The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts that you can visit with your Quincy car rental. It has five school and one college, with 32 academic departments. There is a strong focus on scientific and technological research.

Go back to a simpler time

In 1861, the charter for MIT was approved by the state. William Barton Rogers wasted to establish a new form of higher education in the area to face the challenges made by rapid advances in science and technology that were already taking place. It came from a German model of education that emphasized independent faculty that was engaged in research and instruction. Over the years, MIT grew exponentially. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a lot of campus activism that protested the Vietnam War and MIT's defence research. MIT is chartered as a non-profit organization and is owned and governed by a board of trustees.

Getting organized

MIT has five schools: Science, Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Management, and Humanities, Arts, and Social Science, as well as one college (Whitaker College of Health Science and Technology). There are no schools of law or medicine. MIT students refer to their majors and classes using numbers or acronyms alone, unlike other universities. Majors are numbers in the approximate order of when the department was created.

Get the lay of the land

When you visit with your Quincy car rental you will find a beautiful 168-acre campus on the north side of the Charles River basin in Cambridge. It is divided in half (roughly) by Massachusetts Avenue. Most of the dorms and student life facilities are found on the west side and most academic buildings on the east side. MIT buildings all have a number designation and most have a name as well. Often the academic and office buildings are referred to by number and the residence halls by name. Again, the building numbers roughly corresponds to the order in which the buildings were built and their relative location to the centre cluster of Maclaurin buildings. There is an extensive network of underground tunnels that protect students from the harsh winters.

Learn the culture

MIT highly values meritocracy and technical proficiency. They have never awarded an honorary degree, athletic scholarship, ad eundem degree, or Latin honors upon graduation. Students have the perception that their classes are more rigorous than their peer institutions. Students and alumni wear a large class ring that is known as the "Brass Rat". It was started in 1929, changing slightly from year to year. When you visit with your Quincy car rental you might see a few of these around. There are more than 380 recognized student activity groups on campus and 41 varsity-level sports.