The New International Encyclopædia/Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. A school of industrial science in Boston, Mass., established in 1861 through the efforts of W. B. Rogers and others, “for the purpose of instituting and maintaining a society of arts, a museum of arts, and a school of industrial science, and aiding generally by suitable means the advancement, development, and practical application of science in connection with arts, agriculture, manufacture, and commerce.” The society of arts was the first section of the institute to be established, holding its first meeting in 1862, and has done much valuable work. The museum of arts has not yet been established, mainly owing to the extraordinary growth of the school of industrial science, which has overshadowed the other departments. Owing to the disturbed state of the country during the Civil War, the regular courses of instruction were not opened until 1865. The development has recently been so rapid that more than half of the total of about 3000 graduates of the school belong in the last nine classes. The institute was a pioneer in the introduction of laboratory methods, which are a distinguishing characteristic of its work. In addition to instruction in the sciences and their application to the arts, general studies essential for a liberal education are required. Thirteen distinct courses are offered, each of four years' duration: Civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering and metallurgy, architecture, chemistry, electrical engineering, biology, physics, general studies, chemical engineering, sanitary engineering, geology, and naval architecture. Each of these courses leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science. Within most of the regular courses a considerable latitude is permitted in the selection of branches, a partial choice of professional course being made at the middle of the first year, while in the fourth year nearly the entire time is devoted to professional subjects. The school in 1902 had 183 instructors and a total attendance of 1608 students. The library contained 60,727 volumes and 16,682 pamphlets. The institute publishes the Technology Quarterly and Proceedings of the Society of Arts, and a graduate magazine, the Technology Review. It occupies nine buildings in the Back Bay district of Boston, comprising the Rogers, Walker, and Pierce buildings, engineering buildings, mechanical laboratories, boiler and power house, and gymnasium, valued with the grounds at $1,605,222. Plans are in preparation (1903) for additional buildings. The endowment is relatively small, $1,845,139. The income in 1902 was $403,137. Of this amount, more than half is derived from students' fees, the remainder largely from interest on various funds and gifts from the State of Massachusetts and the United States. The total value of the Institute's property was $9,552,623. The presidents have been: William B. Rogers (1862-70, 1878-81), John D. Runkle (1870-78), Francis A, Walker (1881-97). James M. Crafts (1897-1900), Henry S. Pritchett (1900—).