Call for Nominations

MIT faculty are invited to nominate one outstanding student to become a member of the Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability for 2026–2027. A nominee for the Martin Fellowship should be working in an area of environment and sustainability as indicated by their clearly articulated statement of interest, subjects taken, and proposed research area. Sustainability includes all areas of inquiry that strive to understand the relation between human systems and the natural world and offer enhanced prospects for a transition toward an equitable balance between people, prosperity and the planet. The primary framework governing this transition is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Eligible nominees are current PhD candidates who have successfully completed their doctoral exams, are in the initial phases of their research towards a dissertation, and will be enrolled full-time as a student during the fellowship period.

Selected fellows are awarded two semesters of full funding, with tuition and a stipend.

Deadline

The nomination period for the 2026-2027 Martin Fellowships will be from October 18, 2025 to February 5, 2026.

Activities of the Martin Fellows

One goal of the Martin Fellow experience is to build community across disciplines with common aspirations in mind. The Martin Fellows will attend programming with their cohort throughout the year. Events and activities include:

  • An award Lunch 
  • Saturday All-day Retreat 
  • Presentation Lunches
      • Each student will have the opportunity to give a 10-minute presentation on the content of their research topic. The lunches will be open to the MIT community and others, intended to promote the work of each Martin Fellow and connect them with others pursuing work in solutions to societal environmental challenges. Fellows are encouraged to invite their labs and advisors to attend.
  • One more event to recap experiences 

Submission

Nomination packets should be submitted to Kevin O’Brien, Director of Graduate Fellowships, Office of Graduate Eduation (OGE). Send packets to kobrien1@mit.edu, CC’ing grad-fellowships@mit.edu, in two parts.

Part 1 may be submitted by the student candidate OR by the nominating faculty (or their assistant). Part 2 must be submitted by the nominating faculty or their assistant.

Part 1

STUDENT CANDIDATE: Submit the following, in a single PDF, in the order given below.

  1. A completed Martin Fellow Nomination cover sheet (download here)
  2. The student’s curriculum vitae
  3. A current, unofficial grade report (This can be obtained free of charge through your student portal, at student.mit.edu, or Websis.) Note that the Martin Society seeks students with outstanding academic credentials; candidates must demonstrate a graduate GPA of 4.5 or higher.
  4. A statement of interest from the student, which should directly address the four questions below.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The statement must be written with a multidisciplinary audience clearly in mind. Reviewers will be from multiple disciplines, and non-specialists should be able to clearly understand your work and its implications for the environment and sustainability.

  • What is your research question? How do you plan to answer it (methods, workplan)? (2 pages maximum)
  • How will your project contribute to sustainability? Consider the real-world implications if your work succeeds, and if you are doing basic science, the implications of how it could be applied. Are there potential unintended consequences? How would it play out at scale? (1 paragraph)
  • Beyond your research, how have you been or how do you plan to be an ambassador for sustainability? (1 paragraph)
  • Please list the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are most relevant to the work and interests of you and your advisor.

Part 2  

NOMINATING FACULTY MEMBER: Submit the following as a PDF.

A signed letter of nomination on MIT letterhead that provides an appraisal of the student’s qualifications and capabilities and indicates why they believe the student should be awarded a Martin Fellowship for Sustainability. Please also indicate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are most directly and indirectly relevant to past and ongoing work of the student and to you as a nominating member of the faculty.

Selection Process

Martin Fellows are selected by a faculty committee representing all five MIT Schools and the College of Computing. A maximum of ten Fellows will be funded for 2025–2026. Award decisions will be announced in April 2025.

Questions? Please refer to our FAQ page, or contact Reva Butensky: reva@mit.edu