Options and Opportunities for Financial Assistance

Undergraduate Students

Financial assistance for undergraduate students at MIT is handled through MIT Student Financial Services. At MIT, we make all our undergraduate admission decisions without regard to family financial circumstances. We award all our aid based on financial need, and we meet the full need of each student. This means that applying for aid does not influence your admission decision. If your family needs assistance to pay for an MIT education, we encourage you to apply for financial aid.

Learn more about MIT financial aid options at the MIT Student Financial Services web site.

Graduate Students

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers three types of financial assistance to graduate students: research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. The majority of students in the ME department are supported by research assistantships (RA). Research assistants are appointed by faculty members to perform research on a well-defined project typically sponsored by an external agency (e.g., NSF, DOD, DOE, NIH, Industry,…). The research is almost always structured so that it constitutes a major part of the student's SM or PhD thesis. A full time RA appointment provides a full tuition scholarship (i.e. covers tuition) plus a stipend. (Please refer to the Graduate Guide for further details on Research Assistantships.)

The Department of Mechanical Engineering also offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships. A TA position provides full tuition and a monthly stipend. (Please refer to the Graduate Guide for details on the responsibilities of a TA position.)

A number of students in the department are supported by fellowships from external agencies. Departmental and Institute fellowships are awarded by the Departmental Graduate Committee. The selection of fellowship candidates is merit-based, and typically reserved for students admitted directly into the PhD program. Most fellowships are for one year or less; fellowship students are strongly encouraged to seek a supervisor and a research project as soon as possible.

Legatum Fellowships

Tuition assistance. One-on-one business plan coaching. Mentorship. Networking with potential investors. These are a few of the benefits of a Legatum Fellow. Incoming and current MIT graduate students, and rising juniors and seniors interested in entrepreneurship in low-income countries can apply at legatum.mit.edu.

Deadline: February 15, 2016