Suggested preparation: Interest in history, science or higher education.
About this course
Trace MIT's development alongside changing ideas about technology and education. The lectures examine institutional history, wartime research, aerospace, computing and campus life.
Topics and lesson examples
- 1. Introduction, Course Overview, What is Technology?
- 3. William Barton Rogers & The Foundational Years, 1861-1896
- 5. MIT and the corporate world in the age of big business, 1890-1930
- 10. World War II and the Aftermath
- 12. Aerospace and Computing in the 1960s, Lab Life in the 1970s, The Past Three Decades
Course at a glance
| Provider | MIT |
|---|---|
| Platform | YouTube · MIT OpenCourseWare |
| Access | Free Video |
| Level | Beginner — WikiFree study-level assessment |
| Language | English |
| Available lessons | 9 |
| Video duration | 12h 53m · self-paced |
| Details checked | 10 October 2026 |
Preparation and study approach
Suggested preparation: Interest in history, science or higher education.
Follow the available videos in sequence, pausing to summarize the main argument or reconstruct a worked example. Keep a short list of assumptions, unfamiliar terms and questions to revisit. Additional reading, problem solving and practice will take time beyond the listed video duration.
Using this video classroom
Select a lesson from the list, or search for a topic. Previous and Next move through the sequence. You can mark lessons complete; progress is stored in this browser without a WikiFree account.
Free access and course scope
The public MIT OpenCourseWare videos in this classroom are free to watch. This listing provides the available playlist recordings, which may include selected lectures, recitations, demonstrations or supporting discussions rather than every component of the original campus course. Textbooks, equipment, software licenses, supervised labs, graded assignments and instructor feedback are not supplied by WikiFree. No purchase is required to watch the videos or use the note-based study approach above.
WikiFree independently organizes these resources for self-paced study. Watching does not award an MIT certificate, academic credit or admission to MIT.
Video provider and credit: MIT OpenCourseWare on YouTube. WikiFree titles, descriptions and cover artwork are independently prepared.
Related courses for your next step
- Compare another approachFree MIT Course: History of Modern Physics
Focus: Lecture 1: Introduction to Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman: Physics in the 20th Century · Lecture 3: Worldviews, Wranglers, and the Making of Theoretical Physicists
Beginner - Compare another approachGlobal History: Early Modern to Contemporary: Free Course
Focus: Chronology · Historical context
Beginner - Compare another approachMedieval World History and Global Exchange: Free Course
Focus: Chronology · Historical context
Beginner
Compare course focus, level and study time
| Course | Level | Focus | Study time |
|---|---|---|---|
| This course — Free MIT Course: History of MIT and Technological Education | Beginner | 1. Introduction, Course Overview, What is Technology? · 3. William Barton Rogers & The Foundational Years, 1861-1896 · 5. MIT and the corporate world in the age of big business, 1890-1930 | 12h 53m of video; practice time is additional |
| Free MIT Course: History of Modern Physics | Beginner | Lecture 1: Introduction to Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman: Physics in the 20th Century · Lecture 3: Worldviews, Wranglers, and the Making of Theoretical Physicists · Optional Discussion: The Day After Trinity | 31h 32m of video; practice time is additional |
| Global History: Early Modern to Contemporary: Free Course | Beginner | Chronology · Historical context · Source analysis | 5h 37m of video; practice time is additional |
| Medieval World History and Global Exchange: Free Course | Beginner | Chronology · Historical context · Source analysis | 5h 8m of video; practice time is additional |
Provider: MIT. Videos play from the MIT OpenCourseWare channel on YouTube.
Report a correction
Questions & discussion
Share a useful question or correction. Comments appear after moderation. Please avoid personal or sensitive information.