Are These The Best Business Programs For Managers? 

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAWNA LEVENSON, ASSISTANT DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AT MIT SLOAN

P&Q: How you would describe the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA, and who is it best suited for?  What would you say is a key differentiator?

Levenson: The MIT Sloan Fellows MBA (SFMBA) is a full-time, 1-year MBA program for mid-career professionals with general management experience looking for a dynamic, action-oriented learning environment. SFMBA students are a global community (over 40 countries represented) of individuals who are interested in learning and supporting one-another in their personal and professional growth. This program is well-established, as the oldest degree offering at MIT Sloan, soon to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and continues to focus the science of management, data-driven decision-making, and innovation through an entrepreneurial lens.

P&Q: How does the program help students develop the soft skills needed to be successful business leaders, such as communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence? 

Levenson: Leadership development is embedded into the SFMBA experience through mentorship and coaching, as well as a customizable curriculum:

• Executive Career Coaching: a diverse team of coaches are available for one-on-one and team meetings to help students identify their strengths and develop their vision for future impact as leaders. Students can decide if they want to work with one coach consistently or meet with various coaches for different insights.
• 360° Leadership Survey: starts in your first semester, an in-depth assessment of your leadership style that students build upon throughout the program and is paired with the executive coaching sessions
• Elective courses such as: Strategic Leadership Communication (exclusively for SFMBA students), Leading in Ambiguity, Power & Negotiation, and many more.
• Student Committees specifically for the SFMBA students provide opportunities to organize and lead co-curricular activities that enhance the cohort experience.
• SFMBA students actively participate in the 80+ Sloan student-led clubs, as well as 500+ MIT clubs, research centers, and case competitions with peers across the Institute.

P&Q: Why would experienced leaders and successful mid-career professionals need a Sloan Fellows MBA when they’ve already achieved so much in their career?

Levenson: The SFMBA program is a great option to consider for experienced leaders and successful mid-career professionals who are ready to explore a different path. The opportunity to step away from the working world for 1 year allows SFMBA students to fully immerse in a global network of peers to learn from, and experiment with different courses and industry interests, in a supportive environment. SFMBA students take advantage of this program to reflect and build upon the type of leader they want to be and leverage the flexibility of the program’s course and extracurricular offerings to advance or pivot their career with a focus on making a positive impact.

P&Q: Why are faculty so enthusiastic to teach MIT Sloan Fellows?

Levenson: Faculty appreciate the SFMBA students’ breadth of knowledge as seasoned professionals, and the examples shared over their journeys that they bring to the classroom They can draw from firsthand management experiences over the course of their career and share insights about different course topics that provide diverse perspectives to enrich class discussions.

P&Q: What do you think employers most appreciate when they see a Sloan Fellows MBA on a candidate’s resume?

Levenson: A Sloan Fellows MBA on a candidate’s resume signals to employers that this person is courageous and intentional about making a lasting global impact with the work they do. A Sloan Fellow is forward-thinking and does not shy away from challenges, but rather faces them head-on with curiosity and openness. They also appreciate that Sloan Fellows lead with humility and integrity, and ensure every voice is heard.

AN INTERVIEW WITH RECENT GRADUATE OF THE MIT SLOAN FELLOWS MBA, MORGAN MCCRAY

P&Q: What led you to pursue the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA at this point in your career?

McCray: Three to five years after school, you should be thinking about business. I knew at about that time that if I wanted additional training, that was the type of training I wanted. I wasn’t going to be a doctorate. I wasn’t going to be in the medical field. I wasn’t going to be an attorney. This was the kind of training that I wanted. I did enough research to also know that it was going to be MIT or nothing. So, then it was a matter of when.

And I just kept putting it off, I think, for obvious reasons of, “Wow, it’s a lot to give up a salary.” I always knew the training would be valuable, but every time I sat down to write an essay about why I wanted it, I didn’t think I was in a position to articulate what I wanted out of it other than to train. It really felt like one of those moments where preparation meets opportunity; I had the experience I needed to have in the workforce to sharpen my perspective on what I wanted in my future, but I didn’t really have a trigger point until the pandemic forced me to say, “You said this was important to you.”

I said to myself, “You chose this place, let’s see if they’ll choose you.” And so I applied, and I got it.

