A regular graduate student is an individual who has been admitted to the Institute and who is registered for a program of advanced study and research leading to any of the post-baccalaureate degrees offered by MIT.
To be admitted as a regular graduate student, an applicant must have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college, university, or technical school of acceptable standing. Applicants are evaluated by the department in which they propose to register on the basis of their prior performance and professional promise. These are evidenced by academic records, letters of evaluation from individuals familiar with the applicant's capabilities, and any other pertinent data furnished by the applicant. While high academic achievement does not guarantee admission, such achievement, or other persuasive evidence of professional promise, is expected.
A student registered in a program of study leading to the simultaneous award of the bachelor's degree and master's degree must apply for graduate study and be registered as a graduate student for at least one academic term (not the summer session) of his or her program of study.
Some engineering departments require students seeking a doctoral degree to qualify first for a master's degree.
In addition to preparation in the specific field of interest, most departments require significant work in mathematics and the physical sciences, but some require as little as a year of college-level work in these disciplines. Requirements of individual departments are given in Part 2 of this catalogue. Students with minor deficiencies in preparation may be admitted for graduate study; however, deficiencies in prerequisite or general or professional subjects must be made up before the student can proceed with graduate work dependent on them.
Students normally begin graduate study in September. However, in several departments, suitable programs can be arranged for students entering in June or February. Prospective applicants should check with individual departments about their dates for admission and matriculation.
Students wishing to enter in June or September should apply on the prescribed forms by December 15 (exceptions to that deadline are noted in the application packet); candidates for admission in February should apply by November 1. However, applications submitted later may be considered if vacancies still exist. Fees will not be returned to late applicants, but may be applied to an application considered in the next term. Candidates for admission who are also applicants for financial aid should observe the same deadlines.
Applicants attending colleges or universities on the semester system should apply before the end of the fall semester for admission in June or September and submit a transcript of fall grades as soon as it is available.
Applications for admission should be requested from Graduate Admissions, Room 3-103, MIT. A $70 application fee must accompany all application forms; applications without the fee will not be accepted. Note that the Sloan School of Management and the departments of Biology and Urban Studies and Planning should be contacted directly for application forms. The application fee is $230 for the Master's Program in the Sloan School. All inquiries regarding graduate admission to the Sloan School are sent to the director of the master's or doctoral program, whichever is appropriate: Room E52-112 (Master's Program) or Room E52-003 (Doctoral Program), MIT, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142-1347.
Applications for readmission after an absence of five years or more must be approved by the dean for graduate students as well as the department.
Notification about admission for September is sent as soon as action is taken (usually before April 1); for February applicants, notification usually is sent as soon as the application is complete. Admission of a student who is in the final year of work toward a bachelor's degree may be conditionally approved until subsequent evidence is provided that the degree has been awarded.
Inquiries about specific requirements for admission should be addressed to the chair of the appropriate departmental committee on graduate students.
Many departments require applicants to submit scores on the Aptitude Test and the appropriate Advanced Test of the Graduate Record Examination. The requirements specified by the departments are included in the MIT graduate application material. For a test application, write to the Graduate Record Examination, Educational Testing Service, Box 955, Princeton, New Jersey 08540.
The Sloan School of Management requires that all applicants, including those from foreign countries, take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). For the locations and dates at which this test may be taken, write to GMAT, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey 08540.
Graduate student applicants who are citizens of countries other than the United States must have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college, university, or technical institute of acceptable standing. The academic record and all credentials must indicate the ability of the candidate to complete the approved program of graduate study and research. Applicants are evaluated by the academic departments. Admission is granted on a competitive basis. Competence in written and spoken English is expected.
Students whose native language is not English and whose schooling has not been predominantly in English, must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service. Students wishing to take the TOEFL should do so no later than the November test date. A score of 577 is the minimum considered acceptable except as noted by departments in the application packet. (Write directly to TOEFL/TSE Services, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6151 for registration material and information.)
The Graduate Application for Admission for International Students may be obtained from Graduate Admissions, Room 3-103, MIT, or, in the case of the Sloan School, from the director of either the master's program, Room E52-112, or the doctoral program, Room E56-290. Applicants must submit complete application materials to the appropriate office.
Please refer to the previous section concerning individual departmental requirements for the Graduate Record Examinations.
A special graduate student is one whose intended program of study is essentially graduate in nature but who is not a candidate for an advanced degree. Normally, such a student will have received a bachelor's degree. All applications are made through the Admissions Office. Applications for the specific subjects will be evaluated and approved by the graduate committee of the appropriate department or departments. Admission is valid only for one term; a student must seek readmission each term to continue at the Institute. Those applying for special graduate student status for the first time must pay a $70 application fee. A new fee is required after two sequential terms. To be allowed to continue as a special graduate student, satisfactory academic performance must be maintained.
The term deadlines for filing special student applications are:
| Summer | | May 1 |
| Fall | | August 1 |
| Spring | | January 1 |
Deadlines for international special student applicants are:
| Summer | |
March 1 |
| Fall | |
June 1 |
| Spring | |
November 1 |
International students living outside the United States are not permitted to apply for the summer term.
Permanent residents must submit a copy of the green card. International students also need to submit copies of visas, and cannot cross-register at Harvard.
Applicants whose native language is not English must submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as noted in the section on International Graduate Admissions. A score of 577 is the minimum considered acceptable. The I-20 or IAP-66 will not be issued for subject registration of less than 36 units.
Admission as a special graduate student does not imply any commitment toward an individual's admissibility to regular graduate student status. If a special graduate student is subsequently admitted as a degree candidate, subjects completed may be used in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree. The department will determine what subjects are acceptable. Registration as a special graduate student does not count toward minimum residency requirements for an advanced degree nor for eligibility for nonresident status. Correspondence concerning admission as a special graduate student should be addressed to the Graduate Admissions Office, Room 3-103, from whom application material and Information for Special Students may be obtained.
In view of their full-time responsibilities on assigned research and their corresponding salary scales, Institute research staff or employees of the Lincoln Laboratory or the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory may not be full-time regular graduate students, but may, under certain conditions, be granted the status of special graduate student. However, a research staff appointee or an employee of the Lincoln Laboratory or the Draper Laboratory who desires to work for an advanced degree must be admitted as a regular graduate student and must complete the residency and other requirements of the degree program to which the individual has been accepted. This individual may not continue to hold a research staff appointment, nor include any work completed while employed as part of the thesis for an advanced degree.
Any research staff appointee and any employee of the Lincoln Laboratory or the Draper Laboratory may, by written permission from the director of the division (or his or her designate), apply for admission as a special graduate student for enrollment in one subject only per term (but not thesis), either as a listener or for academic credit.
Acceptance for such enrollment will be granted if, in the opinion of the instructor, the individual is qualified to undertake the subject and if section size permits. For this type of enrollment, the student will be assigned to an appropriate registration officer and will pay, whether as a student or listener, the fee established at the special student rate.
A graduate student may not interrupt an academic program to accept employment on the academic, administrative, or research staff, or as an hourly employee at MIT, the Lincoln Laboratory, or the Draper Laboratory either during the academic year or the summer, without the approval of the department head and the appropriate academic dean, and unless the work as an employee is unrelated to the student's thesis research. A thesis release form indicating such approval must be submitted to the appropriate personnel officer to effect such employment. A graduate student may not include in his or her thesis any material based in whole or in part upon work done while holding an academic or research staff appointment.