Graduate Admissions | Architecture (2025)

• Letters of recommendation (3-4)
• Transcripts for all relevant degrees
• IELTS,TOEFL, or Cambridge English examscore (if English is not your first language)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of Objectives
• $90 application fee
• Portfolio (or writing sample as appropriate, such as SMArchS HTC, andPhD programs)
• The GRE is NOT required for any Architecture program

Letters of Recommendation

Letters from instructors are preferred unless you have been working for several years, in which case supervisors may be included. The application can be submitted on the deadline with fewer than three letters, but be sure to remind your instructors to complete their letters.

We encourage you to ask for three letters of recommendation, but do not penalize applicants for missing letters; applications with fewer than three letters will be considered without a penalty.Applicants may include up to four recommenders if necessary. Notify your letter writers as early as possible to let them know you will be requesting letters. This will give them time to prepare and submit their letters by the deadline. Letters submitted one year may not be used to apply again in subsequent years unless uploaded by the recommender.

If your recommender has trouble with the online system, be sure to complete their contact information and have them email the letter toarch@mit.edu. In this case make sure that you have completed the form in the system with their information and check whether or not you have waived your right to view the letter. Inform the recommender of your choice.

You should return to your online application to check the status of your letters, and remind your recommenders.You may submit your application even if all your recommendation letters have not yet been submitted. Review begins about a week after the deadline, so any letters not received by then will not be viewed.

Transcripts

Transcripts for all relevant degrees,official or unofficial, must be uploaded to the application system. PDFs must be clearly readable and oriented correctly on the screen. Only those applicants who are accepted for admission will be required to send a hard copy of an official, sealed transcript (with English translation) from each school attended.Please do not have official copies of transcripts sent to our office unless you are admitted. Certificates, study abroad, and community college transcripts do not need to be sent unless the courses arenotalso listed on your primary college transcripts.Non-English transcripts must be translated into English, and if necessary, signed by a licensed notary and accompanied by the original version.If you have taken studios, indicate this on the Test Scores/Experience/Electronic Portfolio section.

English Test Scores

You must take an English test if:

-You did your undergraduate studies in the US but are from a non-English speaking country you DO need to take a test.
-You are from the US but were raised speaking another language, you DO need to take a test.

You do not need to take it if you were raised in a non-English speaking country but have spoken and been educated in English all your life.

Only admittedapplicants must request that an official copy of their test results be sent directly to MIT by IELTS International or Educational Testing Service. Scores must be no older than two years as of the date of application. To avoid delays, please use the following codes when having your scores sent to MIT:

• Institutional Code: 3514
• Department Code: 12

The minimum score required for the IELTS is 7 and the minimum TOEFL score is 600 (250 for computer-based test, 100 for Internet-based test). While either test score is accepted, the IELTS score is preferred. (HTC PhD requires a TOEFL score of 110 or IELTS score of 8.) If your scores do not meet the minimum required for admission we are not able to admit you. Applications with scores lower than 100 on the TOEFL or 7 on the IELTS, or missing test scores, will not be reviewed. We will NOT have access to your "My Best Scores" from ETS. We will see all your test scores you have sent to us.

Curriculum Vitae

Some MIT fellowships are available to MIT Departments. The CV is used by our administrative staff to learn additional information about you in order to apply for MIT scholarships on your behalf.

Statement of Objectives

The Statement requested by the Department will vary depending on the program to which you are applying. MArch applicants will answer these two questions:

Statement 1
Our department encompasses architecture, design, history, and the arts; all have a social and cultural meaning and purpose. How does your background and life experience inform your understanding of that purpose? (500 word limit)

Financial Support

Aside from fully funded programs, such as the PhD and SMBT programs, the majority of students receive Departmental support.Be sure to check off whether or not you wish to be considered for financial support. No preference is given to either answer. If you need money to attend grad school, be sure to say "yes." Department aid is distributed on a combined basis of merit and need. The Department will review admitted applicants to see if any additional MIT scholarships may apply. If an admitted applicant to an Architecture program is eligible for an MIT scholarship, the Department will apply on your behalf and detail this in the admission letter.

Application Fee

A non-refundable Application Fee of$90 USD is required to submit your application. You will need to submit a credit card number on the Architecture Graduate Application to process this fee. If submitting an application fee provides any challenge in submitting an application, prospective students are asked to submit a fee waiver application through theOffice of Graduate Education.A fee waiver request is entirely independent of the admissions process itself and is not seen by the admissions committee. Note that those applying to the PhD programs will automatically be considered for the SMArchS program in that area. SMArchS applicants may choose to be reviewed by more than one SMArchS program.

Portfolio

A portfolio is required for the following programs:

-MArch
-All SMArchS programs
-Encouraged but not required for Computation PhD
-Optional for SMBT (writing sample instead)
-Optional for BT/PhD (writing sample instead)

The portfolio should include evidence of recent creative work, whether personal, academic or professional. Work done collaboratively should be identified as such and the applicant's role in the project defined. Your name, and program to which you are applying should also be included. We expect the portfolio to be the applicant's own work. Applicants whose programs require portfolios will upload a 30-page maximum (10 pages for ACT) including cover pages and contents), PDF file to the online application system. The dimensions should be exported for screen viewing. Two page "spreads" are counted as one page.