Policies

1. Accessibility
2. Clery Act
3. Copyright policy
4. Diversity statement
5. Nondiscrimination policy
6. Privacy policy

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Accessibility

MIT is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible environment. To that end, we have a central accessibility website where you can find all of MIT’s accessibility resources in one convenient location.

Clery Act

The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to publish an annual report every year by October 1 that contains three years of campus crime and fire safety statistics and certain campus security policy statements.

For information on security and safety on MIT’s campus, please see the following link. Hard copies of this report are available upon request.

Copyright policy

Material published on MITadmissions.org is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.

In short, you are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) our material, so long as you provide attribution (give appropriate credit to MIT admissions and the blogger, and provide a link to the original post), only use for noncommercial purposes (don’t sell it), and share-alike (distribute your contributions under the same license as the original). You may read more details about the license here.

If you want to inquire about licensing our content under different terms (i.e. for use in a commercial venture), then please email [email protected], and we will consider your request on a case-by-case basis.

Diversity statement

Statement on the role of diversity in MIT Admissions

In undergraduate recruitment and selection, MIT looks at each application holistically, taking account of many different factors that have shaped a student’s experience. We believe it is crucial for the successful future of our world to educate people from every walk of life.

Statement on the role of diversity in MIT’s educational mission

Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid (CUAFA), October 2015

A diverse student body is and has long been critical to the educational mission of MIT. We are committed to providing our students “with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community.”

Our goal in forming the student body might simply be to select students who are, individually, excellent. Indeed, this is essential to our practice: every student we admit has demonstrated academic and personal excellence that placed them at the top of our applicant pool. But we strive for more than just individual excellence. Because our students learn so much from one another, our goal is to form a student body that is, collectively, excellent: an excellent group of excellent students, who will surprise, challenge, and support one another.

Our educational approach, reflected in the MIT motto Mens et Manus, engages students directly in the process of innovation—hands-on work, often carried out in groups, that requires creativity as well as camaraderie. Our students’ success depends on their exposure to many viewpoints and their ability to trust peers to provide both support and criticism. Moreover, the experience of working with a diverse set of peers at MIT prepares our students to work effectively in the world outside MIT: it opens their minds and attunes them both to the variety of strengths and the variety of concerns of others.

Diversity of viewpoints is derived from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences along many dimensions, among which are gender, race, ethnicity, culture, and socio-economic background.

How much diversity is necessary to achieve our goals? Every student should feel that “there are people like me here” and “there are people different from me here.” No student should feel isolated; all students should come into contact with members of other groups and experience them as colleagues with valuable ideas and insights.

It is through this experience of the richness and diversity of interests, strengths, viewpoints, and concerns of their fellow students that our students become open-minded intellectuals and innovators, primed to pursue the MIT mission of the betterment of humankind.

Nondiscrimination policy

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. The Institute prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,⁠01 The ROTC programs at MIT are operated under Department of Defense (DoD) policies and regulations, and do not comply fully with MIT’s policy of nondiscrimination with regard to gender identity. MIT continues to advocate for a change in DoD policies and regulations concerning gender identity, and is committed to providing alternative financial assistance under a needs-based assessment to any MIT student who loses ROTC financial aid because of these DoD policies and regulations. pregnancy, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other Institute administered programs and activities; the Institute may, however, favor U.S. citizens or residents in admissions and financial aid.

The Vice President for Human Resources is designated as the Institute’s Equal Opportunity Officer. Inquiries concerning the Institute’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations, and complaints may be directed to Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources, Building NE49-5000, 617.324.5675. In addition, inquiries about Title IX (which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex) may be directed to the Institute’s Title IX coordinator, Sarah Rankin, Room W31-223, 617.324.7526, [email protected]. Information about the grievance procedures and process for discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including how to report or file a complaint of sex discrimination, how to report or file a formal complaint of sexual harassment, and how MIT will respond is available at idhr.mit.edu. Inquiries about the laws and about compliance may also be directed to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region I, 5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02109-3921, 617.289.0111, [email protected].

