Admission

Overview of the Application Procedure

Welcome to the MIT Mathematics Graduate Admissions page. This page explains the application process in general. For complete details, go to the on-line application which is available mid-September to December. These instructions are repeated there.

MIT admits students starting in the Fall term of each year only. Admission is to the PhD program only; there is no Masters program. There is no separate application for financial support; all admitted students are offered support.

Submitting GRE scores is entirely optional: We will accept scores if submitted (and are most interested in the Math Subject test result, if any) but it will not hurt your application if not included.

To apply, follow these steps:

1. Fill out the on-line application by 23:59, EST, December 15.

   You will be submitting:

   • Field(s) of interest
   • Personal information/addresses
   • International student data
   • Three or more names and e-mail addresses of letter writers
   • Educational and work history, including IELTS/TOEFL scores (preferably from this year), and honors
   • Grades in math/science/engineering courses and overall
   • Statement of objectives
   • Outside financial support and potential outside support
   • Credit/debit card payment of $75
   • The Math department requires applicants to upload an electronic copy of undergraduate transcripts. Hard copies of official transcripts are not required at the time of application.

2. Arrange for submission of (official reports only)

   • Letters of recommendation
   • For international students, IELTS (or TOEFL iBT)

   We recommend that before November 15 you notify your letter writers that you will be needing evaluations from them, so that they have time to prepare them and submit them by December 15. Once you have submitted your on-line application, instructions to your letter writers will be generated for you. You are responsible for making sure that your letter writers have copies of these instructions.

3. You self-reported your grades in step 1, but we require an official transcript for all admitted students. If/when we request this, arrange for an official copy of your college transcript to be sent to:

   Academic Services, Room 2-110
   Dept of Mathematics, MIT
   77 Massachusetts Ave.
   Cambridge MA 02139-4307
   USA
   
   

TOEFL reporting codes
Institution code: MIT = 3514
Mathematics Department code: 72

International Students

IELTS is the English language proficiency test we prefer, but we also accept the TOEFL iBT. (On the other hand, we generally do not accept the TOEFL PBT.) To have IELTS results reported, indicate "Mathematics Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)" on your IELTS test application; no code or address is needed. To have TOEFL iBT results reported, use the codes above (3514 for MIT, and 72 for Mathematics).

If you are an international student, you should take the IELTS (or TOEFL iBT) by December 31. If you will receive an undergraduate degree from an English-language university in an English-speaking country after attending it for at least three years, then the Math Department will waive the English language proficiency test requirement.

Paper Forms

If for some reason, you are unable to use the on-line system, you may use paper forms. But note that on-line documents allow us to consider your application more quickly and conveniently. Your letter writers may also use paper forms, if necessary.

Questions

Please address questions about the application process to gradofc@math.mit.edu . You can find more information about MIT graduate admissions in general at the MIT Graduate Admissions site.

Computational Science and Engineering

Students with primary interest in Computational Science may also consider applying to the interdisciplinary Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) program, with which the Mathematics Department is affiliated. For more information, see https://oge.mit.edu/programs/computational-science-and-engineering-phd/.