Graduate Research Assistant Tuition Subsidy Rates

Institute Subsidies for Academic-Year Graduate Research Assistants

The Institute subsidizes 55% of academic year tuition effective July 1, 2022. The remaining tuition is charged directly to sponsored research projects. There is no Institute subsidy of an RA salary. Although 100% of the cost of tuition is an allowable cost for reimbursement purposes, MIT has elected to subsidize RA tuition to reduce the cost of a graduate student research assistant to a research grant.

The academic-year and summer tuition subsidy provided by the Institute may be used to meet cost-sharing requirements imposed by external sponsors.

The MIT fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. Academic year subsidies are applied September 1 to May 31. Summer subsidies are applied June 1 to August 31.

Additional information on tuition for graduate students is available on the MIT Registrar’s website.

Summer Tuition Subsidy for Graduate Students

Since 1999, the Institute has been subsidizing the entire summer tuition for all qualified graduate students in its effort to reduce the cost of a graduate student to a research grant, and to improve the quality of faculty life. This subsidy is not intended to enable growth in the size of graduate programs or to lengthen the time to a degree.

Graduate students who are enrolled in a research degree program, and who are not taking courses, will have their summer tuition subsidized, or paid from other Institute sources. Candidates for professional degrees will be charged tuition if they are registered for the summer.

The following rules apply:

New graduate students, or continuing graduate students in normal resident status during the preceding spring term, who register only for thesis or pre-thesis research credit in the summer term will be eligible for a tuition subsidy from Institute general funds. Each department has created special pre-thesis research subject(s) that are recognized by the Registrar as eligible for the subsidy*. In Physics, for example, the subjects 8.391 or 8.392 (“Special Problems in Physics”) qualify as pre-thesis subjects, and are therefore eligible for the subsidy.

Graduate students who register for any summer subject other than those recognized by the Registrar as thesis or pre-thesis research subjects* will be charged tuition on a per-unit basis up to the maximum tuition. Tuition for such subjects may not be charged to research grants.

If you have questions about the subjects that currently qualify as thesis or pre-thesis for your department, please consult with the MIT Registrar’s Office.

Graduate students registered in professional programs will pay tuition at the rate established for their particular programs. These programs, as defined by the Provost’s Office, are: the Master of Business Administration (MBA); System Design and Management (SDM); MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation & Global Leadership; Management of Technology (MOT); Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) – except those with off-campus internship components; Center for Real Estate (CRE); and SM12 Geosystems.

Fund Fee on Research Assistant Salary and Tuition

Graduate student research assistant salaries and tuition are subject to the 10% fund transaction fee when charged to any fund account (internal order or Work Breakdown Structure) that is subject to the fund transaction fee. (See Fund Account Fees.) This change was made in fiscal year 2000 in recognition of the fact that, with subsidization of RA tuition, RA expense on fund accounts has been significantly reduced. RA tuition should be charged to the GL account, 422310, “Tuition-RA-not MTDC.” RA salaries will continue to be charged to GL accounts 400706 and 400708.