Graduate Admissions

EAPS graduate students engage in rigorous programs of study and focused research. The degrees that are awarded from our department are: S.M., Ph.D., Sc.D. Prospective students are encouraged to seek out faculty at national meetings and conferences.

A Note about Research in EAPS

We invite you to explore the Research pages to see where your interests might intersect with current faculty projects. In addition please view the directory pages for our faculty and senior/principal research scientists. Many of them have urls on their individual pages that link to web sites with detailed information on their research. While the research in our department is inherently interdisciplinary, students are admitted to five education programs: Atmospheric Science; Climate Science; Geology, Geochemistry, and Geobiology; Geophysics; and Planetary Sciences. You will see these options on the drop-down menu of the application.

Computational Science and Engineering

Students with primary interest in Computational Science may also consider applying to the interdisciplinary Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) program, with which the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences is affiliated. For more information, see: http://gradadmissions.mit.edu/programs/cse.

Applying to EAPS Graduate Programs

The nuts and bolts for applying to our doctoral and two-year masters graduate programs are detailed here. There is a different procedure for applying to the 5th Year Masters program for current MIT students, please review the special instructions for applying to this program.

EAPS welcomes international students. Please note that we strive to accept the best applicants, and we do not predetermine the number of international applicants that will be accepted. Also, please check our English Language Proficiency requirements: TOEFL and IELTS information. If you have completed a four-year degree in a bachelor's program taught exclusively in English, we will waive the requirement for a proficiency exam. While we recognize the many cases of financial hardship, we cannot waive the application fee for international students.

Tests Required

You should enter your test scores as part of completing the application. If you have not taken the required tests at the time you are submitting your application, you may go back into the application at a late date and upload your scores once they are available. Please note: All applications are reviewed once the application deadline has passed. Decisions will be based on the information available at the time of consideration. We do not delay the application review process to wait for missing information.

GRE

General Test, Required (no minimum required score)  *****For the 2023 Admissions Cycle the GRE General Test will not be required or considered due to testing limitations caused by COVID-19 and the difficulty accessing tests and testing sites for many applicants*****

Chemistry or Physics subject test required for Planetary Science program *****For the 2023 Admissions Cycle, the GRE Subject Test will not be required or considered due to testing limitations caused by COVID-19 and the difficulty accessing tests and testing sites for many applicants*****
MIT reporting code: 3514 | Department code: 0599 (Earth/Atmos/Marine Science/Other)
If you do not find a code more appropriate to your research interest use this code.
If you have already sent a report to MIT under another department code, your scores will be accessible to all departments to which you apply.

English Language Proficiency

Either the IELTS, our preferred option, or TOEFL is required of all non-native English speakers. Test scores must be from within the past two years. Registration information for TOEFL and IELTS may be obtained at www.toefl.org and www.ielts.org respectively. We will waive this requirement for those students who have completed a three- or four-year bachelor's program taught exclusively in English.

- IELTS
Minimum score: 7.0
Official test results may be sent to MIT/EAPS electronically. Choose "MIT Graduate Admissions" as the reporting opiton. No school code is required.

- TOEFL
Minimum Score:

• 600 (paper-based)

• 100 (internet-based)

MIT reporting code: 3514
Department code:
61 (Astronomy, Planetary Science) and
71 (Geology, Geochemistry, Geobiology, Geophysics, Atmospheric Science, Climate Physics and Chemistry)

To apply for a waiver of this requirement, student should submit a letter of request explaining your situation and confirmation of completion of a degree taught exclusively in English to eaps-admissions@mit.edu. We will retain this information for use during the admissions review process.

Financing your Graduate Education

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. 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. If an independent fellowship falls below the EAPS level of support, the department will supplement the outside fellowship. Please contact the EAPS Education Office to discuss the Department policy on merging various sources of support.
Learn more about outside fellowship opportunities.

Suggested Preparation