MIT Grad Rat

You can click on "Order Now" on the top right corner. You can also order in person at one of the in-person ordering sessions. More information about ordering sessions and discounts coming soon!

NOTE: Rings will be delivered at our Spring Delivery Event or shipped after the event. Please allow 8-10 weeks for manufacturing, though the exact time frame can vary depending on the time of year.

We will be hosting ring sizing sessions with Herff Jones on campus throughout the semester. Please refer to the schedule above in the "Ordering" section for more details.

Any graduate student who will receive a graduate degree at MIT (e.g. SM, PhD, MBA, etc.) can purchase a Grad Rat! The only requirement is that you are getting a degree from MIT. We encourage you to get a ring in your first year, so that you can wear it throughout your time at MIT!

Additionally, for the first time this year, we will be allowing all MIT graduate alumni to buy rings after they have graduated. Specifically, graduate alumni will be allowed to purchase the new ring design, but will have the freedom to put their graduation year on the ring. We are working with the MIT Alumni Association to set up an online system to confirm alumni eligibility.

• Be a current graduate student enrolled at MIT in a degree program that will grant you a graduate degree

• Be a current full-time student or an alumni with a graduate degree

  List of eligible graduate degrees:  (if you’re not getting one of these, you’re not eligible!)

  • Engineer (ENG)

  • Master of Architecture (MArch)

  • Master of Applied Science (MASc)

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA)

  • Master of Business Analytics (MBAn)

  • Master of City Planning (MCP)

  • Master of Engineering (MEng)

  • Master of Finance (MFin)

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  • Doctor of Science (ScD)

  • Master of Science (SM)

  • Dual Degree (e.g., SM-MBA or PhD-MBA; pick from list)

In some cases, you are ineligible if you are:

• Cross-enrolled at MIT and taking MIT classes but receiving a degree from another university

  • This includes people in the HST program who are receiving a degree(s) from only Harvard but not from MIT

• A postdoc, visiting researcher, or otherwise affiliated with MIT but not receiving a graduate degree

• Earning a certificate but not a graduate degree

  • E.g., you are a Sloan Visiting Fellow or an MITx MicroMasters student

• Accepted to MIT but have not yet started as a full-time student 

  • E.g., it’s the summer before you start full-time at MIT

  • You are also not eligible if you’ve deferred your acceptance and have not started your studies at MIT

  • Advised by a professor at MIT but will be receiving a degree from another university

Common cases where you are eligible and there may be a mistake: 

• You just started your graduate program this semester and may not be in our ordering system yet.

• People in the SCMb program may not automatically be approved in our system, but if you will receive a degree from SCMb, you are allowed to get a Grad Rat

• Sloan Fellows (not Sloan Visiting Fellows) earning an MBA from MIT are eligible

• You’re on medical leave but plan to finish your degree

If any of these apply to you, fill out the form! But if you’re not eligible, please don’t – no exceptions are made.

On the Herff Jones Grad Rat page, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• Your MIT email (name@mit.edu or name@alum.mit.edu)

• Your MIT student ID number

• An official letter of acceptance to a graduate degree-granting program at MIT (please attach the pdf letter, not just an email)

• The exact name of your department, program, and degree title

  • Be as specific as possible. This should be cross-referenced with the list of accepted and non-accepted programs/degrees

• An MIT website or link with your name and/or department, proving you are a graduate student at MIT [optional but highly recommended]

• A valid reason why you aren’t included in MIT’s database of graduate students (e.g., they are on medical leave but will return next semester) [optional]

No. The current design will be available until 2029, when a new ring design be unveiled.

We accept ring orders year round, but you must place a ring order by early spring semester to receive your ring at our Ring Delivery event or before graduation.

The Grad Rat tradition is to buy a ring during your first year at MIT and wear it proudly throughout your time at the Institute.

We know that PhD students sometimes may not know their exact graduation date! Therefore, we have customization options to leave your graduation year blank on the ring (in a way that blends into the design). At graduation, you will be able to send your ring to Herff Jones to add in your graduation year — free of cost!

For all rings ordered during the academic year, the earliest available time to receive your ring is at our annual Ring Delivery party (late April/early May). Ring Delivery is a cherished MIT tradition, in which you and your classmates receive your Grad Rat rings together while celebrating your accomplishments from the past academic year. This year’s Ring Delivery will be on April 26th, 2025 at View Boston. We’ll have tons of food, drinks, and swag — it’s a can’t-miss event!

If you can’t attend delivery, there will be alternative ring pick up times on campus the week following Delivery (see Ordering for HJ on-campus dates). It is also possible to have your ring shipped to you after our Delivery event.

The only exceptions to this policy are graduate alumni and students graduating before spring 2025 (i.e. graduating in fall 2024 or earlier). We can ship your ring directly to you pending that you can prove this via verification in the online ordering form.

We are currently recruiting volunteers for our Ring Delivery event on April 26th at View Boston. If you are interested in applying to the Grad Rat committee, it is strongly recommended you volunteer at one of our events first. Sign up link here.

We will be recruiting new committee members in late summer/early fall. Applications will be posted in the GSC Anno and on our website later this year.

You can order your ring anytime! Check out our ordering website for more details!

Rings will ship based on ordering time starting after Ring Delivery. Herff Jones will email tracking when your order ships.

Visit Herff Jones MIT warranty page: https://hjgradwalk.com/mit/warranty-graduate/ or email mitsupport@herffjones.com

For other questions, please contact Herff Jones’ MIT Representative: Jeffrey Quirk at (401)-383-0028 or jpquirk@herffjones.com