Offer of admission to HASTS currently includes five years of guaranteed support, contingent on satisfactory academic progress. This support provides 12 months of stipendand pays for fall and spring MIT tuition and 12 months of individual health insurance annually. Funding consists of a combination of fellowships (including those that students earn on their own), teaching assistantships and, occasionally, research assistantships. Students normally have a fellowship appointment for their first year in the program. Students should expect to TA four subjects in years two through five in the program.
A nine-month fellowship for dissertation completion, including the above tuition and insurance, if needed and if academic standing has been maintained, is available for a sixth year
For the 2023 – 2024 academic year the fellowship stipend is $3,995 per month, tuition for the academic year is $59,570, and single coverage medical insurance for a year is $3,237.
HASTS Steering Committee will make preliminary decisions on what types of funding students will have (TA, RA, or fellowship) and TA class assignments by early June for the upcoming academic year, though there may be modifications if unexpected situations arise, such as class enrollments that differ from past offerings.
All students are also welcome to seek competitive funding at any point in their program, and typically have a good success rate with applications for outside grants and fellowships. Students’ advisors, and sometimes other members of their committees, provide guidance on the selection of which research grant and fellowships to apply for and development of the proposal. The Director of Graduate Studies and the Academic Administrator of the doctoral program may also be a resource for finding opportunities.
Financial inquiries pertaining to funding, i.e. graduate awards and appointments, and hourly payroll, should be directed to the Academic Administrator.
All students should familiarize themselves with the description of what constitutes satisfactory progress in the program in HASTS.
All appointments and awards are governed by MIT’s Policies and Procedures , the Office of Graduate Education’s funding and compensation policies, and the Financial Support and Resources section of the HASTS Student Handbook.
