Unlike many of its peer institutions, MIT encourages support directly to its departments and labs. Annual support from more than 12,000 graduate alumni donors has allowed department heads to respond to needs and priorities that impact graduate students every day.

Graduate alumni

Here's a piece of conventional wisdom: People who hold master's degrees or doctorates only support their undergraduate institutions.

But conventional wisdom is wrong in MIT's case. Last year, 26 percent of MIT's graduate alumni made a donation to the Institute. This is a percentage that many universities aspire to at the undergraduate level – let alone among their advanced-degree holders.

Your gift sends a clear message of support for the Institute and also of your appreciation for the positive impact MIT has had on your life. Remember, your gift can be directed to the programs that had the greatest impact on you. Many Ph.D. and master’s degree alumni choose to make their gifts to the departments that awarded them their degrees. Others prefer to support more general objects of giving, such as unrestricted gifts or graduate fellowship funds.