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From Taipei Tech to MIT: Getting Into the MIT Media Arts and Science MS
Updated 2026/10/16
Jason’s Memo
Vinci went from mechanical engineering at Taipei Tech to the MIT Media Lab. The key was spending time there first as a visiting student:
- Visiting student: after graduating, Vinci was a visiting student at MIT, so the professor already knew what he could do. That was the main reason he was admitted.
- Portfolio: you must upload a portfolio, with the link at the end of your SOP. You can pick at most 3 groups, so how well you fit the lab matters a lot.
- Timing: keep your GPA above 3.5, do plenty of off-campus activities in your first two years, and focus on building projects and research experience in your last two.
Today’s guest is Vinci, a mechanical engineering graduate of National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech), who shares how he made his dream of joining the MIT Media Lab come true!
Vinci’s Profile
- Internships:
- Delta Research Center intern (during the semester + summer)
- MIT Media Lab Visiting Student
- Extracurriculars:
- Robotics club (organized on-campus robot competitions; took part in TDK Robocon, Maker Faire and a parent-child maker festival)
- MIT Mobility Workshop (Best Team Award)
- Volunteering:
- Remote English teaching for rural schools
- Phone outreach for a women’s association
- Scholarships (these paid for all four years of university):
- Taipei Tech Lung Yu Scholarship (four years)
- Recipient in the first cohort of the Hon Hai (Foxconn) Foundation scholarship
- Lien-Te Industrial and Commercial Development Foundation Scholarship (four years)
- 2015 Jabil Green Point Scholarship
- Ministry of Education overseas internship grant (internship at the MIT Media Lab)
Can You Tell Us About the MIT Media Arts and Science MS?
A fun way to describe the Media Lab is that it’s a bit like Hogwarts. Its groups research everything from neuroscience, wireless communication, robotics and human-computer interfaces to AI and social justice, urban planning and the opera of the future. It’s hard to define the Media Lab with the usual academic categories, and in its early days it was called “a house of misfits.” Within the university it now sits under the School of Architecture and Planning. My group is City Science, which has three focus areas: City Scope, Dynamic House, and Future Mobility. We mainly explore urban planning and what cities could look like in the future.
Why Did You Choose This Program?
It started in junior high, when I watched the TED Talk SixthSense technology | Pranav Mistry. I’ve thought the Media Lab was a really cool place ever since. I also love Iron Man, so I always dreamed of getting into MIT. I chose mechanical engineering in college because I like building things with my hands.
Why a Master’s? What Are Your Plans?
My goal is a PhD, but the Media Lab doesn’t admit students straight into its PhD program. Only its own master’s students can apply.
Why Did You Pick This School in the End?
Cornell’s Human Environment Relations MS didn’t give me a scholarship (sad). MIT offered a full scholarship, so how could I say no?
How Would You Rank the Admission Criteria for This Program?
- Visiting student experience (the professor remembered me)
- Portfolio
- Recommendation letters (one from MIT, two from university professors)
- Internships/research
- SOP
- Language test scores
- GPA
- GRE (they don’t look at it at all)
Which Experience Made You Outshine Other Applicants?
Being a visiting student at MIT after graduation was probably the main reason I got in. The professor knew me and knew what I could do.
What Are the Basic Requirements, and What Kind of Profile Helps?
The lab requires you to upload a portfolio and put the link at the end of your SOP. So your fit with the lab you want matters a lot: do they need the skills you have?
You can choose at most 3 groups when you apply to the Media Lab, and each group works on very different research topics, so it’s hard to say which skills give you an edge.
Where Should Applicants Look for Information?
The Media Lab website. Check which groups and topics are new, and you’ll find it easier to spot a group that matches your skill set.
How Did You Cope While Waiting for an Offer?
I did my best and left the rest to fate. If the professor didn’t take me, that was his loss.
Any Advice on a Master’s Application Timeline? How Should You Prepare at Each Stage?
- Work hard to keep your GPA above 3.5
- Actively build your portfolio and research experience
- In your first and second years, do lots of off-campus activities; in your third and fourth years, focus on building projects and research experience
- English test scores expire, so take the test in the second half of your third year or the first half of your fourth (if you have spare cash, you could take it earlier as practice?)
Any Regrets From University or the Application Process?
After my visit at MIT ended, I waited a year before applying, which was a pity: the following year, because of the pandemic, the lab didn’t take anyone in 2021.
[How You Applied] Agency, DIY or Half DIY? Why?
DIY. Agencies charge a lot, and I read too many horror stories online (sad), so I ruled them out right away.
A Message for Younger Students
Dreams really do come true!
Jason’s Takeaway
Vinci ranks the criteria as visiting student experience, then portfolio, then recommendation letters. GPA comes near the bottom, and in his words the GRE “doesn’t get looked at at all.”
Jason, admitted to Columbia Business School’s MBA at 22 and founder of OfferLand.cc
Next step: Check the Media Lab website for its newest groups and topics, and find the ones that match your skill set.
