Undergraduate Admissions

EAPS undergraduate students explore complex and fascinating natural systems in an academic environment that is both small and friendly. Together with world-class faculty, students delve into a challenging area of study—the interaction of the solid earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere that create our environment—spanning vast scales of space and time.

The undergraduate admissions process is handled through MIT’s Admissions Office. For additional information on applying to EAPS, see MIT’s Undergraduate Admissions website.

If you would like to include the EAPS Department in a campus visit, please contact the EAPS Education Office. We would be glad to meet with you and answer any questions about our program.

EAPS participates in Terrascope, a First-Year Learning Community by offering 12.000 Solving Complex Problems, during the Fall semester. 

Preparation

Study of the geophysical sciences in EAPS requires a curiosity about the natural world and an interest in questions that involve large spatial scales and long time scales. We recommend strong high school preparation in physics and mathematics; biology and chemistry may also be important, depending on your interests.

The EAPS major

At the end of your first year at MIT, you will choose a major. Your new advisor will then help guide you with subsequent decisions, including course selection. While all students in our major take a small number of core subjects, the requirements are designed so that you can customize your program to suit your interests. Whichever your research area of interest, you will develop skills in a combination of  mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics that will prepare you for graduate school or entry into the business world.