Accommodation Procedures for Students
Learn more about how to request and obtain an accommodation with support from Disability and Access Services (DAS).
MIT is committed to providing access to qualified students who have disabilities. In order to have equitable access to MIT, students may require accommodations related to their academics, housing, dining, parking and transportation, or other aspects of their MIT experience.
DAS engages students and campus partners in an interactive process to determine and implement reasonable accommodations. These decisions are the product of an interactive process that will takes some time.
Are you faculty, staff, or a member of the general public and looking for disability accommodation? Reach the Disability Services and Medical Leaves Office in Human Resources for support.
Initiating an Accommodation Request
New Requests
If this is your first time requesting an accommodation, your first step is to reach out to DAS. During this meeting our team will initiate the process. Prior to this meeting, please review and obtain any and all documentation related to your disability and your specific accommodation request. You should also review all accommodation-related policies and procedures.
Returning Students
Students who have previously been approved for academic accommodations can fill out the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form to let us know which classes you’re taking this term and the accommodations you’re requesting for them. If you think you need accommodations different from those you previously used, please reach out to DAS staff for a meeting to discuss your request.
Types of Accommodation
Under Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Amended Act of 2008 (ADAA), you have certain rights as a student with a disability. This includes the right to reasonable accommodations that reduce the effects of a disability on accessing programs and services at MIT. With this right comes the responsibility to follow certain procedures developed by the Institute to ensure that reasonable requests for accommodations are addressed in an effective and timely manner.
Students must request accommodations so that DAS is afforded a reasonable amount of time to review and evaluate the request and provide the necessary accommodations. See Information on Specific Accommodations for details on alternative exams, materials in alternative formats, and instructional modification.
It is the student’s responsibility to clearly identify who is arranging the logistics of the accommodations (i.e. the instructor, department, TA, or Disability and Access Services). If difficulties arise in obtaining accommodations or there are concerns related to this process, it is the student’s responsibility to contact DAS and the relevant faculty member/instructor immediately.
Students may request disability-related accommodation in relation to their housing needs. Like other accommodation requests, the first steps in this process involve meeting with our team and submitting documentation. Students may also need to submit the Supplemental Housing Request Form, depending on the nature of the request.
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are one type of Housing accommodation that can be approved through DAS procedures. Reviews of accommodation requests may take some time, and animals are not permitted in your residence prior to approval.
MIT offers a meal plan option for all resident students. Participation in the MIT meal plan is not mandatory, unless a student elects to live in certain residence halls. Accordingly, any student who wishes to avoid participating in a mandatory meal plan should consider selecting a residence in which participation in the meal plan is voluntary.
MIT is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to students who have a disabling food allergy. It is MIT’s goal to work with each student in an attempt to address each student’s particular circumstances to enable the student to participate in the meal program. Our House Dining program is accustomed to working with students who have an array of food allergies that may restrict their dietary options. Our current dining partner, Bon Appetit, has experience in adjusting its menu options to accommodate common dietary restrictions such as lactose intolerance, nut allergies, and Celiac Disease. Only in rare cases (generally due to the severity of the disorder), verified through medical documentation and reviewed by the Disability and Access Services Office and Sr. Associate Dean Student Life, will these conditions warrant consideration for exemption from the meal plan program. MIT makes decisions about its ability to accommodate individual dietary restrictions on a case-by-case basis.
MIT students can request on-campus parking privileges through MIT Parking and Transportation. Through this process, students are assigned parking permits for specific zones. Please see the Parking and Transportation Office for detailed information, as well as information on accessible parking spaces.
Students who wish to request disability-related accommodations as they pertain to parking must engage both the Parking and Transportation Office procedure and the DAS procedure. Contact us at das-student@mit.edu for assistance.
Important Resources
Procedures for Requesting Academic Accommodations
Learn more about working with Disability and Access Services regarding the process of requesting accommodations.
Accessible Materials in Alternative Formats
Student Accommodation Policies and Procedures
Disability and Access Services is responsible for ensuring that students with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations (academic adjustments, auxiliary aids and services).