P&Q: What were the key factors in choosing the right program for you?

McCray: MIT Sloan is best in class for world-class operational training, which was perfect for me. Every new experience I’ve had has taught me a lot, but I didn’t have a way to compare that progress against any standards. Business school stayed in the back of my mind as a way to gut-check myself, to figure out if I was doing things right, or if I’d just been lucky.

MIT Sloan was always the dream. I knew I could test my experience and understand what I didn’t know, and with MIT as the North Star, I could figure out what areas still needed improvement. I wanted that confirmation, and Sloan could provide it.

P&Q: Tell us about the learning experience. Did it make a difference to share the program with classmates who typically have more than 10 years of professional experience?

McCray: It meant a lot to be in a classroom with such experienced people. There’s one level of understanding when you’re first introduced to a concept, but it’s different when you’re learning from someone who’s lived it. Having a CFO talk about hiring from a strategic perspective, or a senior executive discuss filling an organization with talent brings the conversation to a level you can’t get from a textbook – you can always read about the mechanics of a function, but the insight you get from those real-life experiences is invaluable. Being around people with years of experience amplifies every topic. My classmates had seen all aspects of their industries on both good and bad days.  I knew that going in, but I didn’t fully appreciate how important it would be until I was in the classroom.

Equally important were the faculty. In my opinion, the faculty for the Fellows program are some of MIT’s best. Many are tenured and bring a unique mix of research and practical expertise. Faculty members were actually the ones who helped me make my career shift through introductions and investment in my success—more than I’d experienced with any other career services.

P&Q: What is the most beneficial thing you learned about yourself from the Sloan Fellows MBA?

McCray: I learned two key things: how to trust myself and how to protect a learning-first mindset over an achievement mindset. Going back to business school at this stage of my career was about validating or disputing my self-understanding, to see if my strengths and weaknesses were really what I thought they were. MIT’s high standards gave me clarity and confidence in those areas, and I felt I could check that off against a trusted system.

Shifting to a learning-first mindset was huge. Focusing on learning as an internal goal, rather than just achieving, was a powerful lesson for me. That is something I would love to wake up and do every day with people that are bringing their best ideas to the table.

Q: How did the Career Management Center work with you to achieve your professional goals? What were some of the skills that you saw the most improvement with?

Morgan McCray: Career management at MIT Sloan isn’t just about the people, it’s also about the tools. Career planning began right from orientation and didn’t stop. Not everyone has the “perfect” timing for a career transition, and some people were still finishing up their previous roles as they started the program, while others were fully immersed.

I found that the more I talked about my ideas and engaged with classmates and faculty, the better prepared everyone was to connect me with the right to opportunities or people in the most relevant field. Similarly, the more I spoke and engaged, the more I was able to learn about the world connecting others and the spaces I’m not meant to be in.

P&Q: What would you say are the three highlights of the experience?

McCray: The people, the faculty and the culture. First, learning alongside people who had such diverse and rich professional experience made every conversation more valuable. Second, the faculty were more than just instructors—they connected us with people in the field and made career shifts possible. For example, we had a tradition where we’d prank every professor on their last day. MIT Sloan is known for its “hacks,” and we made it our own by pranking professors. One professor, who loved Diet Coke, would have his TA run out to grab him one if he didn’t have it before class. So, for the last class, we made a pyramid of a couple hundred Diet Cokes on his desk. He walked in, and it was a great send-off. Moments like those show how special the bond was in our class. Third, the Sloan culture itself — it’s very supportive, but also fun.

P&Q: What surprised you the most during your time in business school, and what advice would you give to others considering the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA?

McCray: For advice, I’d say time isn’t something you should factor into the decision. If you’re clear on who you are, what you want, how you think, and have a sense of how you can contribute, then consider this program. Ignore age or timing. This is an intense one-year program designed for those who already have substantial experience and are ready to go deeper, faster.

The core difference between the traditional MBA and the Sloan Fellows MBA is that, in the Fellows program, you’ve had enough experience to do this faster. You’re not here to test out a new industry. You’re here to learn quickly and apply immediately. Many of us made major transitions through the program by using coursework and independent studies to build evidence for our new roles. It’s about being clear on your own needs and committing to the experience fully.

NEXT PAGE: An interview with graduates of the International Masters Program for Managers.

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