At MIT, you will learn by doing and do by learning.
Mind and hand
MIT’s motto, Mens et Manus, “Mind and Hand,” reflects how we teach, how we learn, and how we think about solving problems. At MIT, almost every undergraduate participates in at least one research program with MIT faculty members. And MIT has a strong maker culture that is reinforced by student traditions and activities that celebrate the value of creating beautiful, useful, ingenious, and/or interesting things.
Rewarding research
At MIT, every student—first year or senior, scientist, or humanist—has the chance to work on cutting-edge research through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). UROPs cultivate and support research partnerships between undergraduates and world-class faculty and graduate students to solve problems no one has ever sovled before. Most undergraduates participate in the UROP program (usually for pay, sometimes for academic credit), and more than half take part in four or more. “UROPing” follows a basic rule of thumb: if you want one, you can find one.
Explore the world
The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) matches students with tailored internship, research, and teaching opportunities abroad, allowing you to collaborate with MIT faculty members and their counterparts from all over the world. MISTI supports MIT’s educational mission by creating hands-on, international learning experiences related to several courses of study within the Institute. While exploring a host country’s language, culture, history, and politics, you will gain the perspective you need to imagine your future as a participant and leader in an interconnected world.
Succeed professionally
At MIT, we want to make sure students are prepared to succeed professionally after the graduate. The Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP) is a yearlong professional development program that prepares sophomores—regardless of major—to thrive in their careers. The UPOP gives students real-world skills, coaching from (and lifelong connections with!) successful MIT alums, experiential workshops, company field trips, one-on-one counseling from UPOP staff, networking events, exclusive panel discussions with companies like Apple, Google, and Tesla Motors, and access to internships with the 2000+ employers who work with UPOP and who know and trust that a UPOP-trained intern will hit the ground running.