New Graduate Student Onboarding & Orientation
Welcome to the MIT Grad Community — we’re excited that you’re here. We at the OGE hope to serve as a resource while you navigate your graduate school journey, and we’ve put together some highlights to help you get started. If you have any questions as you prepare for this upcoming academic chapter, please reach out to gradorientation@mit.edu.
Onboarding Tasks
Prior to beginning your academic journey at MIT, there are a series of onboarding tasks that must be completed. In May, you will receive access to the onboarding section of the Atlas App. There are a series of steps that include completing required trainings, reviewing the Mind and Handbook, completing your I-9 verification, and more! You will also be invited to a Slack channel for incoming students. More information will be shared over email and found in the Orientation portal.
Central Graduate Student Orientation
Central orientation for incoming graduate students will begin on Wednesday, September 2nd. Some highlights include:
- Wednesday, September 2, 2026: “Choose your own adventure” breakout sessions across campus. A variety of offices are invited to participate and students will be able to register for various sessions based on their interests.
- Thursday, September 3, 2026: Required orientation sessions, which include, but are not limited to, information on MIT values, GradSupport Resources, the Graduate Student Union, and a welcome from President Kornbluth. Lunch will also be provided afterwards.
- Tuesday, September 8, 2026: Graduate resource fair. Typically, over 90 departments/organizations across MIT participate.
Please note that Sloan Master’s students are required to participate in their departmental orientation events. We look forward to welcoming you as your schedule permits.
Departmental Orientations
Information about departmental orientation activities will be sent out directly by individual departments.
Helpful Links and Resources
The following is helpful information that has been indexed for easy reference. Incoming students should also refer to the Orientation Portal for additional resources.
MIT accounts and ID cards
Departments will notify incoming students once they are eligible to create an MIT Kerberos email account. Further instructions about creating an account can be found online at ist.mit.edu/accounts.
At MIT, a two-factor authentication called Duo is required to access all secure websites. Immediately after you have created your MIT Kerberos account, you should register for Duo. Further information about each of these steps can be found at ist.mit.edu/students.
For information on receiving your ID card, check your Atlas app’s onboarding tile.
Housing
Check out the Graduate Housing website for up-to-date information.
Health insurance and MIT Health
Visit the MIT Health admitted students page for facts and resources to know.
International students
International students are invited to visit the Office of Graduate Education’s international students page for their homebase on this public-facing website.
Graduate families
Do you have children, or are you thinking of growing your family? Visit the pages designed for graduate students with children for information to help you navigate the MIT community and connect to resources and services designed for you.
MIT academic calendar
Prepare your calendar automatically with the graduate student-specific academic calendar from the Registrar’s Office. You can check the calendar online or download a file to import into your preferred digital calendar platform.
