Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Mechanic Arts records

School of Mechanic Arts, 1876-1889

The School of Mechanic Arts was organized in 1877. The two-year program was designed to provide manual training for younger students who wished to prepare for industrial occupations. The School of Mechanic Arts was not affiliated with any of the existing academic programs at MIT; it attracted a different group of students from those enrolled in the regular courses in the Institute.

The program was organized at a time when the apprenticeship system in the industrial trades was being phased out. MIT President John Runkle got the idea for the school during a visit to the Philadelphia centennial exposition in 1876. The Russian exhibit at the exposition explained a system of technical education that focused on shop work as an art rather than a trade and used instructional exercises that were valued more for their educational than their practical uses. Runkle freely borrowed from these ideas and, in his annual reports, gave credit to the "Russian system" which was then in place at the Imperial Technical School in Moscow as a model for the School of Mechanic Arts.

The catalog for 1877-1878 states that the school was established "for those who wish to enter upon industrial pursuits, rather than to become scientific engineers." These students were often younger than others at MIT. The 1876-1877 Report to the President reports that "[t]he students in the special course on Practical Mechanism are boys, and it is for boys that that course is intended. They need the care and discipline that school-boys require . . . Their studies, outside their shop-work, should be conducted in separate rooms, under the constant supervision of special instructors and disciplinarians." The School of Mechanic Arts offered shop courses in Carpentry and Joinery, Wood Turning, Pattern Making, Vise Work, Forging, Foundry Work and Machine Tool Work. In addition, basic courses in English, Mathematics and Physics were required. The school was administered by a faculty committee.

The school proved to be popular and in 1884 moved into a larger workspace on Garrison Street in Boston. The curriculum was expanded to include instruction in French. The School for Mechanic Arts continued to operate at MIT until 1889. By this time, other specialized schools offering training in the industrial arts had opened.