“MIT’s graduate students are dedicated, focused, and creative, and they have extraordinary potential. Fellowships empower MIT with the ability to recruit the most talented graduate students from around the world and give them the financial freedom to think big.”
The 7,000-plus members of MIT’s graduate student body—representing 60% of the total student population—drive research discovery and exploration forward in all disciplines; contribute to undergraduate teaching and mentoring; help us recruit and retain top faculty who wish to work with them; and deeply enhance campus life and community.
Increasing support for graduate fellowships across all disciplines is one of the highest priorities for MIT’s five schools and the Schwarzman College of Computing and the Institute as a whole.
MIT’s graduate student body represents
60% of the total student population.
There are many ways to support graduate students—today and in the future.
- Presidential Fellowships: The Presidential Fellowships program allows MIT to recruit the most outstanding students worldwide to pursue graduate studies at the Institute. These nine-month fellowships fund tuition and other expenses during awardees’ first academic year. Since its founding in 1999, the prestigious program has grown to support over 120 new graduate students annually.
- Named Fellowships: Named graduate fellowships, which are managed and awarded within MIT’s schools and college, departments, and units, or by the Office of the Provost or Office of Graduate Education (OGE), provide students with both financial support and recognition and help MIT recruit students who are deciding among programs. They are powerful contributors to MIT’s education and research enterprise and help the Institute build a community of students who bring to campus a vivid tapestry of experiences and backgrounds.
- Graduate Student Financial Support Funds: These funds are allocated annually by MIT’s schools and college, departments, and units, or the Office of the Provost and OGE, to support overall graduate student financial aid and supplement fellowship awards, when needed.
- MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP): The MSRP advances the intellectual and professional growth of undergraduate students from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. Talented sophomores, juniors, and non-graduating seniors spend nine weeks on MIT’s campus conducting research under the guidance of faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students.
An Exemplary Community of Graduate Students one-pager
Providing our students with robust financial support is increasingly important if MIT is to stay competitive relative to our peers.
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Establishing an Endowed Fellowship at MIT one-pager
An overview of endowed fellowships at MIT.
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Endowed Fellowships and Graduate Student Support Opportunities at MIT one-pager
Information on opportunities from $100,000 to $2.5M+ to support MIT graduate students through an endowed fellowship gift.
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MIT Summer Research Program one-pager
Over the last 35 years, the MSRP has provided hands-on research experiences to more than 900 students.
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MIT Climate Grand Challenges Advanced Research Impact Fellowships Program one-pager
There is a critical need to recruit and develop a new cadre of graduate students who can quickly make substantive research contributions to the climate crisis.
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Support Graduate Students
Support for graduate students gives MIT the capacity to retain its competitive edge in attracting the most talented, inventive, and diverse graduate students from around the world, offering remarkable young minds the confidence and freedom to chase big ideas.
To learn more about giving in support of graduate students, contact Elizabeth Crabtree at ecrabtre@mit.edu or 617.715.5798.