Location Logistics

Table of contents:

• Getting to MIT;

• Pickup and Dropoff;

• Safety;

• Where to Stay;

• Finding your way around MIT.

MIT's interactive campus map can be very useful in navigating campus, and Google Maps is helpful for driving directions.

Getting to MIT

We recommend using public transportation to get to campus since parking can be limited.

• By train: Take the MBTA Red Line to the Kendall/MIT station, which is located near the eastern part of MIT’s campus, then walk to our main campus area (check program information for specifics on where classes will be held).

• By bus: The MBTA 1 Bus stops in front of MIT’s main entrance at 77 Massachusetts Avenue.

• By commuter rail: Most south and west Commuter Rail lines go to South Station, which is four stops away from the Kendall/MIT stop on the Red Line.

• By other means: Visit the MIT website MIT website for more information on how to get to campus.

Pickup/dropoff:

Although MIT Building 7 (77 Massachusetts Avenue) is a popular pickup/dropoff location because it's the center of campus, it is a very busy main road. If you are picking up or dropping your student off, we suggest the following locations instead:

• On Amherst Street near Kresge Auditorium, located at 48 Massachusetts Ave.

• Vassar Street, right past MIT’s main entrance, coming from Harvard Bridge. This is a wide, pedestrian-friendly street on MIT’s campus.

• Kendall Square. Since there is a T stop at Kendall Square, it is often easy to get directions or follow a crowd to get there.

• DuPont turnaround. Between the Stratton Student Center (84 Massachusetts Ave) and duPont Athletic Center (120 Massachusetts Ave), there is a turnaround for easy dropoff.

Safety

MIT has an open campus, located across from a major city and down the street from a major commercial district. As a result, we cannot control who is wandering around during our programs. If students aren’t comfortable on their own at MIT, they may not be ready for our programs.

However, we do our best to make our programs safe.

• For large programs like Splash, we have security volunteers roaming the hallways to help lost students.

• MIT Police are aware of our programs and offer assistance when necessary.

• Every student in our programs gets a list of important phone numbers, including how to contact the ESP team and the MIT Police (617-253-1212). In case of emergencies during our programs, please contact the MIT police, as they respond faster for emergency services than 911.

Where to stay?

ESP does not offer any residential programs. If students do not live in the Cambridge/Boston area, you will have to find your own accommodations. We cannot allow students to stay in MIT dorms.

The MIT website offers information on staying in the area and local hotels. For Splash and Spark, sometimes we negotiate with local hotels for discounted rates – information about this will be available on the program registration page. Note that class selections for our programs cannot be guaranteed, so please keep this in mind if making hotel arrangements before class lottery results are available.

Finding your way around

There are several important locations on campus that are good to know as reference:

• Lobby 7 is the large high-ceilinged atrium just inside 77 Mass. Ave.

• The Infinite Corridor is the long hallway from Building 7 (at 77 Mass. Ave) to Building 8 (21 Ames St, Cambridge). The buildings along the Infinite are known as the "main group", and are buildings 1-10. Almost all ESP classes are in the main group.

• Lobby 10 is the midpoint of the Infinite Corridor. It looks out on Killian Court and the Charles River. Check-in for ESP programs is frequently in Lobby 10, and anyone you run into on the MIT campus will be able to tell you how to get to Lobby 10.