The first fraternity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was Chi Phi, established in 1873. In the fall of 2023, 43 percent of MIT's male students belonged to a fraternity, while 23 percent of female students belonged to a sorority. As of 2025, MIT has 23 social fraternities, five gender-inclusive social fraternities, ten social sororities and women's fraternities. It also has nine honor societies and recognition organizations, and one service fraternity, and two professional fraternities. Five Independent Living Groups are grouped into a separate Living Group Council, but otherwise operate similarly to residential fraternities and sororities. These are known collectively as FSILGs.

Within this article, the terms "fraternity" and "sorority" are used somewhat interchangeably, with men's and co-ed groups normally using fraternity, and women's groups using either fraternity or sorority. Greek Letter Society is a generic substitute, with the word "Greek" referring to the use of Greek Letters for each society's name, and not to a Greek ethnicity. For brevity, the sections below make extensive use of Greek letters, one of the first items in a new member's instruction program. Most fraternities use two or three Greek letters to signify their symbolic or secret names; a few use non-Greek words.

History The first fraternity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was Chi Phi, established in March 1873. However, its charter was withdrawn in 1878. Chapters of Alpha Tau Omega and Theta Xi were chartered in 1885. In 1886, there were three fraternities at MIT, with a total membership of 39.

In 1886, Sigma Chi became the first MIT fraternity with facilities, renting rooms for its meetings and gatherings. This model was soon followed by the other fraternities. Many MIT fraternities are located in Boston because the institute was originally located in the Back Bay neighborhood, and had no dormitories to house its students. The fraternities and various dining clubs met a need for room and board that was not provided by the operations of the campus. Fraternity housing has continued to expand, both in terms of the size and quality of the individual buildings as well as the number of chapters. Several of MIT's fraternity buildings are today listed on the National Register of Historic Places or are otherwise notable, including former governor's mansions, college deans' mansions, and homes of various early leaders who once resided there.Noted with Wikilinks to specific architectural firms, notable residents, or building citations of merit within the individual chapter listings below. A cursory search of Institute yearbooks will show that dining, and later, fine dining, has remained of particular interest to participants. Many chapters extol the quality of their gourmet or commercial kitchens in their photo tours and rush materials.

In 1900, 16.1 percent or 234 students were members of MIT's eight fraternities.1900 MIT Technique yearbook, p.104. Within the next six years, Delta Psi had formed from The No. 6 Club (local), the local fraternity Phi Beta Epsilon had formed, and chapters were chartered for the national fraternities Chi Phi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Upsilon, and Phi Gamma Delta. By 1915, MIT had twenty fraternities with 481 active members or 29 percent of the student body. Around that time, the fraternities organized into the Interfraternity Council (IFC) which coordinated recruitment (rush) and intramural Greek athletics such as baseball and bowling. One early tradition established by the IFC with the support of faculty was a trophy for the best scholarship record; the trophy was a grandfather clock that was passed on to the fraternity with the best overall grade average after each term.Members of the campus IFC were first noted in the MIT Technique yearbook in the 1915 edition, as publication trailed actual events by approximately a year.

MIT moved to its Cambridge campus in 1916, and newer independent living groups have sprouted up or moved in around it. Older organizations are located along Newbury Street, convenient to the old campus. Because of the move, MIT doesn't have a specific Greek Row; instead, chapter houses are scattered on both sides of the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, and the surrounding towns.

The Technique yearbook provides a window to the growth and popularity of MIT's Greek organizations for almost 150 years.

Demographic changes From the 1860s through World War II, MIT students were almost entirely male, thus, the formation of women's fraternities or sororities came much later. By the 2000s, the Institute's undergraduate gender ratio reached near parity. En route to this more balanced, modern phase, a period of demographic and political change in the 1960s and 1970s, following larger national trends, resulted in the conversion of several all-male, nationally affiliated living groups into local co-ed groups and led to the expansion of all-female and co-ed housing options. Most of the resultant fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups are coordinated through the Office of Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs), though some independent "MIT-area" chapters do arise from time to time, along with those that serve students from multiple schools in Boston and the surrounding cities.

Recruitment traditions Traditionally, fraternity and sorority recruitment or rush at MIT occurred during Residence/Orientation (R/O) Week, which was the final week of each summer before the start of the fall semester. All incoming freshmen and transfer students would arrive on campus a week before Registration Day, the official start of the fall semester. During R/O Week, the incoming class would participate in orientation activities, take the so-called writing test to attempt to test out of the MIT Writing Requirement, and participate in residence selection. All students were free to participate in the fraternity, sorority, and independent living group rush. Those students who did not end up in an off-campus living group would also participate in the dorm selection process (see Housing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Freshman housing rush was eliminated in an initiative led by MIT president Charles Vest in the wake of the September 1997 death of Phi Gamma Delta freshman Scott Krueger. Beginning with the 2002–2003 academic year, all freshmen were required to live on campus. The old fraternity rush has been depressurized, with recruiting spread out throughout the first academic year, and less-frantic rush events for prospective new members.

