MIT CDO Faculty, Students, and Staff

Information for Current Students

Important Information for All CDO Students

Note to CDO-CE Students: In addition to this section, all CDO-CE students should also review the section below, which provides information specifically for those who are enrolled in the dual CDO-CE master's degree program.

Final Exam Schedule

The Fall Term 2009 final exam schedule will be available at: http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/schedules/exams.html

Writing and English Proficiency Exams

The CDO Program, in cooperation with MIT’s Department of Writing & Humanistic Studies, administers both a Writing Skills Exam and an English Evaluation Test. All incoming CDO students whose native language is English are required to take the Writing Skills Exam. All incoming CDO students whose native language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test. These exams, which are administered at the beginning of each student’s program, evaluate students’ writing skills and, if necessary, result in the assignment of specific course work in order to ensure that students develop adequate writing skills.

CDO Writing Skills Examination

The Graduate Writing Skills Examination (Writing Exam) is designed to test the technical and scientific writing skills of all admitted graduate students whose native language is English. The Writing Exam will be administered to CDO students on Tuesday, September 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon at MIT, in Room 36-462 . Students who do not pass the Writing Exam must complete remedial work by participating in a workshop offered during Fall semester. Attendance at all workshop sessions is mandatory.

English Evaluation Test (EET)

International graduate students whose language of instruction from primary school onward was not English must take the English Evaluation Test (EET) as a means of determining their current level of English language skills. All students not taking the Writing Exam will be required to take the EET. The exam will be administered MIT-wide on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon in Room 26-100 . Pre-registration is not required. Please arrive at room 10-250 room between 8:30 a.m and 9:00 a.m. on the day of the exam. Students who do not pass the EET must complete remedial work by participating in a for-credit course offered during Fall semester.

International Students

The MIT International Students Office (ISO) is an important resource for all international students. In order to receive their MIT ID cards, international students must participate in an ISO orientation session as soon as possible after their arrival on campus. Please carefully review the information on the ISO web site so that you are fully apprised of the requirements for international students.

Program Documents and Links

CDO Master's Degree Requirements and Petition Procedure (pdf)
CDO Proposal for Master's Thesis (CDO-MT) (pdf)
MIT Graduate and Family Housing
MIT Medical Form

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Important Information Specifically for CDO-CE Students

Finding a Thesis/Research Advisor

CDO-CE students should begin contacting MIT faculty as soon as possible, in order to secure a thesis research advisor early in September following your arrival at MIT. We suggest the following guidelines when contacting MIT faculty:

• If you have more than one email address, use only your MIT email address for all correspondence.
• Identify yourself in the subject line or the first line of your email as a current MIT CDO graduate student.
• State up front in your email that you have a fully-funded fellowship and are looking only for a thesis research advisor—that is, you are not seeking research funding.

Travel Plans

The SMA office (Singapore) will coordinate your travel to MIT in late August 2009. You will be expected to arrive in time to participate in both MIT graduate student orientation activities during the last week of August, and in CDO orientation, which will take place on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

Medical Form

All CDO-CE students must complete the MIT Medical Form. The deadline for submitting the form was July 24, 2009, though late forms will be accepted . The completed form should be mailed directly to: MIT Medical, E23-177, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139 -4307, USA.

Housing

If you need on-campus housing for the fall term, please join the graduate housing Waiting List. Spaces are offered to the waiting list as cancellations are received.

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