The Month Of January: IAP

If you think MIT is wall-to-wall work, let us take you for a spin in the big, wacky, comfortable chair called IAP.

Sandwiched between the spring and fall semesters, the Independent Activities Period (IAP) is a special four-week term at MIT that fills the month of January.

For more than 35 years, IAP has given MIT students, faculty and staff a unique opportunity to organize, sponsor and participate in a wide variety of personal and intellectual adventures beyond their academic routine. IAP activities may take almost any form, from how-to sessions, forums, lecture series and films, to tours, recitals and contests.

Almost 700 non-credit and 100 for-credit subjects are offered each IAP, and are distinguished by their variety, innovative spirit, and fusion of fun and learning. Past options have ranged from for-credit activities like electron microprobe analysis and the Martin Luther King Jr. design seminar, to non-credit ones like introductory blacksmithing and ballroom dancing. Some of the more famous IAP activities include the Mystery Hunt, Charm School, and the 6.270 Autonomous Robot Design Competition.

Think of IAP as a grand dose of intellectual sunshine and fresh air. Students are free to set their own educational agendas, pursue independent projects, meet with faculty, do research full time, or simply turn the preceding two-week winter break into a long six-week vacation. Because IAP is so exciting, very few students choose this last option.