Personal Development

Mind Hand Heart

1. MindHandHeart is a coalition of students, faculty, and staff  working collaboratively and strategically to strengthen the fabric of our MIT community. Mind Hand Heart aims for awareness of our “heart” to be fully alive on our campus, inseparable from “mind and hand” and equally valued as a component of our success in making a better world.

MHH promotes mental health and well-being to reduce depression and the risk of suicide through:

• The MHH Innovation Fund, seeding novel approaches to wellbeing and mentoring passionate students as their innovative ideas develop.
• A volunteer coalition bringing voices from across the Institute together to solve problems and develop opportunities.
• Strategic partnerships designed to connect MHH with other culture-shaping initiatives promoting respect, health, and our shared humanity.
• The Department Support Program, an effort to strengthen the welcoming and inclusive nature of our academic climates.

More Ways to Grow

Find balance and make some time for your interests and passions:

MIT Physical Education (PE) classes – Offered quarterly and open to grad students – sports, yoga, swimming, dance, first aid, martial arts, outdoor education, and more.
Community Wellness – Classes and resources for stress reduction, exercise, mindfulness, sleep, healthy eating, family support, etc.
The MIT Hobby Shop – a fully-equipped wood and metal shop that teaches students the art of thoughtful design.

Embrace Failure

FAIL! is a grad student and alumni-led initiative challenging companies, universities, and society to embrace a culture that is accepting of failures and the lessons they can provide. FAIL seeks to change the culture in companies, universities, and society in general by creating a more understanding and accepting environment towards failures. Each semester, the initiative brings high-profile individuals such as experts, CEO’s, or professors to talk about their personal failures, societal failures, and collective failures, and how they learned from them. 

Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL)

ORSEL’s mission is to empower all MIT students holistically as they seek to find integration and balance in their academic, social, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being.

ORSEL affiliates support on-campus programming, provide confidential one-on-one counseling, and advise student religious organizations. Religious, spiritual, moral and ethical convictions are important personal identity markers, and the Institute encourages the MIT community to thoughtfully engage with today’s pluralistic world.

PhDs: Suggestions for Every Stage

• Early Stage: Engage
  
  • Who are you? What can you uniquely give back to your community? Define and take advantage of your innate skills: Take a Myers-Briggs Test ( Also, read a critique of Myers-Briggs by an MIT student here) or an Ideal Career Path Quiz
  • Establish a healthy lifestyle by participating in events and opportunities at MIT Mental Health and Wellness
  • Join a Group Exercise class with MIT Recreation
  • Destigmatize! Forge a path of acceptance & understanding early on in your graduate and professional careers. Check out some great podcasts, theater productions, and other resources: Watch The Manic Monologues: Destigmatize Mental Health, or read The Vagina Monologues
• Middle Stage: Expand
  
  • Learn when and how to say “no.” Check out some of MIT’s past workshops: Perfecting Your “No-Guilt” No and read Lisa Abramson’s advice
  • Abolish “Imposter Syndrome” during the challenging PhD years of qualifying exams, dissertation prospectus presentations, and grant applications. Check out MIT Medical’s Podcast on Imposter Phenomenon and Nature’s Article on “Imposter” Fears
  • Embrace failure and develop professional resilience with MIT’s Fail!
• Exit Stage: Enhance
  
  • Continue to define your personal values
  • Explore the programs, webinars, and resources at MIT Human Resources Center for WorkLife and WellBeing 

Research Mentoring Certificate

This certificate program is designed for PhDs and postdocs who wish to develop their mentoring skills and grow their practice of productive and inclusive research mentoring.

GradSupport

Staff in the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) provide advice and counsel on a variety of issues including faculty/student relationships, changing your advisor, conflict negotiation, funding, academic progress, interpersonal concerns, and a student’s rights and responsibilities.