The School of Architecture and Planning at MIT provides a rich array of courses through the Department of Architecture, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and through the Program in Media Arts and Sciences. The School is united by some widely shared beliefs and values that give it a unique character and direction. We are committed to sustaining and enhancing the quality of the human environment at all scales, from the personal to the global. We value design excellence, technological inventiveness, and imaginative scholarship. And we believe that design and policy interventions should be grounded in unwavering commitment to equity, social justice, and making a positive difference in the everyday lives of real people.
Unlike many professional schools, we are not a self-contained institution, but an integral part of the vast research enterprise that is at the core of MIT's mission. We have very active and diverse research programs and laboratories ourselves, and we have strong PhD programs as well as professional degree programs. There are very close, cross-disciplinary working connections with various departments in the School of Engineering, the Sloan School of Management, and the School of Humanities and Social Science. We believe that close intellectual connections between professional education and cutting-edge research are crucial, and we are strongly committed to the MIT tradition of learning by doing -- of engaging undergraduate and graduate students directly and actively in advanced research work.
The School is vitally concerned with understanding and responding to today's complex interactions of local as well as underserved communities and cultures with systems of global interconnection, and with preparing students to work in a world where time and distance are electronically compressed. It is advancing a curriculum emphasizing research programs that promote social awareness while using the latest technology.
Most of all, we are committed to intellectual exploration, innovation, and leadership. We accomplish our goals by putting together the best people and the best facilities.