The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) seeks to understand the world, invent, and innovate with creative design. To address some of the greatest challenges of our time, the department uses approaches that range from basic scientific principles to complex engineering design, at scales from the nano to the global. Emphasizing the use of quantitative approaches, CEE features two vibrant centers of gravity: environment (what exists as natural systems) and infrastructure (what is created by human activity). The department is organized into two laboratories around these focus areas: the Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering and the Pierce Laboratory for Infrastructure Science and Engineering, which emphasizes materials and systems. CEE consists of people from a broad range of academic disciplines who work together to contribute to exciting intellectual networks across the department and MIT, solving tomorrow’s problems to build a better future through discovery and innovation.
An education in civil and environmental engineering provides an excellent foundation to solve the world’s greatest challenges in areas such as sustainability, environment, or energy. It prepares students for careers in fields as diverse as engineering design, education, law, medicine, and public health, as well as for graduate study in engineering and science. Graduates teach and carry out research in universities, work for large firms, start their own businesses, and hold leadership positions in government and nonprofit organizations. The department’s undergraduate program provides a solid background in science and engineering fundamentals while emphasizing hands-on design and research projects that provide real-world context. Students focus on the use of large data, computation, probability, and data analysis, and learn how to combine theory, experiments, and modeling to understand and solve complex science and engineering problems.
Course 1-ENG is the undergraduate degree program offered by The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 1-ENG leads to a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering, and has a flexible curriculum that supplements a civil and environmental engineering foundation with an area of core coursework in a field of specialization, introducing exciting opportunities for disciplinary or multidisciplinary focus. This program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a general engineering degree. CEE also offers a joint undergraduate degree program with Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences that focuses on the intersection of climate science and engineering solutions: 1-12 Climate System Science and Engineering.
The department also offers graduate degrees within the broadly defined areas of environmental science and engineering (which includes environmental chemistry, environmental fluid mechanics, ecology, and hydrology and hydroclimatology), mechanics of materials and structures, transportation and systems engineering. The depth and breadth of coursework and research required differ for each degree program.
The department’s graduate degrees are as follows: Master of Engineering (MEng), Master of Science in Transportation (MST), Master of Science (SM), Civil Engineer, Environmental Engineer, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and Doctor of Science (ScD).
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The Master of Engineering (MEng) degree program is the professional-oriented graduate program that consists of high level, fast-paced coursework and significant engagement with real-world engineering projects, preparing our graduates for a professional career path, or further graduate studies at MIT or elsewhere
This 9-month program, with opportunities for individualized tracks in CEE, prepares graduates for addressing significant challenges in the domains of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Master of Engineering degree is awarded to students who have satisfactorily completed a structured program of at least 90 units, consisting of 66 units of graduate-level subjects, and a 24 unit thesis approved by the department
The course includes the following tracks: Structural Mechanics and Design (SMD) Track Climate, Environment, and Sustainability (CES) Track
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About
The MIT community is driven by a shared purpose: to make a better world through education, research, and innovation. We are fun and quirky, elite but not elitist, inventive and artistic, obsessed with numbers, and welcoming to talented people regardless of where they come from.
Founded to accelerate the nation’s industrial revolution, MIT is profoundly American. With ingenuity and drive, our graduates have invented fundamental technologies, launched new industries, and created millions of American jobs. At the same time, and without the slightest sense of contradiction, MIT is profoundly global. Our community gains tremendous strength as a magnet for talent from around the world. Through teaching, research, and innovation, MIT’s exceptional community pursues its mission of service to the nation and the world.
Mission Statement
The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.
The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its 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. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.
MIT’s motto is “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand,” signifying the fusion of academic knowledge with practical purpose.
Responding to calls from the community that MIT would benefit from having a statement of shared values, in December 2020 the Institute charged the MIT Values Statement Committee to develop one through broad consultation across the MIT community. On April 12, 2022, then-President Rafael Reif, Provost Cynthia Barnhart and Chancellor Melissa Nobles shared the values statement with the community, with their strong endorsement.
Values Statement
Excellence and Curiosity
We strive for the highest standards of integrity, and intellectual and creative excellence. We seek new knowledge and practical impact, in service to the nation and the world.
We prize originality, ingenuity, honesty, and boldness. We love discovery and exploration, invention and making. We delight in the full spectrum of human wisdom.
Drawing strength from MIT’s distinctive roots, we believe in learning by doing, and we blur the boundaries between disciplines as we seek to solve hard problems. Embracing the unconventional, we welcome quirkiness, nerdiness, creative irreverence, and play.
