As a graduate student at MIT CEE, you will participate in research with renowned faculty and get a hands-on experience solving the world’s largest problems. Your education will take place inside and outside the classroom, and there are numerous opportunities to learn not only about civil and environmental engineering but also network with your peers. We seek a diverse group of applicants from a range of academic disciplines, who work together to contribute to exciting intellectual networks across the department and MIT.
At MIT CEE, we are dedicated to creating a welcoming and enriching environment for both domestic and international students.
Learn more about our Graduate Application Assistance Program that pairs prospective PhD applicants from underrepresented groups in STEM with current students who can offer guidance and answer questions throughout the application process. Deadlines for participation are coming up. Learn more and apply!
Deadline extended to December 8, 11:59 PM EST for CEE Graduation Programs and December 3, 11:59 PM EST for CEE Transportation Graduate Program.
All applicants to graduate programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Interdepartmental Program in Transportation must hold a Bachelor’s degree. All of our graduate programs are on campus and are full time. All students are admitted for the fall term.
Optional Materials
Application Submission Agreement
By submitting your application, you affirm the accuracy of all of the information provided and acknowledge that you must inform either CEE or the Transportation Program immediately if there is new information that changes the accuracy of the information you provide, including any subsequent disciplinary history (e.g., at another school or your employer). Should you be admitted to CEE or the Transportation Program, you acknowledge that your admission is a privilege that is contingent on your conduct adhering to the high levels of integrity that led us to admit you to the program, including without limitation complying with all relevant MIT policies. To this end, you further understand and agree that MIT reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke your admission to CEE or the Transportation Program should you fail to adhere to these requirements.
If you are admitted to the department, we will require you to have an official copy of your transcript(s) sent to us from the university’s registrar. Your transcript will be verified upon receipt and any discrepancy between the transcript you uploaded and the official transcript will result in a withdrawal of our offer of admission. Once admitted, please have your official transcript sent to: cee-apo@mit.edu
Minimum Academic Requirements
While not all of our students come from the domains of Civil and Environmental Engineering, most students matriculate to our department from undergraduate backgrounds in Science, Math, Engineering, or related fields. All students who hope to enroll at MIT for an advanced degree after earning an undergraduate degree elsewhere should give careful attention to undergraduate prerequisites as outlined in our subject descriptions.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
When applications are reviewed for admission the faculty have a keen interest in how you have done in subjects in related fields, not necessarily your overall GPA.
CEE will no longer require the GRE scores for admissions decisions. The Interdepartmental Program in Transportation requires the GRE for the coming cycle, e.g. for entry year Fall 2024.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
The Interdepartmental Program in Transportation is interested in students who have scored in the 80th percentile or better for all three areas of the GRE. Please request that ETS send the scores directly to MIT. MIT’s GRE institutional code is 3514. Department code is 1102.
English Language Exam
CEE places a high premium on both written and spoken communication skills and requires international applicants to document their proficiency in the English language.
If you are an international applicant, you are required to take the Cambridge English, TOEFL, or IELTS exam unless: 1) English is your first language, or 2) English was the language of instruction for your undergraduate education, or 3) if you scored above the CEE minimum Cambridge English, TOEFL, or IELTS score prior to entering a graduate program in the US. If you meet one of these criteria for a waiver of this requirement, you can indicate that by checking the appropriate box under Language Exams on the Test Scores/Experience section of the application.
The minimum score for Cambridge English is 190. The minimum score for the TOEFL is 100. The CEE TOEFL department code is 65. The minimum score for the IELTS is 7.5 on the Academic exam. Scores must be reported to the department by the application deadline.
CEE Requirement:
Statement of Objectives (2 page maximum)
Your statement should separately address the following two topics (max 1 page for each answer):
A. Experience: Describe one (or at most two) relevant academic or research experience(s) with sufficient technical detail to clearly convey the motivation for the work, your responsibilities and tasks, your conclusions, and how you dealt with unforeseen challenges.
B. Purpose: Describe why you are applying to graduate school, and your specific research interests at MIT, including the name(s) of faculty members with whom you would like to work.
Example of Technical Work:
Submit one example of your technical work, with a short description, from an academic or research experience. Examples include, but are not limited to: a problem set, a lab report, a final class project, conference proceedings, or a journal publication.
The Interdepartmental Program in Transportation Requirement:
Statement of Objectives (1-1.5 page maximum)
The statement will serve the following three purposes:
When applying for graduate school in engineering, depth often counts more than breadth.
Demonstrating your ability to be independent and focused can be more important than having broad interests and a broad range of experiences. Describe your technical expertise with clear details to demonstrate your mastery of the concepts and skills you’ve learned through relevant activities such as lab projects, classes, internships, summer jobs and previous research experience.
For both programs, don’t ignore bad grades or other anomalies in your application package. If you had trouble with a course or another type of challenge, your statement of objectives is a good place to acknowledge that setback and explain what you learned from the experience.
