Independent Activities Period (IAP) is a four-week period in January during which faculty and students are freed from the rigors of regularly scheduled classes for flexible teaching and learning and for independent study and research. IAP is part of the academic program of the Institute—the "1" month in MIT's "4-1-4" academic calendar. Students are encouraged to explore the educational resources of the Institute by taking specially designed subjects, arranging individual projects with faculty members, or organizing and participating in IAP activities. They may also pursue interests independently either on or off campus.
Departmental programs may require students to complete a subject (of no more than 12 units) during one IAP.
More than 600 activities are offered each year on a wide range of topics, both academic and nonacademic. In addition, "special topic" subjects exist in most departments, for which students can arrange credit for individual work.
Many IAP activities, both credit and noncredit, are organized each fall. They are advertised, beginning in October, on the IAP website at http://web.mit.edu/iap/.
Nonacademic activities may be organized or attended by members of the MIT Community: faculty, students, and employees. Tips on organizing an IAP activity are available on the web at http://web.mit.edu/iap/. Organizers may approach MIT departments and organizations to help defray expenses.
Students find organizing IAP activities a rewarding challenge. For many, it is their first opportunity to develop and teach a program from their own ideas. In doing so, they acquire organizational and leadership skills that prove invaluable to their careers.
Full-time regular students paying full tuition in either the fall or spring term do not have to pay additional tuition or room fees to the Institute during IAP. The meal plan spans the entire academic year and includes IAP. Students who have not been charged full tuition in either the fall or spring term are subject to additional tuition charges and should consult the Registrar's Office, 5-119, 617-258-6409.
Students should follow directions published on MIT's IAP website at http://web.mit.edu/iap/ regarding registration for subjects. In addition to the organized subjects, students may make arrangements to earn credit for independent work under faculty supervision. The total credits a student can earn during IAP is limited to 12 credit hours. Credits received by freshmen during IAP are not counted toward their credit limits for the spring or fall term.
All credit-bearing subjects during IAP are to be graded following the grading system approved for that subject number. A subject can be graded P/D/F during IAP only if it has been approved with P/D/F grading. Similarly, the number of units awarded must be as specified for that subject. Faculty sometimes offer newly organized credit activities under special problem subject numbers for which credits are "to be arranged."
In order for students to receive credit for work done in IAP, grades must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by the deadline at the end of IAP given in the academic calendar. If a grade is received after the Add Date of the succeeding term and the student did not register in the subject during IAP, the student must petition in order to receive credit. IAP credit will not be given if the grade is received after the end of the succeeding spring term.
Students may view their IAP grades on WebSIS shortly after the start of the spring term. Students who do not receive grades when expected should check promptly with their instructors or the Registrar's Office to ensure the grades are submitted and recorded.
Applications for special student status solely for IAP will not be accepted. Special students admitted to the fall or spring term do not automatically have IAP privileges. Those admitted by the dean of admissions must consult the Admissions Office concerning their status during IAP. Former students readmitted as special students by the Committee on Academic Performance (CAP) or the Student Support Services (S3) section of the Division of Student Life must consult the appropriate office for permission to participate in IAP. If the special student has paid full tuition during the fall term or is admitted to do so in the spring, there will not be an additional tuition charge for IAP. If the student has not been paying full tuition, he or she will be charged either the minimum special student fee or the amount necessary to bring tuition for the term up to full tuition.
Special students wanting credit for IAP work should consult the Registrar's Office, Room 5-119, 617-258-6409, if they were admitted by CAP or S3, or the Admissions Office if they were admitted by the dean of admissions.
The Institute's regular cross-registration with Wellesley College remains in effect during IAP. MIT students are encouraged to take advantage of their flexible schedules during IAP to participate in Wellesley's winter session.
There is no cross-registration with Harvard, the Massachusetts College of Art, or the School of the Museum of Fine Arts during IAP.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) invites undergraduates to participate in a wide range of research activities that are available in every academic department and most interdisciplinary laboratories and centers in collaboration with MIT faculty.
There are many advantages to becoming involved in such pursuits as early as possible in an undergraduate career: establishing ties to faculty; investigating a potential major; acquiring data-gathering and laboratory techniques; exploring the frontiers of a field; undertaking topics not amenable to the classroom; facing a real-world problem; and establishing a focus for educational experiences. Through UROP, students may gain a better understanding of the intellectual process of inquiry, while having the opportunity to experience personal and professional growth. Students may earn pay or academic credit, or may work on a volunteer basis. Whatever the chosen mode, all UROP work is expected to be worth academic credit.
Guidelines for participating are available online at http://web.mit.edu/urop/. This website lists UROP contacts for Institute departments, laboratories, and centers. While these people are prepared to assist students, a certain amount of footwork and negotiation is required to achieve a satisfying collaboration. The UROP experience is unlike any other; its benefits and rewards are great, but expectations and standards are commensurate. For advice and assistance, contact UROP staff in the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming, Room 7-104, 617-253-7306, fax 617-258-8816, email urop@mit.edu.