We accept the risk of failing as a rung on the ladder of growth. With fearless curiosity, we question our assumptions, look outward, and learn from others.
Openness and Respect
We champion the open sharing of information and ideas.
Because learning is nourished by a diversity of views, we cherish free expression, debate, and dialogue in pursuit of truth – and we commit to using these tools with respect for each other and our community.
We strive to be transparent and worthy of each other’s trust – and we challenge ourselves to face difficult facts, speak plainly about failings in our systems, and work to overcome them.
We take special care not to overlook bad behavior or disrespect on the grounds of great accomplishment, talent, or power.
Belonging and Community
We strive to make our community a humane and welcoming place where people from a diverse range of backgrounds can grow and thrive – and where we all feel that we belong.
We know that attending to our own and each other’s wellbeing in mind, body, and spirit is essential. We believe that decency, kindness, respect, and compassion for each other as human beings are signs of strength.
Valuing potential over pedigree, we know that talent and good ideas can come from anywhere – and we value one another’s contributions in every role.
Together we possess uncommon strengths, and we shoulder the responsibility to use them with wisdom and care for humanity and the natural world.
MIT’s MindHandHeart office has been charged with implementing the statement’s intent and language across the Institute. Resources for the MIT community can be found at Supporting MIT Values.
In September 2022, the Institute installed five billboard-scale banners in Lobby 7. Drawing on the words of the MIT Values Statement and illuminating them with line-art illustrations and a vivid color scheme, this installation is intended to promote the values to MIT’s on-campus community, as well as visitors to the Institute’s front door.
Key Facts
History
Incorporated – 1861
Motto – “Mens et manus” (“mind and hand”)
Campus
Location – Cambridge, MA USA
Size – 168 acres (0.68 km2)
Student residences – 19
Playing fields – 26 acres (0.11 km2)
Gardens + green spaces – 40+
Publicly sited works of art – 60+
Admissions (Class of 2027)
Applicants – 26,914
Admits – 1,291
Selected Honors
Nobel laureates – 101
National Medal of Science winners – 61
National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners – 33
MIT Facts provides an annual overview of the breadth of the Institute’s academics, activities, and culture.
A brief history of MIT
In 1865, the founding of MIT established a new kind of independent educational institution relevant to an increasingly industrialized America. Since then, MIT has built a robust tradition of solving problems in the public interest at the intersection of technology and humanity.
A private university in the public interest
The story of MIT begins with a heartfelt belief: that the American educational system of the 19th century was fundamentally broken. Instead of treating a scientific education and a practical education as fundamentally incompatible, its founders envisioned a new education to unify mens et manus, mind and hand, theory and practice, into a coherent program of study within a single institution.
In 1860, MIT’s founding President William Barton Rogers and his allies applied to the Massachusetts legislature for “an Act of Incorporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” which was to include a museum, a society of the arts, and a school of industrial science. The state agreed, and allocated land in Boston’s Back Bay, on the condition that the institution remain open to members of the public. The charter was granted on April 10, 1861, on the eve of the Civil War, which delayed classes until 1865.
In 1863, in the midst of the war, Congress passed the Morrill Land Grant Act, which allowed states to sell up to 30,000 acres of public land-for each congressman and senator in a state’s congressional delegation-to fund colleges and universities, open in their admission to ordinary people, that would educate students in the mechanical and agricultural arts, as well as military training. In Massachusetts, the grant was split, with some funds sent west to create the Massachusetts Agricultural College,01 while the rest was allocated to the newly-minted MIT. The proceeds from the grant endowed MIT with the resources to construct its earliest academic buildings, and also (re)committed it02 to acting in the public interest in perpetuity.
A new approach to education
There have been found many American parents willing to try new experiments even in the irrevocable matter of their children’s education…It requires courage to quit the beaten paths in which the great majority [have walked].
From its inception, the new institution, offering a new education, attracted a new kind of student. Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman in the United States to earn a degree in STEM,03 graduated from MIT in 1870. She soon became its first female faculty member, helped establish the field of public sanitation04 and founded many programs to promote science education for women. Robert Robinson Taylor, the son of a freed slave, integrated MIT in 1888; he later became America’s first accredited black architect, and helped build schools,05 libraries, and other buildings across the American south.
