Advanced Study Program
Overview
The MIT Professional Education - Advanced Study Program Advantage
Each semester 30 to 40 talented individuals come to MIT to take classes in a non-matriculating, non-degree program and participate in a world-renowned learning community. They come to gain the knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers and to take innovative ideas and practices back to their employers. They are admitted based on their academic and professional background and recommendations. About half are full-time students; others take one or two courses per semester. The cultural mix is rich: more than half the students come from abroad and 65 percent work in engineering and technical fields.
Academic opportunities
Advanced Study Program fellows are enrolled as MIT graduate students with full privileges. They plan their own academic experience that may include courses from MIT’s five schools. Some students also arrange research opportunities with faculty. Fellows earn grades, MIT credit, and an Advanced Study Program certificate by completing their program. A rolling admission process facilitates planning. Prospective fellows, who may apply up to nine months before the fall or spring semester begins, are typically notified of acceptance within two weeks after application materials are completed.
The MIT Experience
The MIT campus brings together exceptional students, faculty, and visiting experts who share their work in classes, public lectures, and conferences each year. Students benefit from world-class laboratories, multimedia classrooms, renowned libraries, and online resources. Advanced Study Program fellows gather at lunch seminars and dinners to share experiences and build a lifelong community of peers. Full-time fellows also have work space on campus. During breaks, students can relax in informal gathering spaces on campus, use sports facilities, and join student organizations from the Anime Club to the MIT Symphony Orchestra. Students also enjoy cultural, sports, and intellectual events in Cambridge and Boston.
Snapshot
The Advanced Study Program, established in 1958, has admitted fellows from more than 500 organizations in over 75 countries. Recent fellows have come from Analog Devices, Inc., Biogen, Citibank N.A., Children’s Hospital Medical Center/Boston, Cypress Semiconductor, East Japan Railway Company, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Intel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Lucent Technologies, Nokia Research Center/Boston, Nortel Networks, Raytheon, U.S. Air Force, and Verizon.
