Prospective student resources
We are excited that you are considering becoming part of the community. Below, please find links to information about life, learning, and research at MIT. The 7,200 graduate students at MIT are one of the most talented scholarly cohorts in the world. Their educational experiences on campus go beyond just research. Additional, specific resources are […]
Financial wellbeing
Finances are a key aspect of navigating graduate school. Graduate student life can be expensive, and financial strain can show up in a lot of different ways. We offer a number of different resources, from addressing urgent financial need to helping you learn to better manage myriad aspects of your financial life. Use these pages […]
AISES: The American Indian Science and Engineering Society
The Annual AISES National Conference is a unique, three-day event focusing on educational, professional, and workforce development for Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. Attendees include Indigenous high school and college students, educators, and professionals, including representatives from Tribal Nations, Tribal enterprises, […]
Funded projects
The Office of Graduate Education created the Grad Student Life Grants in 2002 to foster community building and innovative ideas on campus for graduate students. In Fall 2019, we expanded this to cover more facets of the graduate experience under Grad Student Experience Grants; also offering more funding cycles for improved flexibility. Successful proposals have […]
Additional resources
We invite you to explore these other useful resources: Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement Office (SOLE) SOLE is a helpful resource on finance resources. Graduate Student Council The GSC is a rich source of information about current activities and issues of importance to graduate students, including funding, as well as contact information for the students who manage and […]
Promote your events
Advertise your events to encourage broad participation. Required for all grants: Use the OGE logo, which is sent to you by the Grants Fellow, on all related publicity. If your publicity is in the form of a text-only e-mail, you may include the phrase “Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education” rather than using the […]
Grad Student Experience Grants: November Deadline
Do you have an idea to improve the graduate student experience or build community? Develop a proposal and request funding from the Graduate Student Experience Grants!
Grad Student Experience Grants: July Deadline
Do you have an idea to improve the graduate student experience or build community? Develop a proposal and request funding from the Graduate Student Experience Grants!
Elizabeth Guttenberg
Monday: RemoteTuesday: RemoteWednesday: 3-136Thursday: RemoteFriday: Remote If you are a graduate student, or if you are a faculty advisor, department leadership or academic administrator concerned about a graduate student: I help MIT master’s and PhD students — as well as the faculty advisors, department leadership, and academic administrators who work with them — navigate a […]
Ivy Plus Puerto Rico
El grupo de escuelas Ivy Plus está compuesto por universidades top de los Estados Unidos que trabajan en conjunto para reclutar futuros estudiantes de Maestría, Doctorado u otros posgrados, con el objetivo de fomentar diversidad en la educación superior. external link to https://www.ivypluspuertorico.net/
MIT Sloan PhD Application Q&A
2:00PM – 3:00PM EST During this chat, you will hear from the PhD Program team and have the chance to ask questions about the application and admissions process. Register here.
Finding your why
I was about 19 years old when my friend and I made plans to bike 70 miles to a state park in our area, camp for the night, and take the train home. My parents were afraid that we would get hurt or lost, so they suggested that I shouldn’t go. I appreciated their caution, […]
You have got to have a plan, and a planner!
Growing up in India Growing up in a busy middle class household in India, my parents did not once ask about my grades. They would just pick my report card and glance over it annually at the parent-teacher meetings. That was it. This was in stark contrast to some parents who spent what seemed like […]
How I realized graduate school was the right choice for me
The best realizations really do come in the bathroom. I was washing my hands in the sink when I heard the bathroom door shut as another girl entered. If you ever lived in a college dorm in the US, you can imagine what a dorm bathroom looks like. It has multiple stalls and sinks so […]
Nurturing yourself by nurturing some greens
Grad student life is filled with significant transitions like qualification exams, new roommates, selecting PIs and committee members, and more. But the uncertainties of grad school life suddenly became much more prominent with COVID-19. As an experimentalist who does my research in a lab, I was incredibly lost, especially in the first few months of […]
Escape MIT for a weekend
What will you do if you have a weekend free? Netflix? Video games? How about getting out of your (dorm) room and travelling to another state? During my undergraduate study, I spent one seminar in a small town north of Boston doing a co-op (i.e., a 6-month internship). Away from campus, I was free of […]
A graduate school simulator
Stardew Valley, the hit indie farm simulator, consumed much of my senior spring. While writing my thesis and finishing my coursework, I needed an opportunity to relax and focus on ANYTHING other than my mounting deadlines. The game, playable across multiple consoles, is a staple recommendation of the “cozy game” genre, occupying a similar niche […]
Tax Information Workshops
The tax team advises students to attend these workshops in advance of filing their 2020 tax returns.
