diff --git a/lms/envs/aws_migrate.py b/lms/envs/aws_migrate.py
index 2b5a9f15e5..b06bb7b13c 100644
--- a/lms/envs/aws_migrate.py
+++ b/lms/envs/aws_migrate.py
@@ -21,5 +21,9 @@ DB_OVERRIDES = dict(
     PORT=os.environ.get('DB_MIGRATION_PORT', DATABASES['default']['PORT']),
 )
 
+if not DB_OVERRIDES['PASSWORD']:
+    raise ImproperlyConfigured("No database password was provided for running "
+                               "migrations.  This is fatal.")
+
 for override, value in DB_OVERRIDES.iteritems():
     DATABASES['default'][override] = value