Graduate fellowships: Cost
Graduate students make up about 60 percent of MIT’s student population. Through their research, teaching, and subsequent impact in their fields and on the world at large, they contribute immeasurably to the Institute’s strength.
Financial support for graduate students comes primarily through research assistantships (RAs) and fellowships, and to a lesser degree, from teaching assistantships (TAs). But more and more, these students rely on support from graduate fellowships. Here are some reasons why:
- Federal backing is, at best, unstable.
- NASA, the NIH, and the National Science Foundation — agencies responsible for much of research universities’ funding — have recently experienced budget cuts.
- The cost of an RA to a research grant has risen sharply in recent years.
- Since MIT’s cost is one of the highest among top research universities, any further reduction in tuition subsidy would threaten to price the Institute above the market.
In a nutshell, current Campaign for Students priorities for graduate fellowships at MIT are to —
- Financially enable top graduate students to attend MIT;
- create private sources of support to replace shrinking government research funding;
- offset the rapidly rising cost of research assistantships; and
- stay competitive with other schools offering generous aid to grad students.
To help MIT continue to attract the world’s brightest graduate students through increased fellowship support, consider directing your gift to one of our existing fellowship funds.
Or, to discuss a special gift to graduate fellowships at MIT, please contact Philip A. Murphy, campaign director, Campaign for Students, at murphy99@mit.edu or 617.258.5557.
Or, search or browse for a gift designation that more closely suits your objectives ....
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