ESG is a community of learners, where first-year students, teaching assistants (TAs), and staff learn and grow together as they explore MIT’s core curriculum (known as General Institute Requirements, or GIRs)
ESG offers the full set of GIRs in biology, chemistry, math, and physics, as well as humanities classes
ESG’s small classes, typically 6-12 students, foster a hands-on, contextualized, and highly interactive learning experience
ESG provides flexibility of schedule – students take at least two GIRs in the fall and one GIR in the spring at ESG and can take classes outside of ESG
ESG students and staff get to know each other well, enabling instructors to adapt their teaching to respond to students’ needs, pace, and interests
ESG students are encouraged to explore their educational passions and take charge of their own learning
ESG’s peer-to-peer teaching, weekly Friday lunches, and a variety of social activities create a tight-knit community
ESG students have the opportunity to TA as an undergrad with expert training provided
ESG is located in a 14-room suite in the center of the MIT campus
ESG’s teaching and advising staff are easily accessible, with offices within the ESG space
The lizard became the ESG mascot due to the popularity of Douglas Hofstadter’s 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Several creative ESGers painted a series of murals around ESG mimicking the tessellated lizards that were a common theme of M.C. Escher’s illustrations. Eventually, the lizard became the symbol of ESG, giving rise to the logo we know today.
