It was established in 1949 by Chinnaswami Rajam as the first self-financing engineering institute in the country and later merged with Anna University.

The institute has a unique practice of "T numbers" that facilitates mentoring of students by their respective seniors.

Established in 1949, Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) initially offered three-year diploma courses (DMIT) in Engineering for Science graduates (B.Sc.).

Since 1996, the institute has accepted students who have passed the 12th board examinations for its four-year undergraduate programme.

After India's independence, the need for establishing engineering institutions to propel the industrial development in the country was felt by Chinnaswami Rajam.

To establish an institution, Rajam sought the support of distinguished citizens including Subbaraya Aiyar, M.K.

Each semester, the students are graded by taking a weighted average of all the courses with their respective credit points.

TBO is the brain child of a group of pre-final year students who took the help of one of the most instrumental Professors, A.R.S.

Apart from this Homefest, the cultural and sports festival of Madras Institute of Technology Hostels is held during the month of April every year.

The first general body meeting was held on 14 April 1966 and was headed by V. Gopalan (I Batch, President), C.J.G.

MITAA chapters in India and abroad (for instance, Bengaluru, Singapore and Dubai) collaborate with the parent organization as well as the institute on a regular basis.

The MIT museum was inaugurated by Anna University vice-chancellor Dr P Mannar Jawahar on 18 March 2011.

The museum also chronicles newspaper coverages, books written by MITians and displays a replica of a glider made by the students of the 1952 batch.

It was partly shot in MIT campus (mainly Hangar-II and hostels) during a semester break, particularly for a song in which many available students participated.