Undergraduate seminars, offered in the fall and spring terms, provide undergraduates with an opportunity to interact closely with faculty on topics of current interest. Freshman Advising Seminars are a special subset of seminars open only to first-term freshmen, in which the seminar leader is also the freshman advisor to the seminar participants. Seminars vary tremendously both in style and topic. Some are oriented around small group discussion; others have speakers, go on field trips, or engage in hands-on learning. All seminars carry six units of credit, and the class size is restricted to a small group. All seminars are graded P/D/F.
Information about undergraduate seminars, including titles and descriptions, can be found at http://student.mit.edu/catalog/Undergraduate_Seminars.html. Information about Freshman Advising Seminars, including title, descriptions, and application information for incoming freshmen, can be found at http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/. These websites are maintained by the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming, Room 7-104, MIT, 617-253-6771, email firstyear-www@mit.edu.
The Edgerton Center provides resources and opportunities for students to pursue hands-on projects, activities, and seminars. The center can provide a workplace, test equipment, access to the Student Machine Shop, or simply advice and encouragement.
The laboratory, classroom, and studio are located in Strobe Alley on the fourth floor of Building 4. For more information on using facilities, contact Jim Bales at bales@mit.edu or Amy Fitzgerald at amyfitz@mit.edu. The Student Shop (http://web.mit.edu/Edgerton/www/Shop.html) is located in Room 44-023 and offers regular training sessions; contact manager Mark Belanger at mdbelang@mit.edu for access and training.
Typical subjects offered include introductory electronics, digital photography, seminars for public service, and alternative energies. In addition, the strobe project laboratory (6.163) is taught each term. During IAP, staff members lead workshops teaching technical skills that many students find useful for UROP projects. A listing of the subjects offered can be found at http://web.mit.edu/Edgerton/www/Courses.html.
The Edgerton Center is the joint sponsor of the Service Learning Initiative at MIT with the Public Service Center, bringing community service projects into the academic curriculum. It is also cosponsor of the IDEAS Competition, promoting innovative projects that benefit communities, both local and international. For more information about Service Learning opportunities contact Camilla Shannon, camilla@mit.edu, 617-258-0872. For more information on the IDEAS Competition, contact Alison Hynd at hynd@mit.edu, 617-258-0691.
D-Lab is a yearlong series of classes and field trips that begins in the fall with a class on international development and appropriate technology, SP.721J/11.025J/11.472. Over IAP, students travel overseas to work with local community partners in developing countries to identify projects they can work on during the spring term design seminars, including subjects SP.722J/2.722J and SP.723. For more information about D-Lab, contact Amy Smith at 617-253-5985, abs@mit.edu.
The Edgerton Center Outreach Program gives MIT students an on-campus opportunity to teach engineering and science to 4th through 8th graders from area schools. Topics include mechanical engineering, circuits, optics, biology, and more. Contact Amy Fitzgerald at amyfitz@mit.edu or 617-253-7931 to become involved.
The center also supports a range of hands-on student activities, including the Solar Electric Vehicle Team, the Rocket Team, Project ORCA, Formula SAE, and a variety of robotics groups. Ed Moriarty, mory@mit.edu, and Steven Banzaert, sgtist@mit.edu, are the liaisons with student teams.
In addition, Professor Harold Edgerton's high-speed photography legacy lives on with the Strobe Alley exhibition of Edgerton photographs. Hands-on experiments in science and engineering are attractions of the corridor laboratory as well.
The center offers UROP projects for students in engineering design, high-speed video motion analysis, scientific photography and community outreach. Positions are also available for student instructors at the center throughout the year.
The faculty director of the Edgerton Center is Professor J. Kim Vandiver, Room 4-405, MIT, kimv@mit.edu. For general information, contact Sandi Lipnoski in Room 4-405, 617-253-4629, slipnosk@mit.edu, or visit http://web.mit.edu/edgerton/main.html.
Sophomores are able to designate one subject as exploratory in each of their fall and spring terms. An exploratory subject is one in which the student may either accept the grade awarded in the subject or change the subject to Listener status through Registration Day of the succeeding term. Any subject at MIT—including an Institute or departmental requirement—may be designated as exploratory.
Exploratory subjects are offered under a five-year experiment authorized by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program through the academic year 2007-2008. The goals of the experiment are: to ease the transition into the sophomore year by creating a flexible grading option; to encourage academic exploration in the sophomore year just as the grading system encourages exploration in the other academic years; and to encourage sophomores to consider unconventional majors at the start of their second year.
