MIT is one of the few top-tier US universities to have reinstated GRE requirements for most departments after the pandemic-era wave of test-optional policies — a notable reversal that makes MIT's GRE policy stricter than most peer institutions in 2026.
Does MIT Require the GRE?
| School / Programme | GRE Status |
|---|---|
| Most Engineering departments | Required (reinstated 2024) |
| EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) PhD | Required |
| MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA) | Not required — GMAT or GRE accepted |
| Science departments (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) | Varies — several require, confirm per department |
| MIT Media Lab | Not required |
Competitive GRE Scores at MIT
| Programme | Competitive Quant | Competitive Verbal |
|---|---|---|
| EECS PhD | 168 – 170 | 160 – 168 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 165 – 170 | 158 – 165 |
| Aeronautics and Astronautics | 165 – 170 | 158 – 165 |
| Physics PhD | 167 – 170 | 158 – 165 |
| MIT Sloan (GRE track) | 163 – 168 | 160 – 165 |
MIT's EECS PhD is one of the two or three most competitive graduate programmes in the world by any admissions metric — near-perfect Quant scores are effectively table stakes rather than a differentiator at this level.
Why MIT Reinstated the GRE
MIT's public rationale centered on the GRE providing an additional, standardised data point to fairly evaluate applicants from a huge range of undergraduate institutions and grading systems worldwide — particularly useful for MIT's large international applicant pool where GPA scales and institutional reputations vary enormously.
GRE Is Separate From English Proficiency
A GRE score does not satisfy MIT's English language requirement. International applicants still need TOEFL or IELTS:
| Requirement | MIT Policy |
|---|---|
| GRE | Required for most Engineering/Science departments |
| TOEFL | Required — see our MIT TOEFL Requirements guide |
| IELTS | Required — see our MIT IELTS Requirements guide |
GRE Score Validity
GRE scores are valid for 5 years from the test date.
Prepare for TOEFL with Gabble — while preparing for GRE, run your TOEFL preparation in parallel; MIT's competitive TOEFL benchmark is 109+. Or prepare for IELTS.