AY22 Graduate Student Stipend Levels, Insurance Rates, & Additional Support

April 23, 2021
Ian A. Waitz, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education | Brian Schuetz, Executive Director, MIT Medical | Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research |

Dear Colleagues,

In discussion with the Provost, Chancellor, and School Deans, we have established the new ranges for the monthly stipends of full-time research and teaching assistants for the 2021-22 academic year (AY2022).

These ranges reflect a 3.25% increase, exceeding the GSC's Stipend Working Group estimate of the change in cost-of-living by more than 1%. An increase above the cost-of-living adjustment responds to unique competitive pressures some graduate programs are experiencing this year, and similar increases in future years may not be appropriate when balancing many different considerations.

Moreover, as announced earlier, MIT’s housing rates will not change for AY2022 and the cost for the Student Extended Insurance Plan will go down by approximately $180 for the year. We will also be significantly increasing our baseline grant level for graduate students with dependent children (from $2K to $5K).

At the same time, we recognize that the stipend range increase (see below) is a lower percentage increase than some Schools/departments recommended. In those cases, the Provost encourages individual departments and Schools to take advantage of the ability to increase their stipends by as much as 15% above the baseline rates (as several departments already do). We have also removed the option to set stipends at 10% below the approved baseline rate. Please note that final ranges by Schools/departments are subject to written approval from the School Dean, the Vice Chancellor, and the Vice President for Research.

The below also outlines health plan rates (for students and their dependents who are enrolled in the MIT Student Medical Plan and MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan) and the cost of tuition and the student life fee.

For more information on how these rates were established, please see the related FAQ. A parallel communication will be sent to all graduate students later today. We also encourage you to direct students to newly developed cost of attendance information for help with their planning.

Finally, we wanted to make sure to call your attention to a few recent accomplishments of note, including:

  • Expanded participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program at the graduate level for student Veterans or designated transferees, who qualify under the Post-9/11 GI bill; for information on this program and others for graduate veterans benefits, visit SFS; and
  • A transitional support program for graduate students at MIT who wish to change research advisors or groups due to unhealthy advising situations.

Sincerely,

Ian A. Waitz, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education
Brian Schuetz, Executive Director, MIT Medical
Maria Zuber, Vice President for Research


Stipends

The graduate stipend rate will be increased by 3.25% in 2021-2022.

RA STIPEND LEVELS

Doctoral

Monthly: $3,488
Annual (12 mo.): $41,856
High Range +15%: $48,134

SM Level

Monthly: $3,186
Annual (12 mo.): $38,232
High Range +15%: $43,967

TA STIPEND LEVELS

Contact

Monthly: $3,570
Annual (12 mo.): $42,840
High Range +15%: $49,266

Support

Monthly: $3,219
Annual (12 mo.): $38,628
High Range +15%: $44,422

Health Insurance

We are pleased to share that the price of the Student Extended Insurance Plan will decrease by approximately $180 for the next academic year, while all benefits will remain the same as they were last year.

Rates

Note that the first table (“Combined”) shows the cost of purchasing both the MIT Student Medical Plan and the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan. All students are enrolled in the MIT Student Medical Plan, because it is included in tuition. Family members may enroll in the MIT Student Medical Plan only — with costs shown in the second table — or they may enroll in the combined plans. However, they cannot purchase Extended-Plan-only coverage.

Combined (total annual cost to purchase both the MIT Student Medical Plan and MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan)

STUDENTS (automatic enrollment)

Annual AY2021: $3,269
Annual AY2022: $3,089

Annual ($) Change: $180 decrease
Annual % Change: 5.5% decrease

STUDENT AND PARTNER

Annual AY2021: $6,927
Annual AY2022: $6,745
Annual ($) Change: $182 decrease
Annual % Change: 2.6% decrease

STUDENT AND DEPENDENT(S)

Annual AY2021: $4,389
Annual AY2022: $4,209
Annual ($) Change: $180 decrease
Annual % Change: 4.1% decrease

FAMILY (student, partner, and dependents)

Annual AY2021: $8,047
Annual AY2022: $7,866
Annual ($) Change: $181 decrease
Annual % Change: 2.2% decrease

MIT Student Medical Plan Only (total annual cost to purchase just the MIT Student Medical Plan)

STUDENTS (automatic enrollment)

Annual AY2021: Cost included with tuition
Annual AY2022: Cost included with tuition
Annual ($) Change: Cost included with tuition
Annual % Change: N/A

STUDENT AND PARTNER

Annual AY2021: $1,584
Annual AY2022: $1,584
Annual ($) Change: $0
Annual % Change: 0%

STUDENT AND DEPENDENT(S)

Annual AY2021: $792
Annual AY2022: $792
Annual ($) Change: $0
Annual % Change: 0%

FAMILY (student, partner, and dependents)

Annual AY2021: $2,376
Annual AY2022: $2,376
Annual ($) Change: $0
Annual % Change: 0%
MIT Medical will send enrollment information in the late spring/early summer. Dental insurance rates will also be announced in the coming months.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for AY2022 will be $55,878. This reflects a 3.85% increase over this year’s tuition.