MIT also became a beacon for students from around the world: the first international student was admitted to MIT in 1866, and many more were admitted in the decades after, despite a contemporaneous wave of anti-immigrant nativist political sentiment.06 As our blogger Yuliya wrote in her early history of international students at MIT:
In 1909, [Scotland native] President Maclaurin began his tenure at MIT with a vision to build a more diverse and inclusive Institute and “build a better understanding between countries.” [Under Maclaurin], 1 in 15 students at MIT came from a foreign country, possibly the highest proportion of international students in a U.S. institution…To achieve this ideal, MIT provided admissions pamphlets in Spanish and Chinese, and President Maclaurin traveled the world to recruit foreign students.
Today, international outreach, education, and institution-building remain core aspects of MIT’s global strategy.
Our current campus
By the early 1900s, MIT had run out of room in its original Back Bay campus, and in 1916 moved to the left bank of the Charles River into its current campus, which was designed and constructed by alumni.
As America entered World War I, MIT became a military training ground,07 hosting the first Army-ROTC program as well as the first ground school for Navy pilots.
But it was World War II, and the Cold War that followed it, that transformed MIT, and it grew rapidly with an influx of federal funding devoted to basic scientific research. Meanwhile, the horrors of the war led to the creation of a committee, led by Professor Warren K. Lewis, on the foundations of the MIT education. Haunted by his wartime work on the bomb, and fearful of the consequences of a technical education untethered to human concerns, Lewis’ report recommended the establishment of a new school of humanistic and social sciences at MIT and to nurture dynamic thinkers who would cut against the grain of conventional thought.08
The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.
The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its 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. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.
Community (as of 10/30/23)
Employees (including faculty) – 17,180
Professors (all ranks) – 1,089
Other teaching staff – 1,020
Undergraduate student-to-faculty and instructional staff ratio – 3:1
Students – 11,920
Undergraduates – 4,576
Women – 2,231 (49%)
US minority groups – 2,650 (58%)
Graduate students – 7,344
Women – 2,969 (40%)
US minority groups – 1,617 (22%)
Faculty
For MIT’s faculty – just over 1,000 in number – cutting-edge research and education are inseparable. Each feeds the other. When they’re not busy pioneering the frontiers of their fields, MIT faculty members play a vital role in shaping the Institute’s vibrant campus community – as advisors, coaches, heads of houses, mentors, committee members, and much more.
Campus Life
MIT’s collaborative, hands-on, curiosity-driven ethos extends across our campus – and beyond. On the stage or field, in makerspaces and living communities, MIT is where brilliant, committed, creative people come together to learn, work, live, and play. All the elements are here to cultivate students’ personal and intellectual growth, fostering the whole student.
Diverse in every sense of the word, our community is a playground for opportunity in the heart of a global innovation hub. Just 364.4 smoots (plus or minus one ear) across the Charles River from Boston – one of the best cities in the world for students – our 168-acre riverside campus brims with daring artists, talented athletes, and a club for just about anything.
Student Life
With 500+ student organizations (chocolate science, anyone?), nearly 40 Greek-letter and independent living groups, chaplains for more than 20 faith traditions, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, student life at MIT offers a welcoming place for everyone. To complement their academics and research, students choose their own extracurricular adventures, from a spectacular array of ways to participate in music, dance, and sports to dozens of groups that savor and celebrate cultures from around the world. To help students navigate challenges, MIT offers a strong support network (bolstered by occasional visits from puppies, pigs, and pygmy goats).
Our residence halls are part entertainment center, part brain trust, part support system, and wholly central to students’ MIT experience. Campus residences have distinct personalities and traditions (like a cross-campus water fight or the Baker House piano drop), which contribute as much to our students’ growth as their academic experiences do. Dining at MIT is about choice and flexibility, with six dining halls, nearly a dozen retail eateries, vending hubs, and a variety of meal plan options.
MIT’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation offers sports instruction and participation at all levels. With 33 varsity sports – 16 for men, 15 for women, two co-ed – the Engineers boast 419 Academic All-America citations (the most in the country) and over 1,500 athletic All-America honors. We also work to foster community, inspire leadership, and promote wellness through physical education, recreation programs, club sports, intramurals – and, for the swashbuckling, the pirate arts.
The arts thrive naturally in MIT’s creative culture of experimentation and innovation that crosses every discipline. On a campus that features more than 3,500 noted works of contemporary art and landmark buildings by legendary architects like Frank Gehry and I.M. Pei, more than half of all undergraduates enroll in arts classes each year.
At MIT, we welcome and support a diverse community of remarkable talent. But we know that to make a better world, we must work to continually make a better MIT. With that inspiration, we strive to remove barriers to talent wherever we find them, to build mutual understanding across our campus, to celebrate our wonderful range of cultures and backgrounds – and to help everyone in our community feel at home at MIT.
