On February 20, 1865, four years after the acceptance of its founding charter, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened its doors to the admission of 15 students to the first class. The event marked the culmination of an attempt by William Barton Rogers, MIT’s founder, and first president, to create a new kind of educational institution that is important to the times and needs of the country, where students will be taught in a way that emphasizes the application of knowledge. The primary aim of MIT continues to be teaching and study applicable to the real world as a guiding principle.
…The Institute is independent, co-educational, and privately funded. Its five colleges, Architecture and Planning, Engineering, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Management and Science, encompass various academic departments, institutes and graduation programs, as well as interdisciplinary research centers, laboratories, and programs whose work reaches beyond conventional departmental boundaries. The purpose of the MIT academic program is to give students a solid understanding of basic concepts, the flexibility of observations and perspectives on natural and social phenomena, the habit of continuous learning, and the strength that comes from a comprehensive and systematic approach to learning.
MIT offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide range of subjects. In 1916, MIT moved from its Boston site to Cambridge, and the new campus now occupies 166 acres, more than a mile along the Cambridge side of the Charles River Basin. The heart of the campus is anchored by an iconic collection of interconnected buildings designed by architect W. Welles Bosworth (Class of 1889), which encourages contact and cooperation between MIT schools and departments.
At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, student support varies as per the level of study. While undergraduate students are offered MIT scholarships via a centralized system, postgraduate students are considered for assistantships and fellowships through their respective departments. On top of university aid, students received external sponsors and employment opportunities to cover their educational expenses.

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