LondonerGirl

Hi,

I've been scanning the MIT Economics page as an international applicant and I'm finding the layout of information a bit more difficult to sift throught than the British University websites. Usually there will be a fact file which tells you the duration of the course (e.g. 3 years or 4 years for a Masters) but I can't seem to find the duration of the MIT Economics Undergraduate course.

Also, I would be very grateful if someone could be kind enough to explain the difference between a major and a minor; is the difference the amount of subject/units you complete or the number of years you study?

Thank you

molliebatmit

All of the undergraduate degrees at MIT are intended to be completed in four years. The first year is spent primarily on the General Institute Requirements necessary for all students, and the last three years are spent primarily taking courses within the major course of study. It's possible to complete an MIT undergraduate degree in three or three-and-a-half years, if you come in with enough credit and/or take courses at an accelerated rate, but the general plan is for an undergraduate degree to be completed in four years.

The difference between a major and a minor is in the number of courses taken. Each student must have at least one major field of study, and having a minor is optional. (The maximum allowed at MIT is two majors and two minors.) A student might consider a minor in a field he or she has a strong secondary interest in studying.

LondonerGirl

Thank you for your reply.

I've read elsewhere on the site that A-levels are a higher standard of teaching than APs, etc, and that students with A-levels can skip a few semesters or something to that effect.
Is this true?

happilywallowing

Well, at the beginning of the semester, MIT offers 3-hr advanced standing exams (ASE) in a variety of courses (e.g. introductory chemistry, introductory biology, etc.). If you can pass, then you can skip the class. This is used because of the fact that MIT typically does not offer GIR credit for AP exams or classes otherwise taken in highschool. You can go on ocw.mit.edu to get a better idea of the kinds of exams you might expect on the ASE, though I hear that the chemistry ASE is wildly more difficult than the actual class's final.

Anyways, "skipping semesters" really just means that you can take a lot of advanced classes in senior year, unless you're gunning to graduate in three years (which has been done before).