There are four simple steps to the ACCESS application process:
- Fill out the online application, indicating the department of interest
- Enter names and contacts for two letters of recommendation
- Upload your unofficial transcript
- Upload your cover letter and career vision statement
Once submitted, if there is an issue with your application you will be contacted directly by ACCESS program staff.
2025 Program
| Application Open: | June 1, 2025 |
| Applications Due: | August 1, 2025 |
| Students Notified of Decisions: | August 15, 2025 |
| Students Accept Offer: | August 22, 2025 |
| ACCESS weekend: | October 10 & 11, 2025 |
Who Should Apply?
- Undergraduate students in their sophomore, junior or senior year, focusing on chemistry, chemical engineering, or biological engineering.
- Students with a strong academic background and an interest in research (cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above out of a 4.0 scale)
- Students who come from a non-traditional educational background, including, for example:
- Attendance at schools in underserved, under-resourced, rural, or urban communities; or schools with low admittance rates to top-tier institutions; or
- Demonstrated significant academic achievement by overcoming barriers such as economic, social, or educational disadvantage, including factors such as generational wealth, Pell Grant-eligibility or similar governmental or institutional funding for students with exceptional financial need, qualification for free/reduced lunch, first-generation to college, or parent(s) level of education
- US citizens and permanent residents
- Those willing to engage in ACCESS’s interactive environment
- Students with limited prior exposure to MIT’s campus or its graduate community
Please note that while ACCESS highlights opportunities at MIT, participation neither obligates participants to apply nor guarantees future consideration for study at MIT graduate level programs.