 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 . Post @-@ war defense research contributed to the rapid expansion of the faculty and campus under James Killian . The current 168 @-@ acre ( 68 @.@ 0 ha ) campus opened in 1916 and extends over 1 mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) along the northern bank of the Charles River basin . 
