- Home
- About MIT
About MIT
The MIT community is driven by a shared purpose: to make a better world througheducation,research, andinnovation. We are fun and quirky, inventive and artistic, obsessed with numbers, and welcoming to talented people regardless of where they come from.
Founded to accelerate the nation’s industrial revolution, MIT is profoundly American. With ingenuity and drive, our graduates have invented fundamental technologies, launched new industries, and created millions of American jobs. At the same time, and without the slightest sense of contradiction, MIT is profoundlyglobal. Our community gains tremendous strength as a magnet for talent from around the world. Through teaching, research, and innovation, MIT’s exceptional community pursues its mission ofservice to the nation and the world.
Mission and Values
Key Facts
History
- Incorporated1861
- Motto“Mens et manus” (“mind and hand”)
Campus
- LocationCambridge, MA USA
- Size168 acres (0.68 km2)
- Student residences20
- Playing fields26 acres (0.11 km2)
- Gardens + green spaces40+
- Publicly sited works of art60+
Admissions (Class of 2028)
- Applicants28,232
- Admits1,284
Selected Honors
- Nobel laureates105
- National Medal of Science winners64
- National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners35
- MacArthur Fellows84
- A. M. Turing Award winners17
More
MIT Facts
A brief history of MIT
Community (as of 10/30/24)
- Employees (including faculty)17,490
- Professors (all ranks)1,090
- Other teaching staff1,013
- Undergraduate student-to-faculty and instructional staff ratio3:1
- Students11,886
- Undergraduates4,535
- Women2,184 (48%)
- US minority groups2,594 (57%)
- Graduate students7,351
- Women3,052 (42%)
- US minority groups1,544 (21%)
Faculty
For MIT’s faculty — just over 1,000 in number — cutting-edge research and education are inseparable. Each feeds the other. When they’re not busy pioneering the frontiers of their fields, MIT faculty members play a vital role in shaping the Institute’s vibrant campus community — as advisors, coaches, heads of houses, mentors, committee members, and much more.
Top Resources
Leadership
President
Sally Kornbluth
MIT’s 18th president, January 2023 – present
The Institute’s board of trustees, known as “the Corporation,” includes 78 distinguished leaders in engineering, science, industry, education, and other professions.
Cambridge & Boston
MIT is an integral part of its host city of Cambridge, a diverse and vibrant community noted for its intellectual life, history, and thriving innovation climate. With a campus nestled between Central and Kendall Squares, and across the Charles River from Boston’s Back Bay, the Institute is optimally positioned to collaborate with its neighbors and to contribute to its community.
Top Resources
