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Diversity and Community Building

Visit MIT's diversity and inclusion website "Inventing Our Future" for current initiatives and first hand experiences at MIT.

Mathematics Department Statements on Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to fostering a community of learning that is welcoming, inclusive, engaging, and aimed at the highest academic accomplishments. To this end, we affirm that the mental and physical well-being of our community, especially of our students, is of utmost importance.

Mathematical potential is independent of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political views and socio-economic background. Mathematical thinking benefits everyone. Our faculty is thus committed to promoting diversity and inclusivity among our students, postdocs, instructors, faculty and staff members.

Specifically, we are committed to increasing the percentage of underrepresented minorities (URMs) among our faculty and students, and to promoting diversity at every level of mathematical development. We have thus taken action on various fronts, including the creation and support of several programs, from middle school onwards, designed to increase the number of URM students in mathematically-based fields. Progress made towards achieving our goals is reviewed biennially by the Mathematics Department Visiting Committee.

Events

For a full list of diversity events please visit the ICEO Events Page

Seminars

To encourage more URM speakers in Mathematics seminars, the Department will fund the travel expenses for URM speakers who are brought to campus by any math seminar series organizer or math student association.

Diversity and Community Building Committee

The Department has established a new faculty committee that will plan, execute, and review the effectiveness of new diversity initiatives. The Diversity and Community Building Committee consults with faculty, instructors, students and staff to pinpoint opportunities for expanding diversity.

Diversity Reports and Articles

Diversity Programs

High School Research Programs

Our PRIMES program includes two math enrichment programs that aim to increase diversity in the mathematical community by helping mathematically gifted high school students from underrepresented groups (including under represented genders, minorities, students with disadvantaged backgrounds and from underserved communities). The goal is two-fold: to deepen their interest in mathematics, and to set them on a path toward pursuing a math-based major in college. These programs have been proven to boost the diversity of applicants to MIT, and many graduates from these programs are now MIT Math majors.

  • The Menezes Challenge PRIMES Circle is an after-school math enrichment program for students living within commuting distance from Boston.
  • MathROOTS is a 14-day summer program for U.S. students, in collaboration with MIT Admissions

Diversity Conferences

The Department supports participation in the following conferences. Members of the Department who would like to attend one of these conferences should speak with Diversity Committee Chair Gigliola Staffilani.