Family/Supporters

Congratulations on your student joining the MIT community!

MIT CAPD offers exploration, preparation, and a team that understands how it all works.

MIT Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD) empowers students to think big picture about their career interests and goals, then supports them through every part of the journey, from research, resumes, and career fairs to interviews, job offers, and salaries. Watch the CAPD Orientation to learn how our office can help your student explore careers and prepare for internships, jobs, and graduate school. We also invite you to learn more about our programs and services and meet CAPD staff.

Parents and supporters are integral navigators.

Parents and supporters have a special role in navigating students to resources during their time at MIT that will help as they discover their career interests and gain experience to verify that those are career paths they wish to pursue in the future. Review this video series to hear additional ways that parents and supporters can assist students in career exploration.

Freshman Orientation group of students having fun

Supporting your student during the first year at MIT

At MIT, supporters, families, and parents can help first-year students explore and prepare for their future careers by connecting them to Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD). During the first year, we help with connecting major to career, selecting courses for those interested in prehealth, exploring career fields, and much more. First-year students can also come to CAPD’s first-year signature events, where content is tailored to their unique stage of their college career, or to any of the general events and programs.

Advice for supporters of for first-year students

Supporting your student beyond the first year

MIT co-curricular and experiential learning provides vast opportunities to explore and discover career paths. We encourage students to start by exploring careers through our Career Exploration Series, perusing our Career Interests page, attending an Infinite Careers event featuring MIT alums, and exploring a career path through micro-internships or career prototyping. CAPD also provides shadowing, and or short- and long-term experiences in workplace settings in various fields, which students have access to through MIT’s Handshake system. Additional MIT experiential learning opportunities are available in MIT’s ELx.

Information for exploring careers

Continuing to support your graduate student’s career pursuits

As a parent or supporter of a graduate student at MIT, your role continues to be important. An advanced degree often requires determination, as students are focused on their professional endeavors. CAPD offers career advising for Master’s and PhD students. Also, Graduate Student Professional Development provides a comprehensive collection of professional development opportunities designed to help graduate students develop skills and knowledge within and beyond academe.

Discover grad student professional development at MIT

Highlights

Clear

Filter:

Two from MIT named 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholars

News & Articles

Julia Mongo | Office of Distinguished Fellowships
Published by MIT News on May 14, 2026

MIT master’s student Sunshine Jiang ’25 and Rupert Li ’24 are recipients of this year’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarship. Now in its ninth year, the highly competitive scholarship provides up …

By Julia Mongo

MIT student Jack Carson named 2026 Udall Scholar

News & Articles

Office of Distinguished Fellowships
Published by MIT News on May 7, 2026

Jack Carson, a second-year undergraduate at MIT majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, has been named a 2026 Udall Scholar, one of up to 65 undergraduates nationally to …

By Julia Mongo

Six from MIT awarded 2026 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

News & Articles

Julia Mongo | Office of Distinguished Fellowships | MIT Career Advising and Professional Development
Published by MIT News on April 28, 2026

Six MIT affiliates — Denisse Córdova Carrizales SM ’26; Ria Das ’21, MNG ’22; Ronak Desai; Stacy Godfreey-Igwe ’22; Arya Rao; and Ananthan Sadagopan …

By Julia Mongo

Congratulations on your student joining the MIT community!

MIT CAPD offers exploration, preparation, and a team that understands how it all works.

Parents and supporters are integral navigators.

Supporting your student during the first year at MIT

Supporting your student beyond the first year

Continuing to support your graduate student’s career pursuits

Highlights

Two from MIT named 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholars

MIT student Jack Carson named 2026 Udall Scholar

Six from MIT awarded 2026 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Featured Resources

Hire a MIT micro-intern

Handshake 101: What it is & how to use it*

MIT Climate Ecosystem Map

Helping your student in their first year (MIT Orientation Q&A session resources)

Federal loan changes coming in Fall 2026: Considerations for graduate, medical, and professional school

Offer an industry job shadow

Organizations

MIT Asian Club