FAQ

To apply for the Fab Academy course you must complete the online application form. You will find it here. After you send your application, the instructor of the Node you selected will contact you to do an interview (in-person or via skype). In the following weeks, the Coordination team will be in touch to let you know the results of the selection process.

Although there is no specific qualification required, it is recommended that you have general knowledge of 2D and 3D design, electronic programming, and web design and development. We have many Tutorials available for you to familiarize yourself with these. If you have no experience in these areas, the course should be considered a full-time dedication program. If you rate your proficiency between High and Expert, you can consider the program to be part-time.

After you send your application, the instructor of the Node you selected will contact you to do an interview (in-person or via skype). In the following weeks, the Coordination team will be in touch to let you know the results of the selection process.

If you have received an acceptance letter and payment instructions, this means you have been accepted to the program. To confirm your place, you need to pay the deposit.

Find more information here.

Not necessarily. During the online application process, you will be asked to select a Fab Lab (Node) in which to follow the program. After your submission, the chosen Fab Lab will contact you to do an interview (in-person or via skype). If they don’t reach you, or you have a specific request, you can contact them directly. See the contact list here.

You will need to contact your local Fab Lab to find out more about individual assignments.

Once students receive their acceptance letter, a down payment of 2000 USD/€ must be made to secure the place. The remainder of the tuition fees can be paid in one or two installments.

The 2000 USD or € confirmation fee is non-refundable. The remainder of the tuition fees may be refunded in accordance with our Payment Policies.

The Fab Academy is a Digital Fabrication Program directed by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT’s Center For Bits and Atoms, and based on MIT’s rapid prototyping course, MAS 863: How to Make (Almost) Anything. There is no global accreditation for these skills. Instead, each student builds a portfolio that documents their mastery of these skills individually, and their integration. The Fab Diploma is awarded by the Fab Academy. It has no institutional connection with MIT (and none should be claimed), but a number of the participating sites offer it overlaid with their local accreditation. It recognizes readiness to work in, and establish, a Fab Lab. The Fab Diploma has led to students obtaining employment, investment, admission, and recognition.

In recent years, numerous institutions have started accrediting the skills developed in the Fab Academy course. Some of these institutions are listed here.

Studying remotely, with no local instructor, is not a viable option. Beyond the technical skills, Fab Academy has a unique structure and dynamics that makes it particularly challenging to follow alone and from a distance – sooner or later, students find it hard to keep up.

Fab Academy tuition fees are based on the combination of local costs (the costs needed to run the course in the local Node that hosts the program) and central costs (infrastructural costs and services provided by the Fab Academy Central Coordination & Administration). Central costs are fixed and local costs are variable. Please check the precise fee for each Node here.

Payments are made through a secure payment platform: FLYWIRE. You will receive payment instructions when you get accepted to the program.

Find information about the Fab Academy Scholarship Program here.

Between 20 and 35 hours a week of dedication, depending on your technical background.

English

Although there are no TOEFL / GRE requirements, we do expect our students to have a very good level of English, both speaking and writing. It is the language in which you will be evaluated.

If your city is not listed in the online application form this may be because your local Fab Lab is not offering the Fab Academy this year, or because it does not yet fulfill all the requirements for becoming an active Fab Academy Node.

You can find the active Nodes List here.

Yes, you can take the Fab Academy in any of the listed active Fab Academy Nodes.

But bear in mind that the Fab Academy fees only cover the education and not the expenses of travelling and living abroad.

For the Project Development assignment, you must document a final project that integrates the range of units covered. The final project topic is chosen by you.

To graduate, you need to achieve 3 objectives:

• Complete (make and document) all the certificates.
• Present your Final Project to your peers. There are two opportunities for this:
  • End of June
  • Mid-January (when the new cycle starts)
• Pass the Global Evaluation. Once you are ready, contact Coordination and we’ll walk you through the procedure. Find more on Evaluation Process here.

If you are not able to finish in the natural course of the program (January to July) or in the rest of the cycle (until December), you can finish in your own time and tell us when you are ready. Bear in mind that this may result in added costs.