Hi all,
I was hoping someone could answer a few questions I had regarding assistantship oppurtunities at MIT.
@rahulmchokshi This all depends on the department you are applying to. What do you want to study at MIT?
Some departments like math,
chemistry, electrical engineering, physics and computer science, MIT does not offer masters degrees unless
you fail the PhD written qualifying exam twice and/or the oral exam twice. Each department has different rules and exams for the PhD. In some fields if you fail the qualifying exams, you can still get a masters degree.
In other departments, there are masters degrees, such as materials science and engineering, and Aerospace engineering.
To get an RA, you need to interest a professor in your ability to work for him, through an interview or correspondence. This could happen during an on campus visit before or after you are admitted. Also, if you are doing a thesis based masters degree, then RA is likely, but not guaranteed. There are TAs at MIT as well, and often first year students TA
to get to know various professor’s groups before joining.
If you win an NSF or Hertz Foundation Fellowship, then almost any professor at MIT will accept you to
work in his or her group. So thats another way, bring your own money to MIT. I believe some MIT departments have
their own special first year fellowships, I think mostly limited to PhD candidates, but ask about that.
I think a very large percentage of MIT graduate students in the sciences and engineering are on a fellowship, RA
or TA. Fellowships are the hardest to win, and are grants that do not require you to teach or do research work.
RA requires you to complete work in a lab, or do other theoretical research work. TA’s require you to teach
and grade homework problem sets.
The qualifications for an RA are the same as the qualifications for admission to graduate school: high GRE score,
high grades, outstanding recommendations, and research work experience. Teaching assistantships are awarded
by department, so you can look this up or call the department you are applying to and ask how many TAs are offered each year to masters students. Some may be reserved for first year PhD students as well.
For Sloan School of Management, I believe some students pay cash for the masters, thats the MBA program, but there is an executive MBA which
is shorter and usually payed for by a corporate entity.