Actually, they are fairly comparable in volume, but with different emphases:
MIT requires 8 humanities, arts, and social studies “subjects” (MIT-speak for courses), including 2 writing intensive ones:
http://web.mit.edu/hassreq/
Yale requires 6 courses in humanities, social studies, and writing, but also has a foreign language requirement that requires 1 to 3 courses beyond that:
http://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/yale-college/distributional-requirements/