Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 

the largest center in the USA for advanced training of specialists for industrial and scientific institutions. Founded in 1861. Began functioning in 1865 in Boston; transferred to Cambridge in 1916. First institution in the USA to combine the study of the humanities and the natural and social sciences with the practical work of students and instructors in the process of training specialists.

As of 1973, MIT included schools of engineering (divisions of aeronautics and astronautics, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, shipbuilding, and nuclear engineering), natural sciences (divisions of biology, chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, mathematics, meteorology, nutrition and food science, physiology, and physics), humanities and social sciences (divisions of economics and social sciences, humanities, and modern languages), architecture and planning (divisions of architecture and urban studies and planning), and business organization and management (the Sloan School of Management).

MIT has a large number of laboratories and centers, many of which are partially or completely subsidized by federal agencies (the Atomic Energy Commission or the Department of Defense). Among them are the Cambridge Electron Accelerator (jointly with Harvard University), the Computer Center, Lincoln Laboratory, the Center for International Studies, the Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, the Spectroscopy Laboratory, the Center for Materials Science and Engineering, the Center for Space Research, and the University Information Technology Corporation. The institute’s general and specialized libraries have more than 1.2 million volumes.

All students of the institute are eligible to attend classes at Harvard University, and vice versa. In the 1972-73 academic year, MIT had about 8,000 students (more than half were specialists with diplomas) and about 1,400 instructors, including 800 professors.