Animals
Housing policies prohibit pets in any undergraduate or graduate residence hall. The term “pet” includes mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Residents are permitted to keep fish in tanks no larger than 20 gallons. Please note that non-residents are not allowed to enter MIT residence halls with any animal(s), except service animals that have been individually trained to do work or perform a task on behalf of an individual with a disability.
Students in the following residence halls may be eligible to participate in a program that allows a very limited number of cats to be kept in certain residences.
- East Campus
- Random Hall
Find out more about the program.
Assistance Animal Information
In limited circumstances, Disability and Access Services (DAS) may approve a resident’s use of an assistance animal (often for emotional support reasons, commonly referred to as an emotional support animal, ESA) as a reasonable accommodation for the resident’s use in their on campus dwelling unit, or acknowledge a dog as a “service animal” which has been individually trained to do work or perform a task on behalf of an individual (not necessarily a resident) with a disability. Federal standards require that the animal must be necessary for the resident with a disability to have equal access to, and enjoy the benefits of, housing and the accommodation must be reasonable. Per MIT procedures, Disability
and Access Services works with the student, the student’s medical provider, and MIT Housing to determine accommodations that may be reasonable and necessary for students who request to have an Emotional Support Animal in MIT Housing.
Please contact Housing & Residential Services residence@mit.edu or Disability and Access Services das-student@mit.edu for more information