MIT Concourse - The Curriculum

Concourse Academics

The Concourse program draws from both sides of the MIT General Institute Requirements (GIRs) offering subjects that fulfill both the Science Core and the Humanities Core. For Science Core we offer both math and physics. We also offer a variety of humanities electives including some that fulfill the Communication Intensive-Humanities requirement (CI-H). In addition our Friday lunch seminar brings together all aspects of our curriculum and poses big questions that cross the disciplines.
More information about specific classes can be found here: http://student.mit.edu/catalog/mCCa.html as well as on our website.

Credit and Grading

Credit, quizzes, problem sets, papers, and exams are handled in exactly the same manner as in the mainstream curriculum. In accordance with MIT Rules and Regulations of the Faculty section 2.62, Concourse does not grade on a curve. Students are assessed individually, and there is no predetermined grade spread in any subject.

First Year Students

With few exceptions, Institute-wide rules limit first year students to 54 units of credit in the first semester and 57 units in the second semester.

In the fall, first year students are graded under Pass/No Record where D and F are not passing. In the second semester, they will be graded under the A/B/C/No Record system.

Concourse offers standard versions of physics and math, but in a unique setting. This ensures that our students can take most of their classes within Concourse. However, to help students adapt to the mainstream style of classes we only require that they participate in the Freshman advising seminar (CC.A10), one of our humanities offerings (see Humanities pages for details), and one additional course in the fall. We do not currently offer Chemistry or Biology, both of which are General Institute Requirements (GIRs) and recommended for the first year. Based on the class schedule in Concourse and the recommendation of those two departments the typical Concourse student will take Chemistry in the Fall.

In the Spring semester we require enrollment in the spring seminar (you can read more about this on our seminar page) and ONE additional class from the variety of options available. We continue to offer math, Physics, humanities classes, and some seminars available to both freshmen and upper-class students. Many students continue to take most of their classes in Concourse spring semester.

MIT Concourse - Math and Physics

The regularly scheduled science and math classes that we teach during the year are:

Fall Term

CC.801/CC.8012 Physics I (Mechanics)
CC.1802 Calculus II
CC.181A-CC.182A

Spring Term

CC.802 Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism)
CC.1803 Differential Equations

These courses stress technical competence in handling the material as well as the intellectual grasp of it. In scheduled as well as informal recitation sessions, the students may practice their mastery under guidance by faculty and tutors. In Concourse we can look every week at how you are doing in all your courses, and your teachers all talk to one another, as in any small school. As a result we generally detect any difficulties quite early, and we can avoid the classic MIT problem of work "piling up." Classes in Concourse are at least as rigorous as the mainstream versions, but the approach is very personal, and the road to achievement can be made much smoother.