The MIT Sloan MBA: What You Need To Know
MIT Sloan consistently ranks as one of the top MBA programs in the world. Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, Sloan’s full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world. Sloan first offered their MBA in 1995 and had offered a Master of Science in Management Science (MSMS) for decades prior.
Sloan welcomes a large average class of 408 students annually and in the MBA world, large typically equals diverse. Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Levenson says her favorite part of the MBA community at Sloan is the diversity.
“The MIT Sloan student community is diverse not only in terms of nationality, race, and ethnicity, but also in terms of intellectual perspective and life experience. The student culture is highly collaborative and is perhaps best characterized in its slogan, “Sloanies helping Sloanies.” This spirit of collaboration comes through in a similarly named conversational podcast, Sloanies Talking Sloanies, in which alumni and faculty discuss their MIT Sloan experience and how it influences what they are doing today.”
MIT’s Latin motto, “mens et manus,” translates to “mind and hand.” MIT’s founders were promoting that education, above all, was for practical application and highlighting experiential learning as a centerpiece of the MBA experience.
After their first-semester core courses, students have three semesters to create a program that fits their interests. In total, they’ll complete 144 units of electives.
There are three hands-on learning experiences unique to the Sloan curriculum. The first is the 15-20 annual Action Learning Labs, where students work on projects collaboratively with organizations ranging from startups in an emerging market to well-established corporations focusing on areas such as analytics, operations, strategy, finance or marketing.
The next is MIT Sloan Intensive Period, where students focus specifically on leadership and ethics. SIP purposefully differs from coursework, giving students the opportunity to switch gears, take a deep dive into specific topics for a short period of time, and try out new practical skills.
The third is the MIT Independent Activities Period running throughout January where students are encouraged to set their own educational agendas, pursue independent projects, meet with faculty, or pursue many other options not possible during the semester.
MIT Sloan offers tracks specifically for MBA students and Certificates open to all MIT graduate students to give students the opportunity to dive deep into what interests them. Track options include the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Track, Enterprise Management Track, and the Finance Track. Certificate options include the Business Analytics Certificate, the Healthcare Systems Certificate and the Sustainability Certificate.
Their only stated requirements is to have completed a Bachelor’s degree and to submit a completed application which includes a cover letter, valid GMAT or GRE, letter of recommendation, transcripts, and short video introducing oneself to their future classmates.
The MBA Internship requirement is a key component of the experience, creating an opportunity to apply new knowledge as students gain additional professional experience in preparation for what comes after their degree.
Outside of the classroom, Sloan students have the opportunity to engage in over 80 clubs and conferences such as the world’s largest student-run conference, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and competitions like the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition which enables students across campus to launch a startup.
MIT Sloan MBA Rankings Data
MIT Sloan MBA Employment Stats
B-School SmackDown Reports:
Sloan vs. Harvard Business School
Sloan vs. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
MBA Program Consideration Set:
Stretch Schools: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton
Match Schools: Columbia, Dartmouth, Northwestern’s Kellogg School, Berkeley, Duke, Virginia
Safe Schools: New York University, Michigan, Yale, Cornell
Note: MBA Program Consideration Set: If you believe you’re a close match to this school–based on your GMAT and GPA scores, your age and work experience, you should look at these other competitive full-time MBA programs as well. We list them by stretch, match, and safety. These options are presented on the basis of brand image and ranking status as a general guideline.
