The 6A program has been connecting students with some of the world’s most impactful companies for over 100 years. It allows students to pursue a leading-edge industry project at a member organization, while simultaneously working towards their degree. For Industry, it helps create a pipeline of talent. More than 2,500 Course 6 students have gone through the program over the years, including Amar Bose (founder of Bose Corporation), Cecil Green (founder of Texas Instruments), Andrew Viterbi (founder of Qualcomm), Ray Stata (founder of Analog Devices), Thuan Pham (Uber CTO), and many others.
The students typically join the program as Course 6 Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and PhDs who complete a series of three and six-month work assignments at their chosen company. MEng students are assigned both an industry mentor and a faculty advisor, and the work students complete during their stay at the company is then used toward their MEng thesis.
The 6-A program currently has three different tracks to provide maximum flexibility to students:
Track #1 Undergraduate students can do 3-month full-time internships in industry and government labs.
Track #2 Provides full-time 6-month internships to MEng students. In this track, the student will do an internship at a 6-A company during which the student works on their M.Eng. Thesis.
Track #3 Ideal for Ph.D. students looking to do a 3-month full-time Summer internship
“The 6-A program has enabled Analog Devices to develop a unique relationship with MIT students, faculty and administrators. Our engineers have the luxury of working with students and faculty members on challenging problems critical to the company’s future. At the same time, we take an active role in training a future generation of engineers, some of whom, may end up working at Analog Devices. It is by far our most effective and rewarding recruiting effort!”