Graduate Schools in Boston: A First-Gen Student Guide

The Boston area has one of the highest concentrations of graduate education in the United States. Major research universities with significant doctoral programs include Harvard University (Cambridge), MIT (Cambridge), Boston University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, and Boston College. Major professional schools include Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Tufts Medical School and Dental School, Boston University School of Medicine and School of Law, and Northeastern School of Law. Professional and specialized graduate programs are also offered at Suffolk University, Emerson College, UMass Boston, and several other institutions.

Boston consistently ranks among the most expensive cities in the United States for renters. Average 1-bedroom rent in Boston proper: $2,500 to $3,200 per month (2025 data). Many graduate students live in neighborhoods with lower costs — Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain — or share apartments with 2 to 3 roommates to bring housing costs to $900 to $1,400 per person per month. Graduate stipends at Boston-area research universities typically range from $22,000 to $36,000 per year — livable in Boston if housing is shared, but requiring careful budgeting. Programs at institutions with lower stipends create a meaningful financial strain in Boston's rental market.

Boston has one of the most transit-accessible graduate student ecosystems in the country. Most Boston-area universities (Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern, Tufts) are served by the MBTA subway (the T) and bus network. Monthly MBTA passes are approximately $90 — a significant savings versus owning a car. Many graduate students do not own cars during their Boston programs. The commuter rail connects Cambridge, Boston proper, and the surrounding suburbs for students living further from campus.

Leadership Brainery serves first-generation graduate students across Boston-area institutions — fellows in our program attend or have attended Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern, Tufts, Boston College, and other area institutions. Membership in the program is based on first-generation college student status and graduate-level enrollment, not institutional affiliation. Our monthly in-person sessions are held at accessible locations in Greater Boston.

Resources vary significantly by institution. Harvard and MIT have dedicated first-gen graduate student groups and programming — find them through your institution's graduate student association. Northeastern's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers advising specifically for underrepresented graduate students. BU has the Graduate Student Organization and the Diversity and Inclusion office. Regardless of institutional resources, Leadership Brainery provides programming specifically designed for first-gen doctoral and professional students in Boston — fill the gap where your institution's resources fall short.