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Why is MIT ranked in US News and the military academies are not? Isn't MIT more of a "specialty school" due to its size and scientific curriculum? I know MIT has a b-school but it has none of the other normal "trappings" of a diversified, arts & sciences-type university.

By Poutingminotaur (Poutingminotaur) on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 12:42 pm: Edit

um...
MIT has a school of humanities. we might not be as diversified as some other universities, but nonetheless we do offer majors and have people graduate with degrees like creative writing, music, literature, history etc.
MIT maybe math/science oriented, but we are not as one-sided as a lot of people think. all undergrads are required to take at least 1 humanities class per semester.

By 2bad4u (2bad4u) on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 04:13 pm: Edit

MIT science/math majors are required to take more humanities course than science and math courses required for humanities majors at any college other than a tech school.

By Angrod (Angrod) on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 11:52 pm: Edit

I think that the military academies are ranked, but they just might not be ranked in the "Universities that offer a doctorate" area. I know I have seen the Air Force Academy ranked somewhere in last years US News. Or maybe they have a category to themselves. Anyways, I know they are in there somewhere.

By Angrod (Angrod) on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 11:58 pm: Edit

(From US News Website)
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
(At schools whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's)

The Army, Navy, and Air Force academies are all in there in the top ten.

Sorry, I was curious and had to find out for myself

Also, I do agree that MIT might be more science/math/engineering oriented. I don't think many, or any, people go to MIT to major in humanities. But if that is really important to you, you could always cross register at Harvard!

By Terveloc (Terveloc) on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 11:33 am: Edit

There are, in fact, people majoring in the humanities at MIT.

Also, the core science requirement is 2 calc, 2 physics, 1 chem, and 1 bio. This is 6 courses. I suppose you could also include a lab (though most people take this to satisfy major reqs). So, the science requirement is a shakey 7 courses. The humanities requirement is 8 courses. So, from the standpoint of core requirements, students have more required humanities courses than they do science courses.

By Lisas986 (Lisas986) on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 09:10 pm: Edit

Military academies only offer bachelors degrees. In addition, people who can go to MIT can major in humanities. In fact, it is similar to USNA- the majority of students major in engineering or science but that is not all that it offers.

By Jarchivist (Jarchivist) on Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 10:40 pm: Edit

Argh! I hate how everyone says cross-reg at Harvard for humanities. I like the ones taught at MIT, plus they don't require me fitting my schedule in with Harvard's (vacations, *and* during the day to accomodate getting over there). :P

By Goddess32585 (Goddess32585) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 12:39 pm: Edit

I think the only reason I'd cross-reg is if I desperately wanted to learn a language MIT doesn't offer. Like Arabic or Sanskrit. MIT humanities classes, once you get past the hass-d's, can be v. awesome; i know some hilarious profs.

By Neo (Neo) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 05:35 pm: Edit

If you were that desperate to learn said language, it'd make more sense to buy a book and self-study.

By Webhappy2 (Webhappy2) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 05:47 pm: Edit

The heck w/ that? Just find a student who speaks that language and force him/her to converse w/ you for 30 minutes per day.

By 2bad4u (2bad4u) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 07:48 pm: Edit

that when the ducktape and a chair comes in handy, and a ciggarette in case you get lip from them to press against their face

By Webhappy2 (Webhappy2) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 08:24 pm: Edit

Maybe you can just tell them to lend you some movies/shows/music... even better would be if they just offered those files to share on a server

By Goddess32585 (Goddess32585) on Friday, August 06, 2004 - 12:27 pm: Edit

the only reason i think i'd want to more languages would be to make myself more employable, in which case evidence on a transcript would be a little more solid than just listing it on my resume. i don't think i'd want to learn exclusively from either a book, a native speaker, or pop culture...think of people you know who speak english as if that's what they did. ain't it scary?