Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center

With a creative student body, world-class faculty, and hands-on, problem-solving culture, MIT is an institution with the ability to "build a better world." MIT's Priscilla King Gray Public Center for Public Service (PKG Center) taps and expands MIT students’ unique skills and interests to prepare them to explore and address complex social and environmental challenges. They educate students to collaborate ethically and effectively with community partners to engage in meaningful public service, today and in their lives beyond MIT.

Whether students want to tackle climate change, health, or how they can use tech for social good, staff at the center help them explore their interests and apply their skills to pressing social problems. Through PKG Center programs, students can work with local and global communities to develop and build sustainable programs in healthcare, energy and environment, education, and more. Their programs are designed to be academically-aligned and progressively challenging so MIT students of all academic levels can find a project that fits their interests. Most programs take place at times that work best for MIT students—over Independent Activities Period (IAP), summer, and spring break. The center provides guidance—and often funding— to get students out there, working side-by-side with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and social enterprises that are driving change locally and around the world.

The PKG Center works with MIT students from every school and department, both graduate and undergraduate. By giving students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and ingenuity in real-world contexts, public service experiences can complement and enhance their education, regardless of their field of study.

To learn more about public service at MIT, visit the PKG Center website, send an email, or visit the office in W20-549.