Making kofta in an air fryer
“Dinner is ready!” The smells of tahini and allspice waft through my house, while plates and utensils clatter around the kitchen. My family meanders around the kitchen in hungry anticipation, like so many wolves circling their prey… Growing up as a second-generation American, I primarily connected to my Egyptian heritage through food. From kofta and […]
MIT PE to the rescue! Yee-hah!
Standing in awe, I gazed at the most beautiful theme park I have ever seen in my life. My friend and I had just entered the Volcano Bay at Universal Studios in Orlando after a morning flight on December 21, 2019. Skipping straight to the thrill rides (more exciting and even scarier than the other […]
I hear you
ME: “…I don’t want to talk about plans. Working inside the lab building feels depressing.” MOM: “Maybe you can talk to the department chair about finding a new advisor? That shouldn’t be difficult.” ME: “Mom, could you stop telling me what to do? I feel really overwhelmed right now” MOM: “I’m not telling you what […]
To visit or not to visit?
The public health orders are clear: Stay. At. Home. Your mom’s voicemail is also clear: Visit. Me. Now. My family managed two fun and relaxing visits during the height of the pandemic. We weighed the risks, took precautions, and enjoyed some quality time. Let’s be 100% clear: it was risky every time we gathered with […]
Christmas in September?
There’s an old saying, “you can’t take it with you.” It’s mainly used to caution people against overvaluing money or material possessions because you can’t take them with you when you die. In Boston, the saying could be “you can’t take it with you when you move.” People around here are very familiar with packing […]
The lady and the grad
It all started in the warm month of May, with a raging pandemic and a lonely heart. My roommate Sandy had gone home and wouldn’t come back until the fall, and I was losing my mind going in circles in the apartment. I had been wanting a dog. I had always loved dogs. The things […]
Graduate Application Assistance Programs (GAAP)
MIT is committed to fostering a diverse student body and research workforce. At the forefront of this commitment is cultivating a diverse and competitive applicant pool for our graduate programs at MIT. Each Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP) is a student-led initiative designed to help prospective applicants navigate the MIT Admissions process. Please note: MIT’s […]
Register for gwaMIT’s 2021 Empowerment Conference
October 18-22, 2021 Register for this year’s Empowerment Conference! See the list below for event descriptions and registration links: Monday, October 18, 5:30PM: Sleep Better, Stress Less: Grad Student Wellbeing Workshop with Zan Barry Location: W20-307 Sleep and stress are deeply interconnected. Learn strategies to help you improve your sleep and decrease stress, reboot your sleep […]
On grieving from a distance
“Can you make a short video for 爷爷? Just a few lines to cheer him up.” I received this text from my mother on the evening of October 12, 2020. My paternal grandpa (爷爷, pronounced “yeh yeh”) had been transferred to a hospital several months ago, and his prognosis wasn’t looking good. Thankfully, 爷爷 hadn’t […]
If you want, add a jump
How do you build yourself back up when life gets hard? Some of my friends find comfort in creating art, some in hiking, while some in building relationships. Since I came to MIT, I have found my charging station and creativite outlet in kickboxing. At the beginning of my PhD, I picked up the habit […]
Trying and failing to buy a house
We did everything right. My husband and I had excellent credit, did not have debt, and we always paid off our credit cards. We had plenty of money in our savings account. We attended financial seminars and learned all the steps involved in buying a house. And yet, when we tried to buy a small, […]
Touring colleges on foot
Coming from an undergraduate university located in a smaller city, I was used to living in an area with few nearby schools to compare to my own. In contrast, the Boston area is littered with colleges! In fact, Wikipedia cites that there are 45 higher educational institutions in the metropolitan Boston area. When I moved […]
Crafting is engineering, music is math
I am a serial maker: as a child, I dove deep into a new creative obsession each year. With each medium I explored, my passion for making grew, and projects flooded my house: a giant model of the Parthenon made from recyclables graced our front hallway, a crochet stuffed dragon perched in our kitchen, and […]
Graduate Student Appreciation Week
Stay tuned for our next Grad Student Appreciation Week, coming 2027. Our grad students are pretty freakin’ awesome For all the things you do — all the ways you contribute to the MIT community, to a brighter tomorrow, and to the research enterprise itself — we salute you! See below for a schedule of last […]
Programs for current students
As you develop yourself and build community on campus, MIT offers several key programs to support you. The Office of Graduate Education’s annual Graduate Student Appreciation Week celebrates MIT’s graduate students through community-building, fulfilling events, and opportunities to take a break and take care of yourself. MIT Mondays is a series of webinars moderated by Senior […]
