Community-building & advocacy

MIT community-building

This monthly newsletter comes to graduate student families with children. It is a place to build community, share resources, and keep you up to date on MIT family-specific policies and programs as well as events happening in the wider community.

Grad Families events

The events hosted for MIT student parents vary from year to year, but here are some of our past offerings:

MIT Families welcome event (orientation event to kick off the academic year!)
Student parent coffee hour
Finals week lunch & aromatherapy activity
Grad Families spring fling (part of Grad Student Appreciation Week)
Mother’s Day lunch for grad moms
Father’s Day coffee for grad dads

Grad Families programs

Student parent connections

This lunch activity is a great way for student parents to meet each other! Fill out the interest form to be matched with another student parent and we will give you $35 Tech Cash to pay for lunch.

Open climbing at Rock Spot

Want to try rock climbing? MIT student parents and their children (age 4 years and up) can climb at Rock Spot in Brookline, paid for by the Office of Graduate Education. Reach out to gradfamilies@mit.edu for details.

Ice skating tickets

In the winter, the Office of Graduate Education has ice skating tickets available for MIT student parents and their family to go ice skating at the on campus rink during “general skate” times. Please reach out to gradfamilies@mit.edu for more information.

MIT policy advocacy

Grad Student Council: Housing, Community Affairs & Family Committee

The GSC HCA & Families Committee is always seeking new members. The HCA & Family Committee has worked to increase family housing options, advocate for affordable childcare options, maintain high-quality and affordable health care options, and improve campus safety for families.

Learn more about the GSC HCA & Families Committee

The Council on Family and Work

This council monitors the quality of life at MIT and shares its impressions with senior administrators, key committees, and the larger community. Committee membership. This committee includes two graduate students.

Learn more about the Council on Family and Work

Local area community-building

Outside of MIT, there are additional spaces where you can find community. Many past students particularly those living off-campus have found these Facebook groups to be a good place to learn about resources and build community.

Moms of Camberville are Facebook groups for moms of babies born around the same time who live in Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Arlington, Belmont, and Watertown.

Buy nothing group

If you are looking for second-hand household items or want to give away your gently used items, you can check out the MIT Free and For Sale group on Facebook.

Please note that this is an external group and it is not organized or monitored by MIT or the Office of Graduate Education.