When applying to elite colleges, you want to make sure you’re doing your research on what they have to offer. Not only will this help tell you if the school is a good fit for you, but it will help when you go to write your supplemental essays in the fall. Schools want to see specificity. You want to study engineering? Prove it! What kind of engineering? What kind of research? Which professors? What labs?? Thankfully, we’ve come up with this guide to steer you in the right direction when it comes to those deep dives into the Bulletins.
Before we tell you what the most unique programs at MIT are, let’s take a moment together and make fun of them for calling their majors ‘Course (enter numbers here)’ which is ridiculous and weird. We get that they’re MIT, or whatever, but is it really necessary? Anyways, let’s dive in.
Humanities and Science
MIT isn’t especially known for their liberal arts degrees, but this major combines a humanity of your choice with a science curriculum. This is great if you’re looking for a more well-rounded approach to STEM. They do encourage combining concentrations in an intuitive way so that you have a good foundation to study both.
Humanities and Engineering
Same thing as above, but this time for engineering!
Innovation HQ
People at MIT sure do like do things. And make things. And make things happen. Innovation HQ is open to students from every single school across MIT to come together and collaborate on ideas, new business, entrepreneurship, and can attend guest lectures and events.
Haystack Observatory
Haystack is a radio science and technology research center and observatory. Part of their mission includes “studying the structure of our galaxy and the larger universe” and “advancing scientific knowledge of our planet and its atmosphere.” Pretty cool! Research everything from Astronomy to Geodesy to Geospace. Do we know exactly what those are? No. Does it sound cool as hell? Yes.
Science, Technology, and Society/Second Major (STS)
A full major, STS is only offered as a second major. Located within the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences department, this major is great for anyone looking to add interdisciplinary depth to their degree. You can’t pursue STS unless you’re already majoring in engineering or science. Also, they have cool classes called stuff like “Ancient Greeks to Modern Geeks.”
Abdul Latif Jameel Water & Food Systems Lab
J-WAFS, as it’s known, focuses on food, water, and climate and sustainability. They work closely with a number of undergraduate clubs like the MIT Water Club and the MIT Food and Agriculture Club. Some current research includes “cloud-based data applications for streamlining natural resource management,” and “solar photomolecular desalination,” and “enzymatic biomaterials for PFAS degradation.” Again, do we know what this means? Not really. But anything to protect the environment and our food and water supply is pretty awesome.
Computation and Cognition
Computation and Cognition combine computer science, math, psychology, and AI to create a very interdisciplinary major that allows you to explore any combination of these topics. It’s offered by both The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and aims to set students up for a future in machine learning or neuroscience.
Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Here at TKG we’ve always said Entrepreneurship is more of a personality trait than a learned skill, but this minor is really useful for learning the steps you need to take to see an idea come to fruition. You’ll learn how to scale up an organization, how to work with a team to realize an idea, and some general business knowledge. Neat!
Urban Science and Planning with Computer Science
This major is a joint venture offered between the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The focus is on the Planning, but uses Computer Science to help shape technological advances that could help in the field.
Knight Science Journalism
It is just sooo MIT to do interdisciplinary work with STEM. And this is no exception! The Knight Science Journalism program tries to educate journalists on how to best cover scientific news, and gives them the tools to be more successful in their field overall. In light of the last couple of years, this field is extremely important and MIT knows it.
And there you have it! Nine super interesting programs, majors, minors, and labs you could participate in at MIT. Obviously, they have way more than just this. Take some time to dive into their website and see what they have to offer you and your goals.
And if you want to apply to MIT and don’t know where to begin, reach out to us today. We’ve got counselors who can help you along every step of the way.