SM Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Programme overview

The Master of Science in Political Science is a one-year program for students who wish to develop skills in applied research in preparation for a career in public policy or with a business or research organization.

Department: Political Science | Duration: 1 year | 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): 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 and the Sloan School of Management uses its own portal at applymitsloan.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. Admission offers with funding are honoured until April 15.

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

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