Succeeding at MIT means staying healthy – mind and hand, body and soul. Everyone needs a checkup or a check-in sometime. The Institute’s network of physical and mental support resources aims to keep our community happy, healthy, and active. And, through initiatives like MindHandHeart and DoingWell, we are always looking for ways to engage students, faculty, and staff to make MIT stronger and more welcoming. In that spirit, we have created a new Wellbeing Lab in the Student Center, which offers workshops, demonstrations, classes, and other programs focused on self-care-as well as a space to simply relax and recharge.
How an outside scholarship works with your MIT Scholarship
Many MIT students receive outside scholarships. They come from a variety of sources: grants from your home state, a local business, non-profit organizations, employer tuition remissions/benefits, VA Benefits, the ROTC program, a National Merit Scholarship, or even a Pell Grant (which does not have its own application process). Any aid from a source other than MIT is considered an outside scholarship. The intent of these additional funds is that they be applied to your MIT education.
All of MIT’s financial aid is need based. This means that we offer aid entirely based on your family’s demonstrated financial need. In order to be equitable, we need to be consistent in what we ask all families to pay. An outside scholarship adds to what a family has available to pay, which affects a family’s calculated need. We do not offer families more financial aid than their calculated need.
With all that in mind, MIT first uses your outside scholarship to reduce or cover your student contribution (up to $5,400). Any additional money from your outside scholarship, beyond the amount of your student contribution, will reduce your MIT Scholarship. An outside scholarship cannot be used to reduce or cover the parent contribution.
Why an outside scholarship doesn’t reduce the parent contribution
All families are in different situations: some have many resources while others may have very little. Some families obtain resources through employment, while others obtain them through investment earnings, access to assets, or external scholarship funds.
MIT’s policy to cap financial aid at a student’s calculated need while allowing outside aid to also reduce the student contribution is embedded in our strong belief that need-based, rather than merit-based aid, is a more equitable way to distribute financial aid dollars. This allows MIT to maximize available funds for the families that need it most.
Once we calculate how much a family can afford to pay for college expenses-by taking account of their available resources-we take the difference between the family contribution and the total cost of attendance and cover the difference with financial aid. This is called meeting full need. By only offering need-based aid, we can use our resources in the most efficient way possible to support the financial need of all our students. Therefore, your outside scholarship, after reducing or covering the amount of your student contribution, must reduce your MIT Scholarship so that your total aid is not greater than your total demonstrated need or the total cost of attendance.
Please note: Families whose total income is less than $75,000, with typical assets, are not expected to contribute toward their student’s MIT education.
What you can do if your outside scholarship is more than your student contribution
If your outside aid, which includes the Pell Grant, is greater than your student contribution, we encourage you to contact your financial aid counselor. You may be able to use a portion of your outside scholarships toward the one-time purchase of a computer or to pay for the MIT Student Health Insurance Plan before reducing your MIT Scholarship. You may also want to contact your scholarship organization to see if they can postpone sending the funds for a future academic year that may be more advantageous.
All VA education benefits are treated like outside scholarships, including any housing and book stipends. Any additional money from your VA education benefits, beyond the amount of your student contribution, will reduce your MIT Scholarship.
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International students
International students are considered for aid using the same process that we use for all applicants. We are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for international students just as we are for domestic students.
Our commitment to affordability
We want to make sure that MIT is an affordable option for all of our admitted students. Our financial aid team works closely with you and your family to develop a plan tailored to your financial circumstances, so that you can attend MIT and cover your expenses while you’re here.
How to apply
Applying for financial aid can be complicated, so we have broken it down to make it a bit easier. Before we can decide what your financial aid looks like, we need to know what your financial situation is. To do this, we use two documents that paint us a detailed picture of what kind of aid you’ll need to be able to attend MIT affordably.
Two steps to apply for aid.
CSS Profile: a tool provided by the College Board that we use to determine if you qualify for a need-based MIT Scholarship
Parental tax returns or income documentation: your parents’ tax returns or income documentation must be submitted through the College Board’s secure IDOC platform. If your parents live outside the U.S., please provide the tax return from that country, along with a translation to English if applicable.
After submitting the CSS Profile, you will need to submit your parents’ tax returns or income documentation to the College Board’s secure Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC) for processing.
If your parents live outside the U.S., please provide the tax return from that country, along with a translation to English if applicable. Professional translation is not required, documents may be translated by you, your family, or someone you know.
