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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States · Private · Founded 1861
- World ranking
- #1QS 2027Source
- Tuition · international
- $64,310per year · 2025
- Acceptance rate
- 4.6%2025
- English test
- IELTS 7minimum
About MIT
MIT was chartered by Massachusetts in 1861 on a plan put forward by geologist William Barton Rogers, held its first classes in Boston in 1865, and moved across the Charles River to Cambridge in 1916. It was built around laboratory-based, applied teaching, reflected in its motto 'mind and hand'. It is now a private research university organised into five schools plus the Schwarzman College of Computing, founded in 2019.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1861
- Type
- Private
- Campus
- Urban
Rankings
- QSQS#1World · 2027Source
- THETHE#2World · 2026Source
- WebometricsWebometrics#3World · 2026United States #3Source
- CWURCWUR#2World · 2026United States #2Source
- ARWUARWU#3World · 2026Source
- NCSES HERDNCSES HERD#33United States and outlying areas · Total R&D expenditures · 2024Source
- URAPURAP#29World · 2025United States #8Source
Admissions & how to apply
Application routeMIT first-year application portal (direct)Source
- Check the entry requirements for your course and qualifications.
- Meet the English requirement (IELTS 7, TOEFL 5, Duolingo 120).
- Apply through MIT first-year application portal (direct).
- Pay the application fee ($75).
English test waiver No formal English proficiency test requirement; strongly recommended for some non-native English speakers; no cutoff waiver policy stated. Source
Costs & aid
International tuition$64,310per year · 2025
- Fees$420
- Housing2025$13,614
- Food2025$7,650
- Books & supplies2025$910
- Personal & transport2025$2,436
- Room & board2023$19,390
- Estimated total per year2025$89,340
US net price$14,815
What US families pay after grants, by household income. International students usually pay the full price.
SourceScholarships you can use here
- MIT Need-Based Financial Aid (MIT Scholarship)Full funding · Meets 100% of demonstrated need · Deadline Jan 4, 2027
- MIT Undergraduate Need-Based Scholarship for International StudentsPartial funding · Tuition, living costs
Programmes
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Campus & media
Outcomes
- Admit rate
- 4.5%
- SAT average
- 1560
- Graduate in 4 years
- 85.9%
- Graduate in 6 years
- 95.7%
- Return after year one
- 99.1%
- Pell grant students
- 23.8%
- Students with federal loans
- 6.8%
- Median debt
- $14,000
Median earnings after starting
First-year admissions Source
- Applicants
- 29,281
- Admitted
- 1,334
- Enrolled
- 1,152
Student body
US government and university data. Figures describe past students, not your own chances. Source
Guides for applying to United States
- Entering Senior Year: What I Wish I Knew as a First-YearHarvard College · Student Voices
- How To Write A College EssayMIT Admissions
- How Studying Abroad Influenced My Career GoalsHarvard College · Student Voices
- Advice For Crafting Your Supplemental EssayJohns Hopkins Undergraduate Admissions · Hopkins Insider