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MIT endowment totaled $16.4 billion at end of fiscal year 2018

Compared to last year, tuition revenue decreased by $7.8 million

The MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) announced Sept. 14 that MIT’s endowment totaled $16.4 billion at the conclusion of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, marking a 13.5 percent investment return, according to the 2018 Report of the Treasurer.

Consistent with previous years, a large portion of MIT’s monetary returns were accrued through research, with 27 percent from Lincoln Labs and 19 percent from on-campus research. Another 23 percent was earned through investments (such as real estate) made by MITIMCo, while student tuition only made up 10 percent of MIT revenue.

MIT experienced a net decrease of $7.8 million in tuition revenue from undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs compared to fiscal year 2017, a 2.1 percent decrease. The report noted that for undergraduates, “financial aid outpaced growth in gross tuition associated with a 3.0 percent tuition rate increase.”

According to the MIT Facts website, in the 2016–17 academic year, 57 percent of undergraduate students were awarded need-based financial aid, with the average MIT scholarship being $42,801. Statistics for 2017–18 were not listed.

Over the past decades, MIT has been consistently ranked among the top ten in American universities with the highest endowments. In 2018, MIT ranked sixth, behind Princeton University at fifth place with $24 billion in endowment funds.