<p>Hello Everyone,
I am considering graduate school at MIT department of Mechanical Engineering (Nanotech or Mechanics program appeal to me). I plan to get my bachelors Spring 2010 and go straight for PhD. Does MIT allow this or is a masters a must before PhD? How difficult is it to get into that PhD program? I am under the impression that PhD programs in engineering aren't as competitive as bachelors/masters because not as many people are interested in the PhD due to small salary increase for the time and effort required.
I would like to find some sort of a research internship at MIT for this Summer to meet the professors and become familliar with their research. Any advice on where to look?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers!</p>
<p>As far as I know, MIT MechE requires one to have a Master’s before being able to pursue the Ph.D. degree. You can either do a Master’s elsewhere and then apply directly to the Ph.D. program or you can do a Master’s at MIT MechE and apply to join the Ph.D. program internally. From what I’ve heard, the most difficult part about the MIT MechE Ph.D. program is the Ph.D. qualifying exam, which is very brutal and which many students do not pass successfully.</p>
<p>Also, MIT MechE, like most MIT engineering disciplines, is definitely competitive.</p>
<p>I concur with everything Aceflyer has heard. It may or may not be really tough to get into the program (I don’t have any knowledge), but it’s definitely hard to pass the qualifying exam.</p>
<p>Is the qualifying exam the main factor for admission? Is it administered at MIT, does it cost anything?</p>
<p>The brief answers to your questions are No, Yes, and No, in that order.</p>
<p>You take the qualifying exam after being admitted to the doctoral program, within three regular terms (semesters) of the date of admission to the doctoral program. You do not take it before applying. The qualifying exam is administered by the department (i.e., MIT MechE) and you do not need to pay a fee to take it. More information on the quals is available [url=<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/game/www/quals/index.html]here[/url”>http://web.mit.edu/game/www/quals/index.html]here[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://meche.mit.edu/documents/MechE_Grad_Guide_08.pdf]here[/url”>http://meche.mit.edu/documents/MechE_Grad_Guide_08.pdf]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to find an undergraduate research position/internship at MIT?
How much will that help with grad school there?</p>
<p>Would it be easier to get in to PhD or Masters program at MIT?</p>
<p>Aceflyer & Molliebatmit:</p>
<p>Just curious, how hard exactly is MIT MechE’s PhD qualifying exam as compare to those in other universities’ ME program? Let’s say UC Berkeley.
I would really appreciate if you all can elaborate a litte more. Many thanks!</p>
<p>As I’m not in mechanical engineering myself, I don’t really have the information necessary to elaborate further. However, I did a little digging on the Internet and found these two documents which may be of help to you:</p>
<p>[Kate’s</a> Guide to the MIT MechE Quals](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/mkt/www/qualifiers-advice.pdf]Kate’s”>http://web.mit.edu/mkt/www/qualifiers-advice.pdf)
[Questionable</a> Qualifiers - The Tech](<a href=“http://tech.mit.edu/V123/N21/alamaro_20.21c.html]Questionable”>http://tech.mit.edu/V123/N21/alamaro_20.21c.html)</p>