The statement was last updated in December 2021; you can check the official policy page for the most up-to-date version.

Privacy policy

Admissions Privacy Statement

The mission of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21^st century. To help recruit, evaluate, admit, and enroll such qualified candidates, it is necessary to collect and process certain personal information about prospective students and their families. This Privacy Statement explains how MIT collects, uses, and processes personal information about prospective students and their families for purposes of recruitment, admissions and enrollment.

What personal information we collect

We collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal information about you, including the following:

• Biographic information—name, gender, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, race, religious affiliation, ethnicity, sexual orientation,⁠02 These categories of personal information are only collected with your explicit consent. The provision of such information is entirely optional and voluntary. Whether you consent to provide such information has no bearing on the admissions decision or any other action MIT takes with respect to your application. visa status, and passport numbers and/or photos
• Contact information—home and business addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media information
• Education and test scores—previous educational institutions, standardized test scores, school activities, prior disciplinary history
• Family information—family member names, employment, and education
• Other application materials—supporting documentation including essays, recommendations, and references

How we collect personal information about you

We collect information about you from a variety of sources. A significant portion of the information we maintain is that which you have provided to us. We may also augment the information we collect about you from other sources, such as third-party testing services, recommenders, alumni and current students with whom you may have a personal connection.

How we use your personal information

We collect, use, and process your personal information to (1) process transactions requested by you and meet our contractual obligations; (2) facilitate MIT’s legitimate interests, and/or  (3) with your explicit consent, where applicable.

If you have concerns about any of these purposes, or how we communicate with you, please contact us at [email protected]. We will always respect your request to stop processing your personal information (subject to our legal obligations).

When we share your personal information

We may share your personal information with other MIT offices to provide the services listed above and in the furtherance of MIT’s legitimate interests. We may also share your personal information with third parties performing services under contract with us. Additionally, we may share your personal data with government agencies to comply with a legal process, subpoena, order, or other legal or regulatory requirement applicable to us, or to pursue available legal remedies or defend against legal claims.

How your information is stored and secured

MIT uses risk-assessed administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information. Only authenticated users with specific permissions may access the data using a virtual private network. We use firewalls and regular monitoring to evaluate any attempts at accessing the systems without permission.

How long we keep your personal information

We retain a full set of admissions materials, including your personal information for a period of ten (10) years for enrolling students and a period of five (5) years for non-enrolling students. After such time, we will retain a core set of information for MIT’s legitimate purposes, such as archival, scientific, and historical research and for the defense of potential legal claims.

Rights for Individuals in the European Economic Area

You have the right in certain circumstances to (1) access your personal information; (2) to correct or erase information; (3) restrict processing; and (4) object to communications, direct marketing, or profiling. To the extent applicable, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation provides further information about your rights. You also have the right to lodge complaints with your national or regional data protection authority.

If you are inclined to exercise these rights, we request an opportunity to discuss with you any concerns you may have. To protect the personal information we hold, we may also request further information to verify your identify when exercising these rights. Upon a request to erase information, we will maintain a core set of personal data to ensure we do not contact you inadvertently in the future, as well as any information necessary for MIT archival purposes. We may also need to retain some financial information for legal purposes, including US IRS compliance. In the event of an actual or threatened legal claim, we may retain your information for purposes of establishing, defending against or exercising our rights with respect to such claim.

By providing information directly to MIT, you consent to the transfer of your personal information outside of the European Economic Area to the United States. You understand that the current laws and regulations of the United States may not provide the same level of protection as the data and privacy laws and regulations of the EEA.

Additional information

We may change this Privacy Statement from time to time. If we make any significant changes in the way we treat your personal information we will make this clear on our website or by contacting you directly.

The controller for your personal information is MIT. We can be contacted at [email protected].

In the United Kingdom, you may contact MIT at MIT Press London 1 Duchess Street, London W1S 6AN.

In the EEA outside of the United Kingdom, you may contact MIT at Universidade do Minho, Campus de Azurem, 4804-533 Guimaraes, Portugal.

This policy was updated in October 2021.