Design Fellowship

Who can apply

Current MIT graduate students (Master’s or PhD) from any school or department are eligible. Applicants must be in residence during the Fellowship period. Incoming students are not eligible.

Design is broadly defined as a creative process that considers human and social impacts. Successful applicants articulate how their work uses or reflects on design, for whom, and toward what end. A central question for all proposals is: Who benefits from this work, and how?

Program Benefits

• Receive financial support—full tuition for one or two semesters, a monthly stipend, health insurance, and a scholarly allowance to support materials, fieldwork, or travel.
• Participate in a required, for-credit weekly seminar focused on sharing work, building community, and expanding perspectives on design.
• Participate in MAD public programs, events, and workshops.
• Remain connected to a growing network of current and former Fellows.

Application Process

Applications for the 2025–26 academic year are now closed. The next call for applications will be announced in Fall 2025.

Each applicant must be nominated by an MIT faculty member (PI, Senior Lecturer, or Lecturer). Faculty may nominate only one student per year. The nominator is typically the student's academic or research advisor.

Final selections are made by a committee of faculty representing MIT’s five schools and the Schwarzman College of Computing. Fellows are announced in April.

Q&A

Updated Nov 1, 2024

1. I already have another full fellowship (NSF, departmental fellowship, or other fellowship) for next year. Can I still apply?

Yes, you may still apply, though we recommend that you speak with your advisor or department graduate officer as to whether your current funding allows flexibility to be used in other years.

2. I have partial funding (RA/TA/fellowship) for next academic year. Can I still apply?

Yes, you can apply for one semester of support; please make a note in your application of the funding coverage that you already have (or are likely to have). For example, if you know that you will have a 50 percent Teaching Assistantship in the fall, please state that in your application. It will help us make the funding go farther. Also, MIT does not allow graduate students to earn a stipend above standard limits.

3. I’m an incoming MIT graduate student and do not have an advisor for next year. Can I still apply?

No. The fellowship application and timeline with a January deadline is intended for current, continuing graduate students already at MIT.

4. I have been working closely with a Senior Lecturer. Can I ask the person to nominate me? Are they considered a faculty member?

Yes. Senior Lecturers, Principal Lecturers, and Lecturers may also act as nominators. The expectation is that the nominator will be the applicant’s research or academic advisor.

5. The faculty member I am working with (or plan to work with) is already nominating another student. Can I ask another MIT faculty member to nominate me?

If this other MIT faculty member will be your thesis advisor or will be someone you will work closely with, then they can nominate you. However, no faculty advisor can nominate more than one Design Fellow applicant.

6. My research area has a number of design components but is not in a traditionally design-related field. Can I still apply?

It’s very difficult to assess the relevance of design to a topic without seeing a full application. The fellowships are not limited to fields or departments that are seen as design-centric. However, we expect that successful candidates will have prior design experience as well as active research in design. If you do not have examples of previous projects or products that you have helped to design, then you will likely not be a strong candidate for the Design Fellowship.

7. My research area is in X, Y or Z, and I’m not sure it’s relevant to the Design Fellowship solicitation. Should I apply?

It’s very difficult to assess the relevance of design to a topic without seeing a full application. We leave it up to you and your advisor to decide. The fellowships will typically support designers and researchers with some track record in design, rather than researchers who do not have a prior track record as designers.

8. Is there a specific format for the curriculum vitae and other documents in the application?

The documents should be PDF of 10 MB or less files: maximum one page for the curriculum vitae, and two pages for the statement of interest. Beyond that, the format of the documents is up to you. We only ask that you stick to the stated page limits and make sure your document uses a font that is readable. You may include images as part of your two-page statement or you may include a link to a Dropbox with images. Please do not include attachments to the statement.

9. I’m planning to work with another student on a joint graduate thesis and we will share a single faculty advisor. Can we apply?

Yes, you can apply, but you would share the funding between the two of you with a single advisor. Please submit a single application for the two-student team.

10. I’m ineligible or do not want to apply for the Design Fellowship, but I’d still like to be involved with the Morningside Academy for Design. Can I participate in the six-unit seminar even if I’m not a Design Fellow? Or are there other ways to be involved?

Only the Design Fellows will be allowed to participate in the six-unit seminar. However, there are other ways to engage with MIT MAD. We offer a variety of public programming throughout the year, and we would love for you to attend and to bring others. Some of the sessions will be open to all, while some sessions will be closed to the public. We are also launching a new student advisory board.

11. I am not going to be in residence at MIT the entire year. Can I still receive the Fellowship?

We will prioritize students who will be in residence at MIT for the full academic year. If you are graduating mid-year, you may apply for one semester of support.

12. When will the seminar be scheduled?

Once the set of Fellows has been selected, we will try to find a mutually agreeable time for the weekly seminar.

13. Will there be an information session? What if I'm not available?

Yes, there will be an information session on Zoom, on December 11, 2024 at 5pm ET. You can find the replay 2023’s information session in the dedicated section above (Information session).