Financial Aid

No student is accepted to our programs unless funding is available to support them. Research assistantships (RA's) are offered to the best students who apply each year.  The initial assignment of student to faculty advisor can be changed once the student has settled on a particular area of research interest. Most students in the doctoral program take the General Examination after two years, and subsequently devote full time to their doctoral theses.

RA appointments are normally made for the nine-month academic year (Sept 1-May 31). Three-month summer appointments may also be made, but these are not always available to first-year graduate students.

Tuition for all regular graduate students is approximately $29,400 for the 2003-2004 academic year and $9,800 for the 2003 summer term. Research and teaching assistants receive staff scholarships that cover tuition during the period of registration, plus a living stipend (subject to income tax) of approximately $1,980 /month (RA) and $2030/month (TA) (2003-2004). PAOC will supplement the stipend of a fellowship holder so that it is equal to the amount that a research assistant earns. The holder of a fellowship or assistantship may not accept other employment during his or her tenure.

During the January Independent Activities Period (IAP), research and teaching assistants are expected to be in residence and to be employed in activities relevant to their degree program, e.g., IAP activities, independent study, research projects, etc.

Financial aid can be applied for on the standard MIT admissions application.

Prospective students are urged to apply for NSF, DOD, Hertz, or other fellowships on forms available through their undergraduate institutions or directly from the funding agency. These fellowships may be awarded only to citizens of the United States.

The Henry G. Houghton Fund

The Henry G. Houghton Fund was established by the late Henry G. Houghton to enhance graduate research in meteorology and physical oceanography. It supports the acquisition of research equipment, student travel to conferences and workshops, journal subscriptions, and many other graduate research activities. It also supports lectures by distinguished scientists from outside MIT. All PAOC students are eligible to apply for funding from this account. Profs. Glenn Flierl, Ed Boyle, and Alan Plumb comprise The Houghton Committee.

The Jule Charney Fellowships

Prof. Jule G. Charney, who was a faculty member from 1956 until his death in 1981, was one of the great founders of modern meteorology, and a major contributor to theoretical physical oceanography. He is best known for his seminal discussion of baroclinic instability and his founding, as a member of von Neumann's group at the Institute of Advanced Study in 1948, of the field of numerical weather prediction. In honor of these and others of Charney's great contributions, PAOC awards an annual Jule G. Charney fellowship to an outstanding incoming graduate student.

The Warren G. Klein Fund