Students should designate the exploratory option using a special form from Registration Day through Add Date. Students who choose to drop the subject completely can do so up until Drop Date. After Drop Date through Registration Day of the succeeding term, students may request a change in the status of an exploratory subject from graded to listener.
The Committee on Academic Performance will not consider petitions from students to designate or remove the exploratory status of a subject after Add Date, to change to Listener status after the next Registration Day, or to reinstate the grade and credit once a student has forfeited them.
Students and advisors are cautioned to check that a forfeiture of units does not affect the student's status for financial aid, immigration, or varsity sports eligibility.
A student may opt to take a total of two subjects to be graded P, D, or F during his or her junior and senior years, where P indicates C or better performance (C- with modifier used within MIT). This option is intended to provide students with an opportunity to broaden their education by taking subjects that may not be in their area of expertise without concern for the effect on their academic record. Although this option should be designated when the student initially registers for the subject, the deadline for this decision is Add Date. Such subjects may not be used to fulfill General Institute, departmental, or minor requirements. Students receive credit for P-level and D-level performance.
There are a number of opportunities for MIT undergraduates to study at other universities, including both programs for a term or year away as well as cross-registration programs with local universities. Students who spend a term or a year studying abroad or at another US university find that in addition to the intellectual benefit, they are enriched by day-to-day exposure to different cultural and social experiences. Through the cross-registration programs students can take subjects not offered at MIT or explore institutions emphasizing other curricula while continuing their studies at MIT.
Through the Cambridge-MIT Undergraduate Student Exchange Program, MIT students can spend their junior year studying at the University of Cambridge University in England.
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge consists of 31 self-governing colleges where students live and study in a supportive and personal educational environment. Lectures, laboratories, and project work are organized by the university; the colleges organize small-group sessions ("supervisions") designed to complement the lectures. As well as teaching, research is of major importance at Cambridge; since the beginning of the 20th century, more than 60 members of the University of Cambridge have won Nobel Prizes.
MIT students who study for a year at Cambridge receive sufficient transfer credit to permit normal progress toward their MIT degree. For the academic year 2007–2008, participating departments include Aeronautics and Astronautics; Biology; Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Economics; Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Materials Science and Engineering; Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Physics and History.
Participation in CME does not add appreciable cost to a student's educational expenses. MIT students pay tuition to MIT; they are billed at Cambridge for the costs of board and housing only. While away at Cambridge during the fall and/or spring term, a student maintains full-time status at MIT.
Interested students should discuss their plans with their advisors as early as possible. For further information, students should contact Dean Malgorzata Hedderick, 617-253-9358, malrh@mit.edu, or their department undergraduate officers. Information is available at http://web.mit.edu/cmi/ue/ as well.
The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics offers study at several European schools, while the Department of Architecture has two exchange programs, one with Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the other with the University of Hong Kong. For more information see the descriptions of these undergraduate programs in Part 2. In addition, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has an exchange program with Oxford University's Materials Department. Contact the Department of Materials Science and Engineering for more information.
MIT offers programs for students to study in Canada, France, Israel, and Spain. In addition, MIT students may also apply for admission directly to foreign institutions or to a study abroad program administered by another US institution. Students interested in study abroad should make an appointment with the Study Abroad Office to begin planning. Students planning to study abroad need to work out their plans with a faculty advisor and appropriate transfer credit examiner(s) and must complete a study abroad Worksheet for Planning. While on an approved study abroad program during the fall and/or spring term, a student maintains full-time status at MIT. Although it is most common to study abroad during the junior year, it is also possible to participate in a study abroad program in the sophomore year as well as during a summer.
Financial arrangements for study abroad vary. It is best if students who receive financial aid at MIT discuss their study abroad plans with the Financial Aid Office early. This will help students develop the best possible financial plans for their time abroad.
Numerous institutions offer programs abroad taught in English. It is possible to study in a foreign country without prior knowledge of the host country's language. However, a working command of the language can add greatly to the overseas experience. Even a student without prior language skills can achieve some proficiency in a foreign language by the beginning of the junior year if he or she begins language study by spring term of freshman year.
Students who successfully complete an approved program of study abroad may receive transfer credit toward their MIT degree. Upon return, they must submit a completed Request for Additional Credit Form, signed by the appropriate transfer credit examiner(s), and must arrange to have an official transcript sent directly to the Registrar’s Office showing work and final grade(s) completed at the outside institution.
For further information, contact the Study Abroad Office, Room 26-153, 617-253-0676, studyabroad@mit.edu, or visit http://web.mit.edu/studyabroad.html.
In addition to study abroad programs, MIT students may gain international experience by working as interns in companies or research institutes abroad. The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) offer internship opportunities in China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Spain. Internships range between three months and one year. All expenses are usually covered. Arrangements after graduation are also possible. For more information, see the description of MISTI in the section on Interdisciplinary Research and Study in Part 1 or online at http://web.mit.edu/MISTI/.
