I began the year studying Thompson's Calculus Made Easy. It was a very enjoyable book to read, and old-timey texts always have a slightly whimsical aura to them which only adds to the experience. But the book was not going far enough.
MIT is divided into Semesters. They have a Fall (September to December) and a Spring (February to May) semester. They have some requirements that all students take courses in humanities. They call their Bachelor of Science degree an SB rather than a BS.
CORE SUBJECTS
2.001/2 Mechanics and materials 1/2
2.003/4 Dynamics and controls 1/2
2.005/6 Thermal-fluid engineering
2.007/8 Design and manufacturing
2.086 Numerical computation
2.670 Mechanical engineering tools
2.471 Measurement and instrumentation
2.013 Engineering systems design
18.01 Calculus 1
18.02 Calculus 2
18.03 Differential equations
8.01 Physics 1
8.02 Physics 2
ELECTIVES
2.016 Hydrodynamics
2.050 Non-linear dynamics: Chaos
2.51 Intermediate heat and mass transfer
2.60 Fundamentals of advanced energy conversion
2.853 Manufacturing systems
2.744 Product design
Here's a typical schedule.
| Fall | Spring | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | |||
| 3.091 Solid-state chemistry | 12 | 08.02 Physics 2 | 12 |
| 08.01 Physics 1 | 12 | 18.02 Calculus 2 | 12 |
| 18.01 Calculus 1 | 12 | Elective | 12 |
| HASS | 12 | HASS | 12 |
| 48 | 48 | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| 2.001 Mechanics and Materials 1 | 12 | 2.003 Dynamics and Controls 1 | 12 |
| 2.086 Numerical Computation | 12 | 2.007 Design and Manufacturing 1 | 12 |
| 18.03 Calculus 3 | 12 | 7.013/4 | 12 |
| HASS | 12 | HASS | 12 |
| 2.670 Mechanical Engineering Tools | 3 | ||
| 51 | 48 | ||
| Year 3 | |||
| 2.004 | 12 | 2.002 | 12 |
| 2.005 | 12 | 2.006 | 12 |
| 2.671 | 12 | Elective | 12 |
| HASS | 12 | HASS | 12 |
| 48 | 48 | ||
| Year 4 | |||
| 2.009 | 12 | 2.008 | 12 |
| Restricted Elective | 12 | 2.ThU | 3-6 |
| Elective | 12 | Restricted Elective | 12 |
| HASS | 12 | Elective | 12 |
| HASS | 12 | ||
| 48 | 51-54 |
They used to say that you don't graduate from Caltech, you survive Caltech.
They call a "major" an "option", I gather. They claim to be running on a "quarter" system[1] but it is actually a trimester system[2] Each term is 10 weeks (just under three months), with 45-51 credits taken per term. Below is a sample schedule.
https://catalog.caltech.edu/current/information-for-undergraduate-students/graduation-requirements-all-options/core-institute-requirements-all-options/
Menu course: designed fro breadth, a subject that you might not otherwise have studied.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ma 1 abc | First-year mathematics | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Ph 1 abc | First-year physics | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Ch 1 ab | General chemistry | 6 | 9 | |
| Bi 1 | Principles of biology | 9 | ||
| Ch 3 a | Fundamental techniques of experimental chemistry | 6 | ||
| CS 1/1x | Introduction to programming | 9 | ||
| Introductory humanities/social science | 9 | |||
| Introductory laboratory course | ||||
| Menu course, first year seminar, or electives | ||||
| Physical education | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Year 2 | ||||
| Ma 2 | Differential Equations | 9 | - | - |
| ME 10 | Thinking Like an Engineer | 1 | - | - |
| ME 11 abc | Thermal Science | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| ME 12 abc | Mechanics | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| ME 13 | Mechanical Prototyping | 4 | - | - |
| ME 14 | Design and Fabrication | - | - | 9 |
| ACM 95 ab | Intro. Meth. Applied Math. | - | 12 | 12 |
| HSS Electives | 9 | 9 | - | |
| Total | 41 | 39 | 39 | |
| Year 3 | ||||
| Physics Electives | 9 | - | 9 | |
| ME 50 ab | Exp. and Modeling in ME | - | 12 | 12 |
| ME 40 | Dimensional and data analysis in engineering | 9 | - | - |
| Capstone Design | 12 | 15 | - | |
| SEC 10 | Technical Seminar <br>Presentations | 3 | - | - |
| SEC 11/12/13 | Written Communication | - | - | 3 |
| HSS Electives | 9 | 9 | 18 | |
| Total | 42 | 36 | 42 | |
| Year 4 | ||||
| Maths Electives | 9 | - | - | |
| Advanced ME Electives | 18 | 18 | 9 | |
| HSS Electives | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| Total | 36 | 27 | 18 |
Great university, but wow is the vibe weird. They teach you the US constitution and the Georgia constitution?! Georgia isn't really a centre of the world, so I'm not sure what the motivation is. I'd be curious what percentage of it's graduates even end up staying in Georgia.
| [1] | https://web.archive.org/web/20140513162751/http://finance.caltech.edu/documents/178-cds2013_final.pdf |
| [2] | https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/why-caltech/student-life#define-your-variables |