Bachelor of Science in Political Science (Course 17) - Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Most U.S. students apply to MIT at the beginning of their final year of high/secondary school, and international applicants should do the same. Most applicants are 17–19 years of age. Some may be younger, especially if they have studied ahead; some may be older, especially if their countries have mandatory military service after secondary school.

Students who have already enrolled⁠02 Exceptions may be granted to students in the southern hemisphere, on an alternate calendar, who begin their college education <em>while</em> undergoing our application process. at another university—either in America or abroad—must apply to MIT as a transfer student.

What grades, coursework, and transcripts do I need to apply?

If you attended high school outside of the United States, your grades and subjects of study might have been very different from those of most American students. However, this will not negatively impact your application to MIT.

MIT admissions counselors are trained to understand the educational system in your part of the world. We do not try to convert your grades to the American system, or to find other sorts of equivalence. You will not be competing against your classmates or students in other parts of the world; we do not have caps or quotas for countries. We consider each student as an individual as they proceed through our process.

We do not have any required high school classes for domestic or international applicants. However, all students need to demonstrate minimum competence in fields they will continue to study at MIT. Visit our What to do in high school page to see what we recommend that all students study.

We require a Secondary School Report (SSR) with transcript to be sent by your high school counselor — if you don’t have a high school counselor, you can ask another equivalent school official to fulfill the requirement. Your high school transcript should include three years of grades and the results of any external examinations such as the International Baccalaureate, A Levels, French Baccalaureate, or CBSE, which are required for entrance to universities in your home country. We understand that many grades are not available until after decisions are made and ask that predicted grades be sent if available. Only admitted students are required to send final grades, and we understand that they will not be available until the summer months.

What tests do I need to take?

We require the SAT or the ACT from both prospective first-year and transfer students. We do not require the ACT writing or science sections or the SAT optional essay. We accept both the paper and digital SAT.

For non-native English speakers, we strongly recommend providing the results of an English proficiency exam if you have been using English for fewer than five years or do not speak English at home or in school, so that we may consider that information alongside the rest of your application

We do not have cutoff or recommended scores for the ACT or SAT as scores are evaluated within an applicant’s context. To view test score statistics from the most recent admissions year, visit our admissions statistics page.

We do have minimum and recommended scores for our English language tests. These minimums are in place to ensure your level of English proficiency. Because English is the language of instruction at MIT, all students must show that they will thrive in our community.

TOEFL (Taken before 1/21/26) — Minimum: 90 — Recommended: 100

TOEFL (Taken on or after 1/21/26)⁠03 Effective January 21, 2026, TOEFL will adopt a 1–6 score scale (in 0.5 increments) to better align with global standards and simplify score interpretation. Visit the <a href="https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/scores/understand-scores.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TOEFL Scores page</a> for more information. — Minimum: 5 — Recommended: 5.5

IELTS — Minimum: 7 — Recommended: 7.5

Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic — Minimum: 65 — Recommended: 70

Cambridge English Qualifications (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency) — Minimum: 185 — Recommended: 190

Duolingo English Test (DET) — Minimum: 120 — Recommended: 125