If your parents are separated or divorced, you will need both parents’ income documentation.
You must submit all documents directly to IDOC. We are not able to accept anything sent directly to MIT.
We know applying for aid can sometimes be overwhelming, so we are here to answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to email us at sfs@mit.edu or call our office at 617.258.8600. We have a full team of financial aid counselors that will help guide you through the application process.
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Does my transcript count as official?Transcripts must be sent in by your school counselor or another school representative to fulfill our requirements for an official transcript. This applies for high school and college transcripts. If…
FAQ / First-year applicationHow do I send in my transcript?All transcripts must be submitted by a school counselor or another school representative to be considered official. This applies for high school and college transcripts. If your school does not…
FAQ / International applicantsCan I apply if I am undocumented?Yes! Undocumented and DACA applicants submit the same application components and go through the same selection process as all other students. For those students who face financial barriers, we offer fee waivers…
FAQ / International applicantsWhat is the Secondary School Report?The Secondary School Report Form is designed for U.S. school systems but may be adapted for international school use. Many international schools do not calculate GPA, class rank, and other…
FAQ / International applicantsWhat if I’m waiting for my green card?All applicants are requested to fill out the application with their current citizen status. In our first-year admissions process, you’re considered an international applicant if you’re not a United States…
Study in the USA: Top Programs, Universities, and Opportunities
The United States is a premier destination for higher education, offering a diverse range of universities, advanced research opportunities, and a wide array of programs. Here’s a guide to studying in the USA, with a focus on popular courses, top universities, and degree options.
1. Top Universities for MS and PhD Programs
The USA is home to some of the world’s leading institutions, particularly known for master’s (MS) and doctoral (PhD) programs. Some of the top universities for MS degrees include:
Stanford University: Known for its strengths in technology, engineering, and business.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): A leader in computer science, engineering, and data science.
University of California, Berkeley: Offers top-ranked programs in multiple fields, including computer science and business analytics.
Pace University: Located in New York, Pace University offers a variety of master’s and PhD programs with strong industry connections, particularly in business and analytics.
For those pursuing a PhD in the USA, many universities offer full funding, especially in STEM fields and research-intensive programs.
2. Popular Master’s Programs
The USA offers a wide array of master’s programs to suit different career paths:
MS in Business Analytics: This program is in high demand, with top universities like MIT, University of Texas at Austin, and Pace University offering specialized courses in business analytics. These programs provide students with analytical and data-driven skills to excel in the modern business landscape.
MS in Computer Science: Known for its cutting-edge curriculum, this program is offered at top institutions like Stanford, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University, making it ideal for careers in technology, AI, and software development.
MBA Programs: An MBA from the USA is highly regarded globally. Many universities, such as Harvard and Wharton, offer competitive MBA programs with options to specialize in finance, marketing, and other fields.
3. PhD Programs in the USA
For students interested in research and academia, the USA offers top-notch PhD programs with robust support and funding options. Programs often include teaching and research assistantships, covering tuition fees and providing stipends.
4. MBBS in the USA
For international students interested in medicine, the MBBS (Doctor of Medicine or MD) program in the USA is known for its rigorous curriculum and excellent clinical training. However, the cost can be substantial, as medical programs generally range between $200,000 to $300,000 for the entire course.
5. Cost of Studying in the USA
The cost of education in the USA varies significantly by program and university:
MS Programs: The cost of doing an MS in the USA typically ranges from $20,000 to $60,000 per year, depending on the university and program.
PhD Programs: Many PhD programs offer funding through scholarships or assistantships, reducing the cost significantly.
Living Expenses: On average, students should budget around $10,000 to $20,000 annually for housing, food, and personal expenses, depending on the city.
6. Application Process and Requirements
Admission to master’s and PhD programs in the USA generally requires:
A bachelor’s degree (often a four-year degree)
Standardized test scores (GRE, GMAT, or specific test requirements depending on the program)
Proof of English language proficiency (usually TOEFL or IELTS for international students)
Relevant work experience, especially for MBA and some PhD programs
7. Advantages of Studying in the USA
The USA offers a vibrant, diverse educational experience, with benefits that include:
Research Opportunities: The USA is known for its research facilities and encourages students to engage in cutting-edge research across disciplines.
Career Prospects: With a master’s or PhD degree from the USA, students have a competitive edge in the global job market, especially in fields like business analytics, computer science, and medicine.
Cultural Diversity: The USA hosts students from around the world, providing an enriching multicultural environment that broadens perspectives.