Graduate Tuition & Aid

Graduate students generally incur greater expenses than undergraduates. Most attend the Institute for a calendar year rather than an academic year, increasing the cost of tuition.

  • $59,750

    2023–2024 tuition*
    (9 months)

  • $20,640

    2023 summer tuition for students enrolled in courses

* Specific programs and departments may have different tuition amounts. Tuition rates are set by the Academic Council in the spring for the following academic year.

MIT’s residential system can accommodate approximately 37% of the graduate student population; the rest find housing in the Boston/Cambridge area. Graduate students’ costs for housing, food, books, medical insurance, and incidentals vary widely depending on marital status, quality-of-life expectations, and housing arrangements. For example, monthly charges for on-campus housing range from $972 to $3,373, depending on housing type and location.

Financial Aid

Financial aid for graduate students is in large part provided by individual departments, and the amount of aid varies significantly. Financial support includes fellowships, teaching and research assistantships, and loans. Most forms of support are granted for merit, while others are granted for financial need or a combination of merit and need.

Approximately 2,412 graduate students are primarily supported as research assistants and 662 are appointed as teaching assistants; 2,119 are supported on fellowships.

Doctoral Student Support, by Type and School, 2022–2023

School RA FE TA Other or self supported
Architecture and Planning 55% 20% 21% 3%
Engineering 50% 9% 31% 10%
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences 14% 23% 56% 7%
Management 33% 20% 44% 2%
Science 48% 12% 39% 1%
Computing 49% 5% 46% 0%
Total 47% 12% 35% 7%

Note: RA=research assistantship, FE=fellowship, TA=teaching assistantship.

For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance for the 2023–2024 academic year, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing, food, and transportation, visit the SFS website.