PhD Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Programme overview

The General Degree Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy are listed under Graduate Education. In the departmental program, each graduate student is expected to acquire solid foundations sufficient for approaching biological questions using the methods of biochemistry, genetics, and quantitative analysis. Most students take subjects in these areas during the first year.

Department: Biology | Study mode: full-time | Location: Cambridge, MA, United States

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Department-level graduate admission text (applies to the department's graduate programmes): In the Department of Biology, the Master of Science is not a prerequisite for a program of study leading to the doctorate. The department modifies the General Institute Requirements for admission to graduate study as follows: 18.01 , 18.02 ; one year of college physics; 5.12 ; and professional subjects including general biochemistry, genetics, and physical chemistry. However, students may make up some deficiencies over the course of their graduate work.

USD 66,720 a year (2026-27). Standard MIT graduate tuition for 2026-27, 9-month academic year ($33,360 per fall/spring term; the 12-month figure including the summer session is $89,775). Same rate for all graduate students; excludes the $420 fee, health insurance, housing and living Source

Graduate applications are made to individual departments, which run their own admissions processes and timelines; online applications open in early fall and most deadlines fall around the end of the fall semester.

Graduate deadlines vary by department; most departments use the unified portal at apply.mit.edu/apply. Fee waiver requests are due November 18 for programmes with a December 1 deadline, December 1 for deadlines of December 15-23, and December 15 for deadlines in January or later. Funding offers are honoured until April 15.

Apply through the official page: https://oge.mit.edu/graduate-admissions/

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