Why MIT’s MFin Program Is So Hot

Heidi Pickett, director of the Master of Finance at MIT Sloan

In the second edition of P&Q Live, our new weekly podcast on all things business school, Poets&Quants Founder John A. Byrne explores the pros and cons of MOOC courses in business, the popularity of MIT Sloan’s Master of Finance program for pre-experienced students, and the odds of an MBA applicant getting into one of his dream schools.

Senior writer Jeff Schmitt highlights the best of the forthcoming free online business courses that start in July. His guide to the best MOOCs in business features over 40 business-related MOOCs coming out in July. Wharton again headlines this month’s courses, offering intro courses in marketing, operations, and financial accounting, taught by the same professors that MBAs and EMBAs enjoy in Wharton’s vaunted core curriculum. The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business returns with Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management, taught by Yael Grushka-Cockayne, one of the top teachers at a program distinguished for its teaching excellence. If you’re looking for real star power, check out Financial Markets by Yale’s Bob Shiller, a former recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Heidi Pickett, director of the Master of Finance at MIT Sloan, explains why the 12-month and 18-month program is among the most selective in the world, with 17 applicants vying for every seat in the class. This past year, there was a 22% increase in applications for the program, ranked for three consecutive years by the Financial Times as the best Master of Finance offering in the U.S.

And finally, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg is back to assess the chances of a junior manager at a Fortune 500 company who wants to get his MBA from one of the best business schools in the U.S. The European professional has racked up four years at a global pharma company with two promotions, and boasts a 780 GMAT and a 3.4 grade-point average from an Ivy League university where he did a double major in engineering and economics. He wants the MBA “to jump from commercial strategy/operations to business development and move up the corporate ladder in big pharma.”

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