This page contains a list of resources regarding advising and resources throughout the Institute, as well as within specific departments. The links to many of the offices mentioned on this page are in the sidebar. Linked below are some efforts by the Institute to help graduate students.
- Committed to Caring is an effort to recognize and celebrate those faculty across the Institute who have gone above and beyond in order to make an impact in the lives of MIT graduate students.
- The Office of Graduate Education has put together a set of Common Principles to guide graduate students and faculty in their shared journey.
- (*new as of 2021*) Guaranteed Transitional Support provides finding for students in unhealthy situations with their advisor who would like to switch advisors. Funding is administered by each department’s Transition Support Coordinator (TSC).
Educational Material
- Not sure where to turn to for your problem? The BE REFS have created a handy flowchart to help you decide which of the Institute’s many offices is best-suited to assist you.
- The MIT Ombuds Office helps mediate and support students who may have to face difficult conversations with people in positions of power. For COVID-19 specific conversations, they have put together a useful list of tips to make sure your concerns are heard.
- In Summer 2020, the GSC piloted an orientation training called Advising 101 discussing various aspects of advising. Video recording.
- Looking for an advisor? Checkout this video made by MIT EECS in 2019 with student interviews.
Survey Results
- (*new as of 2021*) 2021 Graduate Research Advising Survey: https://gsc.mit.edu/advising-survey/results
- 2020 Quality of Life Survey: http://ir.mit.edu/qol-2020
- Graduate Student Surveys: http://ir.mit.edu/surveys
Departmental REFS
| Course | Name | E-mail (@mit.edu) | Website |
| 1 – Civil and Environmental Engineering | CEE REFS | ||
| 2 – Mechanical Engineering | ME REFS | me-refs | me-refs.mit.edu |
| 3 – Materials Science and Engineering | DMSE REFS | dmserefs | dmserefs.mit.edu |
| 5 – Chemistry | ChemREFS | chemrefs | chemrefs.mit.edu |
| 6 – Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | EECS REFS | eecs-refs | eecsrefs.mit.edu |
| 7 – Biology | BioREFS | biorefs | |
| 8 – Physics | PhysREFS | physrefs | physrefs.mit.edu |
| 9 – Brain and Cognitive Sciences | BCS REFS | bcs-refs | |
| 10 – Chemical Engineering | REFS-X | refs-x | web.mit.edu/refs-x |
| 12 – Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science | EAPS REFS | eapsrefs | eapsrefs.scripts.mit.edu/home/ |
| 14 – Economics | EconREFS | econrefs | econrefs.mit.edu |
| 16 – Aeronautics and Astronautics | AeroAstro REFS | aeroastro-refs | aarefs.wordpress.com |
| 20 – Biological Engineering | BE REFS | berefs | berefs.com |
| Health Sciences and Technology | HST REFS | hstrefs | |
| Operations Research Center | OR REFS | or-refs | orc.mit.edu/student-life/refs |
| Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program | JP REFS | jp_refs | web.whoi.edu/jprefs |
| Institute-wide | iREFS | irefs-contact | gsc.mit.edu/committees/hca/irefs |