Students may choose to spend from one term to one year studying at another academic institution within the US. A student studying at another US university usually pays tuition to the outside institution rather than to MIT. While on an approved domestic study away program during the fall and/or spring term, a student maintains full-time status at MIT. Students interested in domestic study away should make an appointment with the Study Abroad Office.
To qualify for Domestic Year Away status, a student must show that his or her proposed program of study draws upon resources available at the outside institution that are not generally available at MIT, or at the institutions with which MIT has cross-registration privileges. In addition, a student's planned program of study should be consistent with his or her overall degree program at MIT. Students must be accepted by a school of established academic merit and undertake a workload comparable to that at MIT. Students planning to spend time studying at another academic institution in the US need to work out their plans with a faculty advisor and appropriate transfer credit examiner(s) and must complete a study abroad/domestic study away Worksheet for Planning.
Students may receive transfer credit for their studies outside MIT. Upon return, they must submit a completed Request for Additional Credit Form, signed by the appropriate transfer credit examiner(s), and must arrange to have an official transcript sent directly to the Registrar’s Office showing work and final grade(s) competed at the outside institution.
For further information, contact the MIT Study Abroad Office, Room 26-153, 617-253-0676, studyabroad@mit.edu or visit http://web.mit.edu/studyabroad.html.
MIT undergraduates are permitted to take subjects at Harvard University (except for Harvard Business School, Harvard Extension School, and Harvard Summer School) for degree credit at no extra charge. This cooperative arrangement is not applicable to the summer session or IAP. In general, MIT students take subjects at Harvard which are not offered regularly at MIT. Cross-registration is normally limited to upperclass students who must be regularly enrolled at MIT and paying full tuition for the term in question. No more than half of a student's registration (up to a maximum of 24 units) may be taken at Harvard in any one term.
Arrangements are made through the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Education Office, Room 14N-410, 617-253-4441. In most cases, students must submit a petition in order for such subjects to count toward fulfillment of the HASS Requirement. Letter grades earned in Harvard subjects appear on the transcripts of MIT undergraduates. Detailed information about the Harvard cross-registration option for undergraduates is available at http://web.mit.edu/shass/undergraduate/programs/cross-reg.shtml.
Under the Wellesley-MIT Exchange Program, students may cross-register for any courses at the other school, if they present the necessary prerequisites. This cooperative arrangement is not applicable to the summer session. Wellesley is a small, liberal arts college for women located on a 500-acre woodland campus 20 miles west of Boston.
Through the Wellesley Education Department, MIT students may earn Massachusetts certification to teach at the elementary or high school level. This certification is recognized by many other states.
Wellesley operates free weekday bus service between the two campuses. The service is open to everyone with an MIT and Wellesley identification card, but priority will be given to cross-registered students. The ride is about 50 minutes each way.
For upperclass students, letter grades will be recorded for Wellesley subjects, unless the student designates a Wellesley subject as one of his or her two electives to be graded P, D, or F. Grades for freshmen will be converted to the MIT first year grading system.
Students generally cannot substitute Wellesley subjects for MIT Science Requirement subjects (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Calculus) or Laboratory Requirement subjects. They may take Wellesley subjects to satisfy Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirements, but need the approval of the Committee on Curricula.
Wellesley subjects may be designated as part of the Concentration for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the discretion of the designated advisor in that field of concentration. Students may use Wellesley courses as unrestricted electives toward fulfilling the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Requirement, but they must petition to do so.
Wellesley subjects may be used to fulfill departmental major and minor requirements with the permission of a faculty advisor.
Students may take physical education classes at Wellesley on a space-available basis and may apply these classes toward their MIT physical education requirements. MIT students receive full library privileges at the Wellesley College Library.
Detailed information on registration procedures is available at http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/crossreg/wxfaq.html. The Exchange Office at Wellesley is located in Room 339C, Green Hall, 781-283-2320 or MIT tie line 187-2320.
MIT undergraduates may cross-register at the Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt), a state college, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), a private school affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and with Tufts University. Both are highly respected art schools in Boston. Popular classes at these two art schools include drawing, painting, printmaking, jewelry and filmmaking, all studio classes that are not offered for credit at MIT.
Classes taken at MassArt and SMFA through the cross-registration program are graded P/D/F and may not be used to satisfy Institute, departmental, or minor requirements. They may be used toward unrestricted elective credit. Only one subject may be taken per term from either school. This cooperative arrangement is not applicable to the summer session or IAP.
Students must submit a completed cross-registration form by the deadline set by the MIT Registrar. The cross-registration form is available in the Student Services Center, Room 11-120. Detailed information is available at http://web.mit.edu/vap/resources/curriculum_xreg_massart.html.