests, our learning philosophy is rooted in marrying knowledge with action—whether designing, building, and presenting new products from scratch or conducting professional-level research through MIT’s extensive undergraduate research programs. MIT invites students to act upon their knowledge to solve problems that transform society for the better.

Student perspectives

MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI): Virginia A. ’18 shares her global internship experience at Tencent in Shenzhen, China.

• The Hardest Exam I Ever took at MIT (vlog by Dianna Cowern ’11, aka Physics Girl)
• 24 Things I Learned in My First Semester and a Half (blog by Cami M. ’23)

Meet MIT faculty (Tea with Teachers)

Ever wondered what MIT professors are like? Here’s your chance to get to know MIT Professor Evelyn Wang, who teaches mechanical engineering and is an MIT alum!

• Professor Regina Barzilay (Course 6, CSAIL)
• Professor Eran Egozy (co-founder of Harmonix, creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band)

Undergraduate research

One of the earliest programs of its kind in the U.S., the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) supports thousands of projects each year. By the time students graduate from MIT, 95% of them have conducted research—for pay or for credit—during their undergraduate years through UROP.

Maker education

We were serious about the mens et manus thing. With more than 130,000 square feet of makerspaces—and more on the way—MIT supports any student interested in making, whether novice or expert. For more information about makerspaces and hands-on education at MIT, visit Project Manus.

Take an MIT class for free

Enroll in one of MIT’s free, self-paced courses offered through MITx, from Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python and Becoming an Entrepreneur, to Introduction to Biology – The Secret of Life and World Music: Balinese Rhythms.

Self-guided campus walking tour

Chart your own course and follow our tour guides as they share their favorite spots on campus!

Next stop: student life at MIT