PhD Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Programme overview

Doctoral students must complete the following requirements: One class for first-year students introducing principles of empirical and theoretical analysis in political science One class in statistics One class in empirical research methods One class in political philosophy Reading proficiency in one language other than English (demonstrated by two semesters of intermediate-level college coursework or an exam) or knowledge of advanced statistics (demonstrated by three semesters of course work or an exam) A second-year paper and related workshop A doctoral thesis In addition, doctoral students a

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

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Application information

Entry requirements

Department-level graduate admission text (applies to the department's graduate programmes): All applicants must take the GRE general test. Non-native English speakers must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Applicants from all disciplines are welcome—an undergraduate degree in political science is not necessary. Applicants are encouraged, however, to complete significant coursework in political science or related subjects such as history, economics, philosophy, psychology, or sociology before applying to one of our graduate programs.

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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