Interdisciplinary Threads of NEETWeaving Together Innovation and Collaboration

NEET was launched in 2017 to better prepare our engineering graduates to take interdisciplinary approaches to challenges in areas that will help improve the world. Undergraduates earn a degree in the major of their choice and a NEET Certificate in one of four high-impact cross-departmental threads --- Autonomous Machines, Climate & Sustainability Systems, Digital Cities, or Living Machines --- in the usual four years.
Over the past six years, NEET has grown into an academically and demographically diverse student community. It now comprises 248 sophomores, juniors and seniors pursuing 21 majors in 11 departments, encompassing all five schools at the Institute. Compared to MIT’s undergraduate population, NEET attracts a disproportionately higher percentage of females (59% vs. 48%) and students from underrepresented groups (35% vs. 28%). There are over 130 NEET alumni in industry, graduate school, start-ups, and other professional endeavors.

Autonomous Machines

Design, build, and deploy mechanical systems, software, and autonomy algorithms for real-world autonomous machines and robots.

Climate & Sustainability Systems

Work on groundbreaking research projects with real-world impact and develop strong bonds with a diverse group of climate-conscious students.

Living Machines

Discover, build and engineer living systems for broad applications in biotechnology and medical devices.

Digital Cities

Build the cities of the future by immersing scholars in the emerging intersections of computer science and urban planning.

Insights from Our Student Community

Ronit Langer

NEET Alumni Named Quad 2023 Fellows

Congratulations to Marwa Abdulhai ’20 from NEET Autonomous Machines and Sreya Vangara ’22 from NEET Digital Cities for being selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Quad 2023 Fellows. The Quad Fellowship supports exceptional STEM students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in the United States.

Interdisciplinary journey

Edward Crawley: A career of education, service, and exploration

The MIT professor and co-founder and senior advisor of New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET), reflects on five decades of impactful work in aerospace engineering and education, at the Institute and beyond.

Interdisciplinary journey

Arina Khotimsky ’23 awarded 2023 Michel David-Weill Scholarship

Arina Khotimsky ’23 from NEET's Climate & Sustainability Systems thread was selected for the 2023 Michel David-Weill scholarship, awarded each year to one student from the United States in a master’s program at Sciences Po in France who exemplifies the core values embodied by its namesake: excellence, leadership, multiculturalism, and high achievement.

Ronit Langer

Powering the Future

Students from 22.S094 (NEET Climate & Sustainability Systems: Decarbonizing Ulaanbaatar at Scale) and 21A.S01 (Anthro-Engineering: Decarbonization at the Million-Person Scale) embarked on a journey to the capital city, with temperatures plummeting to an astonishing -40 degrees Fahrenheit, diving into the diverse tapestry of local life as they gleaned insight from various stakeholder groups.

MIT New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) - School of Engineering

Design Thinking, Prototyping and Education

The three-year NEET program, offered through the School of Engineering, provides new hands-on learning experiences for MIT undergraduate students, integrating design thinking and prototyping within a cross-departmental community. Students join as sophomores and learn how to address complex societal challenges through one of the four interdisciplinary ‘threads’: Autonomous Machines, Climate & Sustainability Systems, Digital Cities, or Living Machines. The School of Architecture and Planning offers the Digital Cities thread, in collaboration with the School of Engineering. In NEET’s first-year discovery class, SP.248 NEET Ways of Thinking, student teams engage in interdisciplinary challenges taken from NEET threads.

Why join NEET?

Built entirely around the new machines, materials, and systems driving modern industry, NEET offers a carefully designed curricular structure that empowers MIT students.

Machines of the Future

Design, build and deploy machines of the future from autonomous drones to human organs-on-chip.

Intellectual Community

Join a community of hundreds of students from over 10+ majors across the schools of Engineering and Science.

Transferable Skills

Gain valuable technical, lab and interpersonal skills that are in high demand by industry, graduate and medical schools.

Exclusive Access

Gain access to numerous NEET-affiliated research labs, faculty, mentors, industry contacts, community spaces and registration priority to many project-based classes.

Cutting-Edge Technology

Work on cutting-edge interdisciplinary projects at MIT labs.

NEET Certificate

Earn a NEET certificate from the MIT School of Engineering in your desired thread.