Educational Partnerships

MIT has long maintained fruitful partnerships and collaborations with leading educational institutions in the region and around the world. Major programs include:

Cross-registration with Other Schools

Cooperative arrangements enable MIT students to take subjects for credit at Harvard University, Wellesley College, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts without paying additional tuition. Wellesley operates a free weekday bus service between its campus and the Institute. Further agreements exist between specific departments and programs at MIT and their counterparts at Boston University, Brandeis University, and Tufts University. Students taking advantage of these programs may enroll only in specified subjects.

Study Abroad / Domestic Study Away

Through Study Abroad and Domestic Study Away programs, students can spend a summer, a semester, or a year at another academic institution. The MIT Global Education Office manages the Cambridge–MIT Exchange Program, MIT–Madrid (spring term only), IAP language programs, and departmental exchanges. Students also can choose from a wide range of direct enrollment and third-party provider programs. Financial aid is portable for credit-bearing study abroad. For more information, see http://web.mit.edu/studyabroad/.

Cambridge–MIT Exchange

The Cambridge–MIT Exchange program, in its eighth year of operation, allows MIT juniors to study for a year at the University of Cambridge, England, while Cambridge undergraduates spend a year at MIT. CME was initially formed by the Cambridge–MIT Institute, a strategic alliance between MIT and the University of Cambridge. At present, 14 MIT departments participate in CME. During the 2008–2009 academic year, students from nine MIT departments are studying at the University of Cambridge. See http://web.mit.edu/cmi/ue/ for more details.

Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

The Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) is among the largest biomedical engineering and physician/scientist training programs in the US, with more than 400 students enrolled in its eight graduate-level programs, a faculty of 60, an affiliated faculty of over 200, and more than 1,300 alumni occupying leadership positions in academia, industry, and government. The longest ongoing collaboration of MIT and Harvard and its affiliated hospitals, HST offers educational programs and research initiatives that integrate the biological and physical sciences, engineering, technology, and medicine to solve problems in biology and human health.

HST's research enterprise is committed to exploring the fundamental principles underlying health and disease and seeking new pharmaceuticals and devices to reduce human suffering. HST's three major research areas—biomedical imaging, biomedical informatics and integrative biology, and regenerative and functional biomedical technologies—capitalize on its multidisciplinary strengths and are critically important to advances in biology and health.

MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives

The MISTI programs promote international education at MIT. MISTI is modeled on the MIT–Japan Program, established in 1981 to promote closer ties among scientists, engineers, and industrial managers in the United States and Japan. Today, MISTI operates through nine country programs in China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Spain. Currently, more than 300 undergraduate and graduate students from all courses of study at MIT participate in MISTI programs each year.

In particular, MISTI offers internships in foreign companies and laboratories, provides students with study abroad options, and supports faculty collaborations with researchers abroad. Conferences, workshops, and talks organized by MISTI create a forum for international learning and research at MIT. MISTI is also involved in new educational initiatives, such as OpenCourseWare, and works with corporations, governments, and not-for-profit organizations around the world to internationalize industry, education, and research. In 2008, MISTI launched the MISTI Global Seed Fund, which offers funding to MIT faculty and research scientists to jump-start international projects and collaborations. Student participation in these projects is encouraged. See http://mit.edu/misti/.

MIT–Woods Hole Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering

MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution jointly offer doctor of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in chemical oceanography, marine geology, marine geophysics, physical oceanography, applied ocean science and engineering, and biological oceanography. They also offer master's programs and professional degrees in some disciplines.

MIT–Zaragoza International Logistics Program

The MIT–Zaragoza International Logistics Program is a partnership between MIT, the Zaragoza Logistics Center (a research institute associated with the University of Zaragoza in Spain), the government of Aragón, and industry sponsors. The program specializes in logistics and supply chain management, offering research, industry partnerships, outreach events, and graduate and executive education taught in English. Master’s and PhD degrees are granted by the University of Zaragoza with a certificate from MIT. To link academia with industry, the ZLC is constructing its new building in the middle of Plataforma Logística de Zaragoza, one of the largest logistics parks in the world.

Singapore–MIT Alliance

The Singapore–MIT Alliance is an innovative engineering education and research collaboration by three premier academic institutions: MIT, the National University of Singapore, and the Nanyang Technological University. SMA promotes global education and research in engineering and the life sciences through distance education technology. SMA-2 offers graduate programs in advanced materials for micro- and nano-systems, chemical and pharmaceutical engineering, computational engineering, manufacturing systems and technology, and computational and systems biology. To participate in the program, students apply separately to MIT and one of the Singapore universities. If admitted independently to both, students are eligible to apply for an SMA graduate fellowship. All SMA students spend at least one semester at MIT.