Visiting Students

A person in the Visiting Student category is coming to use MIT resources and faculty contacts, primarily to enhance his or her own course of undergraduate or graduate study elsewhere, or to fulfill a requirement for the degree he/she is pursuing. The research conducted may be of benefit to the MIT faculty sponsor.

The Visiting Student is enrolled full-time in a degree program at another institution, and plans to work at MIT for anywhere from three weeks to twelve months. Any scholar who plans to visit MIT, is enrolled full-time at another institution, and has not yet received his Ph.D. should be appointed as a Visiting Student -- particularly if they plan to use the work they do here towards their thesis.

Visiting Students must demonstrate they have sufficient funding to support living expenses and enrollment fee costs to participate in the Visiting Student Program. Fees and amounts can change from year to year. Your faculty host or human resources coordinator can provide you the most up to date fee and funding schedule.

To initiate enrollment, the faculty host / principal investigator submits a Visiting Student request to the Office of the Vice President for Research for approval. Once the Visiting Student request has been approved, the Visiting Student will work with the MIT International Students Office to process the necessary visa documentation to enter the U.S. and pursue their stay at MIT. The official start date of a visit must be at least 2-3 months from the date that the visa document request has been made.

The process requires the student to submit all proof of funding, proof of continued enrollment at their home university, a scan of their passport, and some other documentation into an online system.

If you have any questions about Visiting Student status, or any other appointment or visa issues, please contact the HR Coordinator the HR Administrator ().

For international visiting students, you may also refer to the International Student Office at MIT.