Overview
The Communication Requirement (CR) integrates substantial instruction and practice in writing and speaking into all four years, and across all parts, of MIT's undergraduate program, with the goal of helping students develop general, technical, and professional communication skills.
The CR is the only paced General Institute Requirement at MIT. In their first and second years, students establish a foundation in effective expository writing and speaking with two Communication Intensive subjects from the humanities, arts, and social sciences (CI‑H). During their junior and senior years, subjects that are Communication-Intensive in the Major (CI‑M) provide students with instruction and practice in forms of communication specific to the professional and academic culture of their discipline.
Oversight and assessment
The faculty Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR) oversees the Requirement and evaluates its efficacy. Administration is provided through the Office of the Communication Requirement. SOCR establishes policies, approves and relicenses CI‑H and CI‑M subjects, responds to student petitions, and periodically reviews and assesses the overall effectiveness the Requirement and individual CI subjects.
The Subcommittee also collects and shares best practices in instruction, such as the April 2011 event “Innovations in Communication Instruction.” Instructors discussed both successes and challenges of teaching CI subjects at MIT. Watch the video on YouTube.