The application deadline is January 3rd. The Admission's Committee will not evaluate an incomplete or late application.
The following information is critical to your understanding of our admissions process and to the preparation of your application. Whenever our instructions and those of the general MIT application conflict, it will be to your advantage to follow ours. You should read the descriptions of the Department and its programs before you complete the application.
MIT Application for Graduate Admissions
The MIT Application for Graduate Admissions is available at http://web.mit.edu/admissions/graduate/
We strongly advise that you send in your application as complete as possible. However if you cannot send your application package in full, then you should send all loose correspondence to the following address:
MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning
DUSP Admissions
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 7-346
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
Q1. Proposed date of entrance
The Department admits students for September only. We do not admit students to degree programs in February or June.
Q2. Area of research
For applicants to the MCP program, indicate which of the four Program Groups best fits your interest.
- Housing, Community, and Economic Development (HCED)
- Environmental Policy Program (EPP)
- City Design and Development (CDD)
- International Development Group (IDG)
PhD applicants may indicate one of these four groups or designate the cross-cutting area of Urban Information Systems (UIS).
Please note:
- Our admission process is such that applicants are reviewed by faculty and students from an individual Program Group - HCED, CDD, IDG and EPP and then admitted to the MCP program under the allotment of admittees provided to that Group. While the Program Group you specify in your application will not bind you once you arrive at MIT, we assume that you have thoughtfully considered why you chose a particular group.
- Applying to more than one Program Group: Your interests may cut across more than one Program Group. If you see your interests so aligned you must spell out the case for applying to more than one Program Group in your Statement of Objectives. If you define yourself in terms of two Program Groups, you need to make a case for such bridging as a critical part of your application process
- Many of the concerns addressed in the other three Program Groups are also addressed within the IDG Group, but IDG emphasizes planning and development issues in the world's low-income countries. Likewise, the HCED group focuses predominately, but not exclusively, on the United States.
- Each of the four MCP Program Groups has faculty with particular interests in computing and technology issues. In addition to designating a Program Group, those MCP applicants with a particular interest in computing and technology should indicate this on their application (for example, "CDD/UIS"). Similarly, although we do not have a separate Program Group focusing on issues of regional planning or transportation, many DUSP students choose one of these as an area of focus. Applicants with particular interest in either of these areas should indicate this on their application, but should also specify a Program Group (for example, "EPP/Regional Planning" or "HCED/Transportation").
Q3. Initial degree
Specify only the program you are currently applying for: MCP, SM or Ph.D.
Q21-24. Honors and Experience
In lieu of filling in Questions 21 through 24, please paste your resume or CV in the section titled "Use this space for additional information" or the mail the Department a separate one-page resume or CV to the address above.
Record of Courses
Follow the directions in the upper left corner of the page. Do not list textbooks used, number of weeks taken, hours of lectures and/or laboratory. Please list courses most relevant to the planning field first. If you have been away from school for several years, please do your best at recording this information.
If you were or are an MIT student, you do not need to complete the record of courses section of the application form.
Statement of Objectives
Please use the following guidelines in lieu of the instructions supplied on the application's "Statement of Objectives."
Beginning in the space below please give a statement of no more than three typewritten pages, single spaced, explaining your reasons for wanting to do graduate work in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. The statement should describe how you think, see and feel about the world and your professional objectives. You should set forth the issues or problems you want to address in the course of your studies, and the setting in which you eventually see yourself working professionally. Your honors, extracurricular activities, teaching and other experiences can be integrated into your Statement of Objectives; telling us how and why what you have done relates to what you propose to study at MIT, and what you plan to do professionally in the future. However, do not re-create your CV or resume.
Letters of Recommendation
As part of the online application, you will be asked to enter the names of your three evaluators. You may send each evaluator the Paper Evaluation Form and ask him/her to send it in a signed sealed envelope to you or have them mail it directly to the department at the address above. We will not accept unsigned letters.
Tell your evaluators to ignore the guidelines and ranking questions on the "Evaluation" form. Instead, provide them with a copy of your statement of objectives and the following guidelines for their use in preparing letters of recommendation:
Review the applicant's plan for study. Please give your frank opinion of the applicant's potential, your assessment of the applicant's present intentions as related to past performance and interests, including ability to achieve objectives, work in complex situations, and ability to exercise initiative. We are interested in information about present abilities and unfulfilled potential. An honest, rounded statement can best aid us and will enhance the applicant's chance of admission.
Portfolios, Writing Samples, & Interviews
If you are applying to the CDD program group, you may submit portfolio, however; it is not required. Writing samples and interviews are not required. We encourage you to attend our Open House in the Fall.
Questions
Please visit our FAQ section before contacting DUSP Admissions at:
617-253-9403 or duspapply@mit.edu.
• 2009-11-03 15:37:16 •
