Immunizations & Immunity

A complete list of required immunizations is on page 2 of the Student Medical Report Form. MIT has specific requirements for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, and varicella (chicken pox). MIT bases its requirements on guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

“Documented proof” means a written record of your immunization dates provided by your high school, university, college, or physician’s office, and/or the results of laboratory blood testing.

You can have special blood tests called “antibody titers” to show that you have immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and Hepatitis B. But you’ll still need to get a tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Tdap) booster, and, if you’re in the higher-risk group, a Mantoux TB test for tuberculosis.

No. Based on guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, MIT requires proof of two measles immunizations, both administered after January 1, 1968, at least one month apart, and after your first birthday.

After an outbreak of mumps on several college campuses in 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College Health Association began strongly recommending that students entering college have proof of two doses of a mumps or MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine or proof of immunity through blood testing. This is also part of the guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The Td vaccine protects you only against getting tetanus and diphtheria. The Tdap vaccine protects not only against those two diseases, but also against pertussis (whooping cough)—a highly contagious respiratory illness that often leads to other, more serious, illness. You may have been immunized against pertussis as a child, but by the time you enter college, your immunity has probably worn off. By Massachusetts state guidelines, all entering students must have proof of a Tdap vaccination within the past 10 years.

No. Rubella immunity is required for both male and female students. All MIT students must have a rubella immunization or a blood titer that proves immunity.

No. We require medically documented proof of immunity—either documentation of immunization or blood titers that show immunity.

Three. You should get the second injection 28 to 60 days after the first injection, and you must get the third injection at least six months after the first injection.

You should get the first two injections before coming to MIT. If you don’t have time to complete the third injection at home, you can receive it after you arrive at MIT.

Yes. You will need another immunization to boost your immunity.

You will need another immunization to boost your immunity. If you are an incoming HST student, you also will need a second blood titer one month later. The second blood titer must show sufficient immunity.