Wondering how CAPD can help you? Learn more about each of these topics through the CAPD site. For additional support, schedule an appointment with a team member.

A columned building on MIT's campus, photographed from below on a sunny day.

Career Advising

When it comes to planning for your career, you may know exactly where you’re headed. You may have ideas that you’re excited to explore. Or maybe you’re not even sure where to start. And that’s okay.

Career Services is your hub for all things career, from researching internships and attending job fairs to preparing for interviews and negotiating offers.

A smiling Fellowship recipient.

Distinguished Fellowships

We help MIT students identify, explore, and apply to competitive domestic and international fellowships, and we guide you through every part of the journey.

Our dedicated fellowship advisors provide the personalized advice and deep expertise required to compete for these prestigious awards.

Glass buildings reflect the blue sky.

Employer Relations

The Employer Relations team provides employers with a point-of-contact to navigate MIT’s decentralized recruiting processes and provide insight on how to connect with academic departments, internship programs, and appropriate student groups. We also help employers identify effective marketing methods, coordinate recruitment activities such as employer programs, events, interviewing, and other initiatives to maximize employer recruiting success.


A view from below of the inside of one of MIT's domes.

Graduate Student Professional Development

Graduate professional development is skills-based training complementary to your academic coursework that will augment any career path you decide to follow, within and beyond academe.

MIT provides professional development resources to help you deepen your skills and knowledge in seven areas: career advancement, communication, interpersonal skills, leadership and mentoring, personal development, social responsibility, and teaching. Honing these competencies will give you the confidence to thrive and contribute as a researcher, educator, industry leader, and citizen.

Three people in white lab coats laugh together.

Prehealth Advising

A career in health is a commitment to making a lifetime of difference. Exploring different paths and programs is a crucially important (but not always easy) part of the journey. We’re here to give you all the support you need as you explore different careers in the health field, then prepare for and apply to a range of top-tier health profession schools and programs.

We work to demystify every step of the application process, sharing our expertise and experience in researching programs, understanding prerequisites and requirements, writing essays, and preparing for interviews.

Employer and applicant shaking hands

Student Leadership Opportunities

Want to support MIT students, postdocs, and alumni while you get hands-on experience for your career? Apply to CAPD’s student leadership positions!

Students are pivotal to CAPD’s work in career fair logistics, career exploration, first-year engagement, peer career advising, and communications. Each of these opportunities lets you grow your skills in a specific focus area — from event planning to managing a team — while practicing soft skills like teamwork in a fun, collaborative environment.

Explore Infinite Career Paths: Dinners Series featuring MIT Alumni Rekha Murthy and Lydia Yu

Looking to broaden your understanding of how an MIT education can open doors across industries? Join us for two engaging evenings with inspiring alumni who’ve carved out impactful, unconventional careers—and are excited to share how they did it.

These Infinite …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta Graduate Community Fellow
Read more

2025 CAPD FAQs for Family & Supporters

During Campus Preview Weekend 2025’s Parent Programming, members of the CAPD staff shared information with parents and supporters. View the recording and access the presentation below. Also see our FAQ section below for questions we have received from parents and …

By Kendel Jester
Kendel Jester Assistant Director, Early Career Engagement
Read more

EVENT: Spilling the Tea on Leadership | 24 April 2025, 5pm

Thursday, April 24 | 5-6pm | On-campus

There’s something very special about the opportunity to hear directly from a leader about what her path to success was really like, how she learned to lead, and what has helped her to thrive. In …

By Lydia Huth
Lydia Huth Communication and Program Manager
Read more

Alumni voices in industry: Interview with Charles Chen from Big Pharma

In this interview with Charles Chen, a senior scientist in Big Pharma specializing in lipid chemistry, he shared his journey from earning a bachelor’s in chemical engineering at Michigan State University to completing a PhD in chemistry at King’s College …

By Nicholas Rotello-Kuri
Nicholas Rotello-Kuri
Read more

Spring 2025 Graduate Student Mentoring Circles

Looking to Connect with MIT Alumni? Join Spring 2025 Graduate Student Mentoring Circles!

Are you hoping to get real-world career advice from MIT alumni this spring? Whether you’re exploring different career paths, curious about specific industries, or looking to expand …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta Graduate Community Fellow
Read more

Featured Resources

/

Looking to hire MIT students? Start by reviewing our recruiting policies and advice for equitable hiring practices and recruiting underrepresented students

The MIT community is comprised of diverse populations, drawing in students and postdoctoral scholars from around the globe. We embrace …

Virtual career fairs offer the opportunity for students and employers to connect in ways that transcend physical distances, at greater …

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

CAPD is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive environment for everyone we serve. If you need any disability-related accommodations to …

PhD Career Pathways

The Council of Graduate Schools’ PhD Career Pathways project is a multi-phase initiative to improve doctoral education through data collection, …