The Joint Program does our best to help accommodate students with their housing needs at both the MIT and WHOI campuses.
WHOI Housing Information
Students utilizing JP housing at WHOI should become familiar with the JP Housing Policy.
First Year Housing
It is typical during the first year or two in the Joint Program for students to take courses at MIT. During this time, students are expected to live in the Cambridge area. These students, upon showing proof of rent obligation (copy of Cambridge area lease), are eligible for free transient housing (an assigned bed for the duration of an academic term (fall, spring, summer); a key is issued to the student and returned at the end of the assignment) or on-call housing (A bed assigned for brief, occasional visits; the key is issued for the duration of the visit only; On-call housing is not intended for students who need housing on a weekly basis) at WHOI. Students who are not paying rent elsewhere must pay for WHOI housing at current rates.
When Classes Are Not Full Time
When students are no longer taking classes full time, they are expected to reside where their advisor/lab is located and to obtain housing in the local community. Students based at MIT may use free on-call housing at WHOI, and students based at WHOI may use the MIT apartment for JP students for short stays (one or two nights) at no cost.
Housing at WHOI:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution owns various residential properties in the Woods Hole/Falmouth community. The function of the Housing Office is to manage these residences for use by students and guests of the Institution.
Sam Silva, the WHOI Housing Coordinator will be contacting incoming students via email regarding the need for housing. The email will supply an occupancy agreement and housing request form that must be completed in order to attempt to find housing.
Please note, WHOI offers summer housing assistance, a program that pays rent for a student who is resident at MIT, paying rent in the Cambridge area, and demonstrates the need for housing at WHOI during the summer.
WHOI also helps those who choose to live in an area away from their institution of residence (the institution where the student’s principle advisor and laboratory are located) by offering WHOI housing for them (only at current rates), but will not reimburse for travel between their homes and their institution of residence. These students are also not eligible for summer rent assistance.
Contact Sam Silva at: housing@whoi.edu
MIT Housing Information:
MIT has a number of on-campus dorms that students may want to consider if they plan to live at MIT their first year or two (or more) of their studies.
Website: https://studentlife.mit.edu/housing
Here you can find information about housing selection processes, dates and deadlines, information about the different residences and their monthly rates.
Do note: the sub-page titled "WHOI Housing Information" is specific to the apartment we maintain for WHOI-based students traveling to MIT for 1 - 3 days (more information can be found below under "Sidney Pacific Apartment".
MIT Housing and Residential Services (HRS) also has a number of webinars about the housing process (among other information) that you may find here: https://studentlife.mit.edu/webinars
MIT HRS will be hosting a webinar on April 28 which you can register for on the same website: https://graduatehousing.mit.edu/housing-webinars/. This webinar will be recorded if you can't attend, and you can find previous webinars on this page as well.
For those of you with families (spouses and/or children) the housing selection process (couples, students with children) will open in students’ Housing Portals in April. MIT graduate student housing selection for all available housing units will open in May and will remain open through October. Read more about the Self-Selection process, including step-by-step instructions on the HRS website.
For those of you interested in off-campus housing please visit: https://studentlife.mit.edu/housing/offcampus-housing, where you may find information about off-campus housing in the Cambridge/Boston area, as well as off-campus housing listings available only to MIT affiliates.
The Joint Program also has the use of a 2-bedroom, 4-bed unit at Sidney Pacific (SidPac) Graduate Community, (503 B/C), that may be used for students who need to stay at MIT over night or for an extended time, but do not have established housing in Cambridge. Here is a map showing the location of SidPac.
See General Guidelines for JP Student Use Here. Note: these are highlights of the license agreement and is not comprehensive. The License Agreement on the MIT Housing website you complete is the official binding form.
To use this resource:
fill out the Notification Form (must be completed at least 48 hours before your stay)
First time users must also read through and sign a license agreement and revisit as needed in future visits
Students signing out the apartment will be assigned by the staff at SidPac to one of the 2 bedrooms and be given a key at check-in (key must be returned upon departure)
Military Housing Options for Navy Students
1. Woods Hole United States Coast Guard Air Station – Cape Cod, MA
Home page: http://www.uscg.mil/d1/airstacapecod/
2. MIT Hanscom Air Force Base – MA
Home page: http://www.hanscom.af.mil/
Housing - https://www.housing.af.mil/Home/Units/Hanscom/
3. Civilian Housing
a. WHOI Housing Website: http://www.whoi.edu/main/communityhousing
b. Contact current Navy students for real estate agent/area recommendations
Parking Information:
MIT-
As you may or may not know, parking in the Boston/Cambridge area is notoriously difficult to find, and if you plan to live off campus, you'll want to be sure when perusing listings to find out whether parking is included, or available for a monthly fee (and whether it's off-street).
On campus, you have the option to create a parking account: https://web.mit.edu/facilities/transportation/parking/student/index.html if you plan to live on campus and have a car, or if you plan to live off-campus and drive in. Students who live off-campus often find it most convenient to park near an MBTA station (if they're too far to walk to a nearby station) and take the T to campus.
For those students who are WHOI-based and need to come to campus for a day visit (not overnight), please reach Tricia Nesti (tnesti@mit.edu) who can obtain a visitor pass (day pass) for you. If you're planning to use the Sidney Pacific (SidPac) apartment overnight, you'll need to have your own parking account, as visitor passes cannot be reserved for overnight parking.
WHOI-
Parking at WHOI requires a parking pass which can be requested here: http://kands.whoi.edu/. If you only need a temporary parking pass, please email Jenny Hops: jennifer.hops@whoi.edu.