The Report on the Assessment of the Implementation of the Undergraduate Communication Requirement is available here.

In order to graduate, you must complete four CI subjects: two CI-Hs and two CI-Ms, as specified by your major.  

Your first CI subject will be CI-H (Communication Intensive in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences). CI-H subjects are writing classes or classes in the HASS curriculum in which students plan, organize, draft, and revise a series of assignments based on course material. To receive credit, you must pass a CI-H subject, and you can receive CI credit for only one CI-H subject per semester.

CI-M subjects (Communication Intensive in the Major) teach the specific forms of written, oral, and/or visual communication appropriate to the field's professional and academic culture. You must complete two CI-Ms within your  declared major. You must pass the CI-M subject in order to receive credit. You can receive credit for more than one CI-M per term or for both a CI-H and a CI-M taken in the same term.

In order to remain in compliance with the Communication Requirement you must pass one CI-H by the end of your first year, two CI subjects by the end of your second year, three CI subjects by the end of your third year and four CI subjects by graduation.  Exceptions to this pacing include transfer and double degree students and are addressed below.

The Freshman Year

Freshman Essay Evaluation

MIT's writing placement test, the Freshman Essay Evaluation (FEE), determines what type of CI-H you must take during your first year. The only students exempt from the FEE are those who scored a 5 on either of the Advanced Placement English Tests, equivalent to a "CI-H/CI-HW Required " on the FEE. If you earned a score of 5 on either of these AP tests, request that the Educational Testing Service submit your AP scores to MIT.

The FEE is administered over the Web twice during the summer, once in June and once in July. A complete description of the FEE, including how to register, is available online. We strongly encourage you to take the FEE in June as students who take the June exam will receive their results by July 15, in time to select classes for the fall.

If you cannot take the online FEE, you must take a paper-and-pencil makeup version during Orientation.  If English is not one of your primary languages, and you did not take the online FEE, you should take the English Diagnostic Review (EDR) test during Orientation. The EDR is offered at the same time as the makeup FEE and includes the same essay topics.

Choosing an appropriate CI-H

Your FEE score determines which type of CI subject you must take during your freshman year. If you received a score of:

• "CI-H/CI-HW Required " — you may take any CI-H or CI-HW in either term of your freshman year. A full list of CI-H subjects is available online. CI-H subjects may be either HASS-D or HASS Electives. To enroll in a CI-H subject that is also a HASS-D, you must participate in the HASS-D lottery; to enroll in a CI-H subject that is a HASS Elective, you register as you do for other MIT subjects.

• "CI-HW Subject Required" — you must take an intensive writing subject designated as CI-HW in either term of your first year. This must be your first CI subject and counts as one of your 2 CI-H subjects.

• "ESL (English as a Second Language) Subject Required" — you must take 21F.222 as your first CI subject. We encourage you to take 21F.222 in the fall term, although you may delay until the spring.

• Students who do not take the FEE and who have not submitted an AP score exempting them from the test will receive an automatic placement of "CI-HW Subject Required."

Planning your Communication Requirement

You may take your first CI-H subject in either semester of your freshman year. You must pass the CI-H subject in order to receive credit, and you can receive CI credit for only one CI-H subject per semester.

If you do not complete an appropriate CI-H subject during your freshman year, you will be in non-compliance with the Communication Requirement. Your name will be forwarded to the Committee on Academic Performance, which may take further action to help you re-establish satisfactory academic progress.

Project-based CI Subjects (Spring '07)

In Spring 2007, students who enrolled in one of these six subjects: 2.00AJ/16.00AJ, 2.00B, 4.001J/11.004J, 5.92, 16.00, HST.410J/6.07J will receive CI credit that will count towards their four-subject Communication Requirement. More information on CI subjects is available online.

Project-based CI Subjects (Spring '08)

In Spring 2008, students who enroll in one of these six subjects: 2.00AJ/16.00AJ, 2.00B, 3.003, 4.001J/11.004J, 16.00, HST.410J/6.07J will receive CI credit that will count towards their four-subject Communication Requirement. More information on CI subjects is available online.

The Sophomore Year

You must complete your second Communication Intensive subject by the end of your sophomore year.  This may be either a second CI-H subject, or, if your major allows, a CI-M subject. 

Transfer Students

The first step towards fulfilling the Communication Requirement is to take the Freshman Essay Evaluation, described above. You will need to complete one CI subject each year for a total of two CI-H and two CI-M subjects by graduation. You must, during your first year at MIT, either pass a CI subject or receive transfer credit for one. To receive CI transfer credit for an expository writing subject you must contact the transfer credit examiner for the Writing Program. For all other transfer credit requests associated with CI subjects, you must petition the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement.

The Junior Year

You must complete three appropriate CI subjects by the end of your junior year. Normally, you take your first CI-M subject as a junior. These subjects may be required courses or restricted electives that count towards the departmental program. Please consult our list of CI-M subjects by major.

Double Degrees

If you wish to receive two S.B. degrees, you must complete 2 CI-H subjects and the CI-M subjects that fulfill the communication component of each major. Usually, this means you will take four CI-Ms (two in each major program). However, if a subject is approved as CI-M for both majors, you may use this subject to fulfill the CI-M component of both programs simultaneously.

Major Departures

If you are proposing a major departure, your program of study must include two CI-M subjects, generally sequenced so that you will take one in the junior year and one in the senior year. You will propose these subjects, in consultation with the Faculty Advisor in the major departure field, when you make the program proposal. In most cases, these subjects will be selected from among the advanced subjects serving as CI-Ms for major programs in adjacent disciplines, e.g., a student designing a major departure in American Studies might propose a subject serving as CI-M for History majors.

CI-M subjects for major departure programs will be reviewed by the HASS Office and the Assistant Dean for the Communication Requirement, on behalf of SOCR, before the proposal is submitted to the Dean of the SHASS for approval. If a CI-M subject for a major departure has not been reviewed and approved by SOCR, you will need to petition SOCR to have the subject approved prior to submitting the program proposal to the Dean of SHASS.

CI-Ms for 21E and 21S programs

21E and 21S are joint programs that combine humanities with engineering or scientific studies. Each 21E or 21S program must include two CI-M subjects. Normally, students will be expected to complete one CI-M subject from each area of study, usually chosen from the subjects designated as CI-M for the full major. You should contact the Office of the Communication Requirement (commreq at mit dot edu) for further information.

Senior Year

You must complete two CI-H subjects and two CI-M subjects within the specific degree program of your major(s) to receive your S.B. Degree.

Petitions

Petitions regarding the Communication Requirement are reviewed by the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR). They are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed approximately every week. Students wishing to petition may pick up paper forms from or obtain a PDF copy here:petition form. Decision letters are sent within one business day of the Subcommittee's decision. Petition decisions are final.

SOCR will not consider an appeal unless the student can provide substantial and compelling new information that was unavailable to the Subcommittee when it made its initial decision. Students wishing to appeal a SOCR decision must submit a petition that details the new information.

Non-Compliance

Students who fall behind the minimum rate of completion for the Communication Requirement are in noncompliance. At the end of each term, the names of noncompliant students are forwarded to the Committee on Academic Performance, which may take further action to bring such students into good academic standing.

Writing Requirement

If you entered MIT as an undergraduate prior to Fall 2001 you are subject to the Writing Requirement rather than the Communication Requirement. For more information on the Writing Requirement visit the Writing Requirement website.

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