The Office of Graduate Education is pleased to offer fee waivers for US citizens and US permanent residents who demonstrate financial hardship, are current or former members of the United States Armed Forces, or who have participated in special fellowship programs, including MIT-sponsored diversity programs.
The OGE Diversity Initiative is also pleased to offer fee waivers to the prospective students they have met during diversity recruitment events. International students attending US colleges and universities, who have participated in MIT sponsored programs, such as MSRP, are also eligible to apply for a fee waiver.
Eligibility
US citizens and US permanent residents* may request a graduate application fee waiver if they meet one of the criteria below:
- Demonstrated financial hardship in the past year.
- Participated in an MIT/OGE-sponsored diversity program in the past five years (see below)**.
- Participated in a special fellowship program in the past three years (see below).
- Attended a diversity recruiting event in the past year and spoke with an Institute representative there (see below).
- Served as a current or former member of the United States Armed Forces.
*US permanent residents must provide proof of this status, such as a copy of a green card.
**International applicants attending US colleges and universities are also eligible to apply.
Instructions
The name you provide in the request form must match with the name you list on the graduate application. You may select up to three programs, but only request a fee waiver to programs for which you are eligible and to which you fully intend on applying. Graduate program application deadlines vary; you must follow the department deadline and instructions.
This form may only be submitted during the graduate application period from September 15th to January 15th. The waiver must be submitted at least five business days before the deadline for the application. Please allow five business days for processing.
Applicants to the MIT Sloan School of Management should request a fee waiver by contacting the respective program directly.
Where to Apply
If you are applying to a graduate program in any of the departments listed below, please select the Request Fee Waiver for Listed Programs button.
- Architecture
- Chemistry
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Center for Real Estate
- Mechanical Engineering
- Media Arts and Sciences
- MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography / Applied Ocean Science and Engineering
- Science Writing
- Supply Chain Management Blended
- Supply Chain Management Residential
- Urban Studies and Planning
If you are applying to a graduate program NOT listed above, please select the Request Fee Waiver for Other Programs button. You can review a list of all graduate programs in our Degree Programs directory.
When submitting an application fee waiver request form, you certify that the information provided is accurate and truthful to the best of your knowledge. Should any information or documentation provided within be found to be knowingly inaccurate or falsified at any point, you understand that MIT reserves the right to deny your waiver request, rescind any waivers that may have been granted, and require a written explanation of any misrepresentations of information, which may become part of your application record and may be considered in connection with any admissions decisions.
Review
Allow 5 business days to receive a response. The OGE will review all requests and if your fee waiver request is approved, you will be notified via email. Incomplete waiver requests will not be reviewed. If the application deadline arrives and you have not received an email response from OGE, you will be responsible for paying the application fee and will not be issued a refund. A fee waiver will not be retroactively applied to an application that has been paid for and submitted.
Eligible Programs, Conferences, and Fellowships
Participants from the following list of programs, conferences, and fellowships are eligible for an application fee waiver.
MIT Sponsored Programs
- MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP General)
- MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP Biology/BCS/CBMM)
- On-Campus MIT ACCESS Program
- MIT Media Lab Open House Travel Grant Recipients
- MIT OME Laureates and Leaders
- MIT OME The Standard
- MIT Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular System (EBICS)
- Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Summer Institute
Fellowship Programs
- APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (APSA DFP)
- Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems Research Experience for Undergraduates (EBICS REU)
- Gates Millennium Scholars Program
- Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
- Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
- Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC)
- McNair Scholars Program
- Mellon Mays Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
- Morehouse College Dr. John H. Hopps Jr. Defense Research Scholars Program Hopps (HOPPS)
- National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
- Questbridge
- Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI)
- Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Program (RISE)
- The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM)
- University of Baltimore Maryland County Meyerhoff Scholars Program
- Woods Hole Partnership Education Program
Events and Conferences
- ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
- California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education
- Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM (ERN)
- FIU McNair Scholars Research Conference
- Georgia Tech Virtual Graduate Showcase
- Grace Hopper Celebration conference
- Howard University Research Month
- Institute on Teaching and Mentoring (SREB)
- Ivy Plus Puerto Rico
- MC-STEMP Graduating Engineering Minorities (GEM) GRADLab
- National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
- National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
- National Organization of Minority Architects
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
- Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
- Spelman College Research Day
- The National GEM Consortium
Additional diversity recruitment events and conferences where MIT representatives are present may also be considered. For questions about the application fee waiver process, please email Graduate Admissions at gradadmissions@mit.edu.
