Fellowships

Fellowships are provided by a number of sources, both within MIT and outside MIT. The Department has a limited number of graduate fellowships, most of which are offered to first-year graduate students and may have restrictions for citizenship, research interests, etc. There is no application process for these fellowships — they are  an honor conferred by the Department. Students are encouraged to apply for fellowships outside MIT, for which our students have an enviable record of success.

Departmental fellowship awards carry, in most cases, a stipend of $3186 per month (effective June 1, 2021), plus a tuition award. Doctoral candidates who have completed their qualifying procedure will have their stipend increased to $3488 per month. Where the amount of the supporting grant is inadequate to cover the $3186 or $3488 per month stipend, the student may seek a supplemental research appointment from his/her advisor if funds are available.

U.S. students are also eligible for a range of outside fellowships sponsored by various governmental (NSF, NDSEG, Department of Homeland Security, DOE) and private organizations (Intel, Hertz, MathWorks. etc.). In some cases the student applies directly to the fellowship agency. In other cases, the Department may nominate the student.

Some international students are supported by their home country governments and/or companies (e.g., Royal Thai Government, Korean Samsung Fellowship).

For more information regarding graduate student fellowships, please visit the Office of Graduate Education's Fellowships page.