Applying
Applicants to the MIT-WHOI Joint Program come from widely varying backgrounds and throughout the world. Potential applicants are welcome to visit one or both institutions. However, an onsite interview is not required for admission, nor is it necessary to know or have the support of a specific faculty member.
Admission to the Joint Program is highly competitive. In recent years, about 10-20% of applicants have been offered admission to the Joint Program. Most successful applicants have completed an undergraduate degree or equivalent in a basic science or engineering discipline.
Applications are submitted online. See How to Apply for instructions. Doctoral applications are due December 15. A Joint Committee made up of staff members from both institutions evaluates applications, and notification is made to the applicants by mid-March.
The MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering collaborates with the MIT Departments of EAPS, Biology, MechE, EECS, CEE, and Aero/Astro. If you wish to apply to those departments independently of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, please also complete their online application form, bearing in mind that they may have different application deadlines.
Students admitted to the MIT-WHOI Joint Program are encouraged to enroll in June and reside at WHOI during their first summer.
Joint Program students, who remain in good academic standing, are provided financial support, consisting of tuition and a stipend during five years of full-time study. This support may come from a Graduate Research Assistantship that is an integral part of a research project, or it may come from a variety of fellowships to which applicants may apply before coming to the Joint Program.
Increasing representation, having a diverse student body, and advancing inclusion are critical to the MIT-WHOI JP’s mission, and to the missions of both MIT and WHOI.
“A diverse student body is and has long been critical to the educational mission of MIT. We are committed to providing our students “with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community.”” From https://mitadmissions.org/policies/#diversity
Increasing representation and advancing inclusion is critical to WHOI’s core mission of exploration and discovery in a diverse and connected world. “It is not enough to state that we believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We need to take action to create a culture in which the voices of all people are fully heard and fully included, because it is the right thing to do. There are many barriers facing people from traditionally marginalized groups. At WHOI, we are committed to identifying and removing those barriers for richer academic discussion and a healthier research community.” From https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/
Graduate Admissions and Student Affairs Officer
WHOI Academic Programs Office
360 Woods Hole Road, MS 31
Clark 223
Woods Hole, MA 02543
(508) 289-2225
mit-whoi-www@mit.edu
MIT JP Administrator
MIT-WHOI Joint Program Office
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 54-812
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 253-7544
mit-whoi-www@mit.edu