About
Welcome
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MIT has been involved in inventing the future for the past 150 years. From Chaos Theory to Cybernetics; from the Human Genome to Dark Matter; and from the fax machine to the World Wide Web, MIT has helped invent the future we live in today. There are few departments of architecture in the world that exist within a context so deeply committed to the advancement of knowledge through scholarship, research, and innovation. There are even fewer operating in a place with as pressing a sense of responsibility to “bring this knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges”. The Department of Architecture at MIT is truly unique among architecture programs in its commitment to creating a culture of experimentation to expand the discipline and change the world.
At MIT, processes and acts of design, research, testing, and experimentation are intertwined and grounded in critical contemporary questions which require deep knowledge of the past and present as well as insights into the future. We enable and open up our students’ understanding of the built environment as a cultural, technological, social, and ecological condition - one in which design is as critically focused on asking questions as it is about solving problems through intervening in the world.
Offering undergraduate, professional, post-professional, and doctoral degree programs across five discipline groups, the department provides an energetic and rich site to study the field. This organization presents intensive research on the one hand, and possibilities for integration on the other. It allows the undergraduate and masters students to learn alongside advanced degree and doctoral students, bringing a plurality of views and interests to the fore and fostering a culture of intense and productive debate.
In the past few years, we launched a number of new initiatives to support experimentation and collaborative teaching, scholarship, and practice. We strive to provide precise and rigorous architectural training, teaching students how to frame and test ideas and arguments through the design process, while also challenging them to pursue questions that push us all beyond our comfort zones. Our goal, as a department, is to prepare our students not only with “best practices” but to find ways to transform the profession to meet future challenges.
About the Department
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Architecture was one of the four original departments at MIT, and it was the first signal that MIT would not be narrowly defined in science and technology. Through recognition of architecture as a liberal discipline, the Department has long contributed to learning in the arts and humanities at MIT. Fall 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of architectural education at MIT.
The Department of Architecture is one of five divisions within the MIT School of Architecture + Planning. The other divisions are: the Department of Urban Studies and Planing, the Media Lab (Program in Media Arts and Sciences); the Program in Art, Culture, and Technology; the Center for Real Estate; and the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism.
The Department conceives of architecture as a discipline as well as a profession. It is structured in five semi-autonomous discipline groups: Architecture + Urbanism; Building Technology; Computation; History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art; and Art, Culture, and Technology. Each provides an architectural education that is as complex as the field itself, and all five contribute to a mutual enterprise. The department also has specialized graduate programs such as the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and the SMArchS Program Architecture and Urbanism.
The several disciplines of the Department house a substantial body of research activity. Moreover, the Department's setting within MIT permits greater depth in such technical areas as computation, new modes of design and production, materials, structure, and energy, as well as in the arts and humanities. The Department is committed to a concern for human values and for finding appropriate roles for architecture in society. It is a place where individual creativity is cultivated and nurtured in a framework of values that are humanistically, socially, and environmentally responsible.
Sign Up for News and Updates
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The School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) provides a variety of ways to stay connected. Sign up to receive news and updates from SA+P. See also these sections on affinity groups and resources for alumni.
Daily updates, news, and event announcements
Every day, we share news about Architecture faculty, students, and alumni via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Visit MIT Connect for a full directory of social media accounts for other departments, programs, and schools.
Weekly updates from SA+P
The weekly news digest, “Five from SA+P" is a quick, five-headline tour through what is happening each week with our faculty, students, and alumni across the School's department, centers, and programs. Sign up here.
Monthly updates from SA+P
The School of Architecture and Planning sends a monthly e-newsletter to all school alumni, via the MIT Alumni Association database. Not receiving this monthly email? Make sure your contact information is current at the Infinite Connection website.
Have a question or need additional help? Reach out to us.
Student Organizations
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The Architecture Student Council (ASC), is the student organization of the Department of Architecture at MIT. They relay student concerns and input to the faculty and administration of this department. To accomplish this, ASC members are represented on various departmental committees in addition to conducting regular meetings with students to discuss issues of concern. Contact the ASC at asc@mit.edu.
The MIT National Organization of Minority Architects Students (MIT NOMAS) is a student chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). MIT NOMAS seeks to promote diversity and inclusion by, exposing architecture students to the history, culture, and practice of underrepresented minority architects, providing a place where issues of diversity are discussed, and addressing the concerns for minority architecture students. An annual NOMA conference is held each year giving students an opportunity to attend workshops, learn more about the impact of current issues in architecture and diversity, and meet and network with other students and professionals from across the country. A major conference event is the Barbara G. Laurie Annual Student Design Competition which provides architecture students, with an opportunity to showcase their talents to design industry professionals from across the nation. If you want to get involved or want more information on the MIT NOMAS, contact ElDante’ C Winston.
Queers in the Built Environment (QuBE), aims to highlight and create dialogue around the intersection of queer identity and the built environment though a variety of media including speakers, conferences, partnerships, publications, and social events. QuBE also serves to support and increase the visibility of queer students, faculty, and staff in the School of Architecture + Planning and the MIT community at large. More information can be found at http://qube.mit.edu or you can contact QuBE directly at qube_officers@mit.edu.
The American Institute of Architecture Students, or AIAS, is a national organization with local chapters at universities throughout the US. The AIAS is an organization dedicated to helping architecture students at MIT, in particular, the undergraduate community. The AIAS works to address issues affecting students, including studio culture, internships, the accreditation process, and the advancement of architecture itself.
Giving to the Department
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Graduate Student Aid
Graduate student aid is the highest fund-raising priority of the Department of Architecture. Aid is crucial to attracting the best graduate students because few outside grant opportunities exist for master's and doctoral students in this field.
Department of Architecture Unrestricted
This fund allows the Department of Architecture the flexibility to invest as needed to create an optimal academic experience for students and faculty.
Lawrence B. Anderson '30 Fellowship Fund
This fund honors our beloved former dean who himself contributed immeasurably both to architecture and education.
Make a gift on-line
Contact
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Contact the Department of Architecture
MIT Department of Architecture
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 7-337
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
Phone: (617) 253-7791
Email: arch@mit.edu
Webmaster: Darren Bennett
Visit the Department of Architecture
The Department of Architecture is located in Buildings 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and E15; the main entrance is through Lobby 7, Massachusetts Avenue. The headquarters of the Department of Architecture are located on the third floor of Building 7, which is located on the left side of the main entrance at 77 Massachusetts Avenue.
If you are coming from Kendall Square there are two ways:
- walk down Main St, turn left on Vassar St., turn left again on Mass Ave.
- walk through the MIT campus: cross through Building E23, keep walking west through the main open spaces until you enter Building 8. Walk down the "infinite corridor" until you reach the main hall in Building 7 (77 Mass Ave).
Public Transportation
The closest subway station to campus is Kendall Square on the Red Line, you may also want to consider going to Central Square (also on the Red Line) or taking the #1 or CT1 bus across the Charles River from Back Bay. Public transportation fares and schedules may be found at the MBTA website.
Driving to MIT
The campus map has directions for getting to MIT from the airport, via public transportation, and by car or Hood blimp.
Parking at MIT
Parking in Cambridge and Boston can be expensive and hard to find. Whenever possible, use public transportation to get to the MIT campus. If you must drive to the campus, on- and off-street parking is available for a fee, but most public parking is not very close to the center of the MIT campus. Visiting prospective students may park in designated areas on a first-come, first-served basis. More parking information is available at the campus map website.