Fraternities As of the fall of 2023, 43 percent of MIT's male students belong to a fraternity. Fraternities constituting the Interfraternity Council (IFC) are listed by dates of local founding and noted with national conference membership. These are (with several exceptions) men's organizations, voluntarily coordinating their efforts within the IFC as a self-governing body.MIT Interfraternity Council website, accessed June 18, 2020. As part of IFC or national organization self-governance or University disciplinary action, chapters may be suspended (de-recognized) or closed for a time. In the following lists, if a chapter is closed, it will be grouped under inactive chapters, italicized, while active chapters or those suspended for a brief time are in bold.

Active fraternity chapters Following are the active fraternities at MIT. - Chi Phi, 1873–1878, 1890 (NIC) - Sigma Chi, 1882 (NIC) - Theta Xi, 1885–1897, 1901 (NIC) - St. Anthony Hall, aka Delta Psi and No. Six Club, 1889 (NIC), co-ed - Delta Tau Delta, 1889 (NIC) - Theta Delta Chi, 1890–1892, 1906 (NIC), co-ed - Phi Beta Epsilon (local), 1890 - Delta Kappa Epsilon, 1890 (NIC) - Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1892–1999, 2009 (NIC) - Pi Lambda Phi, 1897–1901, 1920 (NIC) - Phi Sigma Kappa, 1902 (NIC) - Theta Chi, 1902 (NIC) - Phi Kappa Sigma, 1903 (NIC)November 1, 2002 article in The Tech campus newspaper, accessed June 19, 2020. - Zeta Beta Tau, 1911–22, 1961 (NIC) - Beta Theta Pi, 1913–2011, 2013 (NIC) - Kappa Sigma, 1914 - Phi Kappa Theta, 1918 (NIC) - Sigma Nu, 1922–1974, 1995 (NIC) - Phi Delta Theta, 1932 - Kappa Alpha Psi, 1975 (NPHC) and (NIC) - Alpha Delta Phi Society, 1976 (NIC) - Nu Delta (local), 1977 - Zeta Psi, 1979 (NIC)MIT's Rho Alpha chapter of (website) is located at 233 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA. - Alpha Phi Alpha, 1989 (NPHC) and (NIC) Xi Fellowship - Xi Fellowship (local), 2015 co-ed ΨΚΦ - Phi Kappa Psi, 2025 (NIC)

Fraternity chapters with name changes Following are former names of fraternities at MIT. Navajo Club (local) - 1878–1890, an interim group that became Number 6 Club (local) -1887–1889, became - Alpha Epsilon (local), 1902–1906, became - Lambda Phi (local), 1906–1925, inspired - Kappa Theta (local), 1908–1913, became - Delta Kappa Phi (local), 1912–1914, became - Sigma Alpha Mu, 1917–1973 (NIC), became Fenway House, an Independent Living Group - Phi Kappa, 1918–1959, became - Tau Epsilon Phi, 1919–1930, 1957–2023 (NIC), co-ed, became Xi Fellowship - Phi Beta Delta, 1920–1941, Jewish, (see ) - Phi Sigma Delta, 1921–1927, Jewish, (see ) Sigma Nu Club (local) - 1921–1922, became 1922 MIT Technique yearbook, p.260. - Phi Mu Delta,1922–1977, became Noted in the 1924 MIT Technique yearbook, p.418. - Psi Delta (local), 1922–1932, (NIC), became - Sigma Omega Psi, 1922–1935?, Jewish, became Alpha Club (local) - 1929–1929, became ΑΚΠ (see ΑΣΦ) - Alpha Kappa Pi - 1929–1940, became ΑΣΦ Pegis Club (local) - 1948–1952, became Dover Club (local) - 1956–1961, became - Pi Kappa Alpha, 1970–1981, 2010-11 (NIC), became pika, an Independent Living Group - Delta Pi (local), 1990–1995, became - Theta Tau, 1912–1930, 2016-2025, became ΨΚΦ

Inactive fraternity chapters Following are the inactive fraternities at MIT. - Alpha Tau Omega, 1885–1887, 1905–2009 (NIC) - Phi Gamma Delta, 1889–1894, 1899–1998 (NIC) - Delta Upsilon, 1891–2014 (NIC) - Delta Sigma (local), 1894–18981895-1898 MIT Technique yearbooks - Delta Sigma Phi, 1904–1908 (NIC) - Theta Nu Epsilon, 1904–1916 (NIC)1911 MIT Technique yearbook, pp.232-233Baird's 19th, ΘΝΕ website, and a note about Theta Nu Epsilon in ΦΣΚ's Rand History, in a reference cited under that other fraternity, p.190. - Lambda Chi Alpha, 1912–2014 - Tau Delta Phi, 1919–1929, 194x ? –1991+/- (NIC), Jewish - Alpha Mu Sigma, 1921–1926, Jewish923 MIT Technique yearbook, pp.404-405 - Alpha Phi Delta, 1928–37, 1939–43, 1948–53 (NIC), Italian-AmericanΑΦΔ national website, accessed June 16, 2020. and Baird's Manual. - Alpha Sigma Phi, 1929–1940, 2012–2014 (NIC) - Alpha Epsilon Pi, 1951–1990, 1990–202x ? (NIC) - Sigma Phi Epsilon, 1952–2019 KKK - Kappa Kappa Kappa (local), circa 1919–20xx ?

Gallery of fraternity chapter houses Many MIT-affiliated fraternities and sororities own private buildings in the Back Bay and Fenway–Kenmore neighborhoods in Boston.

Sororities