 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) is a private research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts . Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States , MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering . Researchers worked on computers , radar , and inertial guidance during World War II and the Cold War . Postwar defense research institutionalized many innovations and MIT profited from the " Cold War " era. kwietniki
MIT is a member of the Association of American Universities and is consistently ranked among the world's top universities . In 2019, U