Graduate Funding

Learn about the costs and how to fund your graduate education at MIT

PhD studies in EAPS

Any student admitted to an EAPS doctoral program can expect to receive financial support that includes a stipend, full tuition, and health insurance. First year support may be in the form of a fellowship or research assistantship. Support in the following years is most commonly from a research assistantship or teaching assistantship. Continuation of support for the length of a five-year program is based on the student making adequate progress toward the degree.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for independent fellowships from outside private or government agencies. If an independent fellowship falls below the EAPS level of support, the department will supplement this external fellowship with either a research assistantship or an internal fellowship, if available. If you are awarded a fellowship from some other source, please contact the EAPS Education Office to discuss department policy on merging various sources of support.

SM studies in EAPS

The 5th-year and traditional masters degrees are self-funded. Students should plan to pursue financial aid or external fellowships for these degrees. Students may also apply for internal fellowships from the MIT Office of Graduate Education (OGE) during the nomination period, generally January to March; eligibility criteria varies by fellowship.

MIT facts + figures on salaries, stipends, costs of attendance, and more

Visit the MIT Office of Graduate Education (OGE) site for complete information on costs and funding, including:

Cost of attendance
Salary and stipend rates
Living expenses
Additional considerations for housing options, international students, students with families, and taxes

Additional Funding Support

Internal funding sources and advice

MIT OGE Fellowships Office is a good resource for funding opportunities and provides advising and support for:

internal MIT fellowships
fellowship application guidance
access to lists and databases of external fellowships

MIT Student Financial Services is also available to provide help with:

student loans
federal work-study
sponsored billing
veterans benefits

MIT Office of Graduate Education can assist students with certain financial needs or gaps in funding, including:

guaranteed transitional support (for students who wish to change research advisors or groups)
the MIT Grant for Graduate Students with Children
the MIT Graduate Student Short-Term Emergency Fund
doctoral long-term financial hardship funding

Fellowship opportunities from external organizations

Here are a few examples of the types of fellowship funding EAPS students have pursued:

American Meteorological Society Graduate Fellowships
Offered to students entering first-year graduate studies in atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences.

American Society for Engineering Education Program
ASEE administers a number of fellowship and research opportunities with funding provided by the Federal agencies including the Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Program
Provides benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems, including aeronautics, astrophysics, biological sciences, chemical engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, environmental science, materials science, mechanical engineering, and physics.

DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (SCGF) Program
Supports outstanding graduate students pursuing graduate training in basic research in areas of physics, biology (non-medical), chemistry, mathematics, engineering, computational and computer sciences, and environmental sciences relevant to the Office of Science mission areas.

Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship
The Hertz Fellowship is awarded annually to the nation’s most promising graduate students in science and technology. Using a rigorous, merit-based process, we identify innovators with the greatest potential to create transformative solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.

Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity (GFSD)
Formerly the National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC), founded in 1989 “To increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in STEM fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool.” Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity (GFSD) is a partnership between federal agencies & laboratories, industry, and higher education institutions.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study.

NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO)
Seeks to sponsor U.S. citizen and permanent resident graduate students who show significant potential to contribute to NASA’s goal of creating innovative new space technologies for our Nation’s science, exploration and economic future.

Example grant programs supporting graduate research

American Association of Petroleum Geologists Grants-in-Aid Program
The purpose of the Program is to foster research in the geosciences by providing support to graduate students in the earth sciences whose research has application to the search for and development of petroleum and energy-minerals resources, and to related environmental geology issues.

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Travel Grants and Scholarships
Investing in a thriving, inclusive scientific future, AGU offers a variety of scholarships and grants for students and early-career scientists across multiple disciplines.

Geological Society of America (GSA) Research Grants Program for Students
The primary role of the GSA research grants program is to provide partial support of master’s and doctoral thesis research in the geological sciences for graduate students at universities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. In 2023, 57% of the applicants received funding, with the average award being $2,234

Supplemental Education + Research Funds for Current EAPS Students

The EAPS Graduate Education Support Fund (GESF) aims to enhance the education of EAPS-advised graduate students in their first two years by supporting participation in approved scientific meetings related to their area of study and the purchase of textbooks necessary for their classes and research.

Eligibility: EAPS graduate students in their first two years, including students in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program whose primary advisor is in EAPS.

PG, PGGG, and PPS students should apply by following the instructions below.
Students in PAOC must apply through the Houghton Fund.

Amount: Up to $2,000 total per student.

Types of allowable expense:

Travel to scientific meetings relevant to the student’s area of research.
Textbooks necessary for classes and research.

Note: Computers and hardware are not eligible.

Guidelines:

All applications must be approved by the student’s advisor.
All requests must be approved prior to incurring expenses. Funds will be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred.
Final decisions on funding will be made by the EAPS Education Office with input from the Committee on the Education Program.
Students in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program should apply to Joint Program-related sources of funding first; students will be asked to document any JP or other internal (e.g., EAPS Student Research Fund) funding that they have received or applied for.
The fund may be used to purchase textbooks required for a course in which the student is enrolled for credit or related to the student’s research. Textbook funding is limited to $400 total per student.
Sales tax cannot be reimbursed. Students should obtain a “Sales Tax Exempt Purchaser Certificate” from their AA before making any purchases. If the tax-exempt form is not accepted by the vendor, then the student can arrange with their advisor or AA to charge the expense to an MIT purchasing card, which is a tax-exempt card.
Multiple requests in any one year are permitted within the overall budget.

To apply for funding:

Fill out the EAPS Graduate Education Support Fund application form and have your advisor sign it.
Submit an electronically-signed PDF to eaps-ed-office@mit.edu, or bring the signed hard-copy to the EAPS Education Office. You are responsible for acquiring the signature from your advisor prior to submission.

APPLY – GRAD EDUCATION SUPPORT FUND

You will be informed of your application status within two weeks from your application date. After approval, make the purchases, and bring or send the receipts to the Education Office for reimbursement.

The Houghton Fund, established by a bequest from former Course 19 (Meteorology) Department Head, Henry G. Houghton, supports “research by students in the fields of meteorology and physical oceanography or for any other purpose that enhances and enriches the total educational experience of such students.”

Eligibility: Students enrolled in any of the four degree programs incorporated in PAOC: atmospheric science, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, and climate physics and chemistry.

Years 1+2: Each PAOC student is eligible to receive up to $2,000 once they enroll in the graduate program to help defray certain educational expenses over the first two years of study.
Years 3+: PAOC students in their 3rd and subsequent years of graduate study may apply for small grants as supplemental funding for certain educational and research activities.

Note: Students in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program who are also PAOC students are expected to request travel and research support from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program fund before seeking added support from the Houghton Fund.

Types of allowable expense:

Travel to scientific meetings relevant to the student’s area of research.
Textbooks necessary for classes and research.
Certain other educational and research activities.

Note: Computers and hardware are not eligible.

For complete guidelines and to apply for funding:

Houghton Fund — Years 1+2

Houghton Fund — Years 3+

The EAPS Graduate Student Research Fund (SRF) is available to help students conduct research on special projects in cases when other means of departmental or faculty support are not available. Applications for conference attendance will be considered after applications seeking funding for research projects.

Grants are awarded by the Committee on the Education Program (CEP) on a basis of need and merit of the project, usually in the range of $200-$1000. Funding cycles run annually by fiscal year (from July 1 through the following June 30). All funds must be spent by June 30 of each fiscal year.