MIT Sloan completed its new central building, known asE62, in 2010.
The MIT Sloan School of Management began in 1914 as the engineering administration curriculum ("Course 15") in the MIT Department of Economics and Statistics. The scope and depth of this educational focus grew steadily in response to advances in the theory and practice of management.[4]
A program offering a master's degree in management was established in 1925. The world's first university-based mid-career education program—theSloan Fellows program—was created in 1931 under the sponsorship ofAlfred P. Sloan, himself an 1895 MIT graduate, who was the chief executive officer ofGeneral Motors and has since been credited with creating the modern corporation.[5] AnAlfred P. Sloan Foundation grant established the MIT School of Industrial Management in 1952 with the charge of educating the "ideal manager". In 1964, the school was renamed in Sloan's honor as the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. In the following decades, the school grew to the point that in 2000, management became the second-largest undergraduate major at MIT. In 2005, an undergraduate minor in management was opened to 100 students each year. In 2014, the school celebrated 100 years of management education at MIT.[6]
The curriculum is focused on action learning, which requires that students apply concepts learned in the classroom to real-world business settings. Courses are taught using thecase method, lectures, team projects, and hands-on Action Learning Labs. The academic level of coursework is considered extremely demanding by business school standards, with a greater emphasis on analytical reasoning andquantitative analysis than most programs.[3]
Academic rigor has a strong influence on the school's culture. The first semester, also known as the core, is often considered the most difficult semester by design. Courses are graded using letter grades and on the standard five-point MIT scale. In its graduate programs, anything less than a 4.0 ('B') average will result in the student not being allowed to graduate. Unlike most business schools, MIT Sloan does not offer any academic honors at graduation, consistent with the practice throughout all of MIT. The philosophy behind this is that the 'honor' is in being an MIT graduate.[15]
MIT Sloan closely collaborates with other parts of MIT, in particular theSchool of Engineering, theSchool of Science, and theDepartment of Economics. A special joint degree program with the School of Engineering is theLeaders for Global Operations (LGO) program, where students concurrently complete an MBA and a Master of Science in engineering.[16] Another joint degree program aimed at students with more industry experience (an average of 8 to 10 years) is the System Design and Management (SDM) program,[17] where students complete a Master of Science in Engineering and Management.
MIT Sloan degrees are conferred at Killian Court in the Institute-wide commencement.
Creativity and invention are constant themes at the school. The MBA track inEntrepreneurship & Innovation features action learning labs which pair students with companies to learn how to solve complex problems relating to emerging technologies. These action learning labs includeEntrepreneurship Lab,Innovation Teams, andLeading Sustainable Systems Lab.Global Entrepreneurship Lab andGlobal Health Delivery Lab send MBA students to work onsite with startups in different parts of the world. TheMartin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, one of the few business school entrepreneurship centers in the world focused onhigh tech, offers many other entrepreneurial activities and mentorship throughout the year.[18] The annualMIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is one of the largest business plan competitions in the world, helping to launch more than 130 companies with a market capitalization of over $15 billion.[19]
In 2016, the school's MBA program was ranked #2 worldwide for social and environmental impact byCorporate Knights magazine.[20]
MIT Sloan operates two global offices, the MIT Sloan Latin America Office (MSLAO) inSantiago,Chile, and the MIT Sloan Office for Southeast Asian Nations (MSAO) inBangkok,Thailand.[21][22] MSLAO opened in 2013, and MSAO is expected to open in October 2024.[23][24]
MIT Sloan students and alumni informally call themselvesSloanies. The MIT Sloan culture is similar to, but also distinct from, overallMIT culture, and is influenced most strongly by its MBA program. MBA students come from more than 60 countries every year, with just over half coming fromNorth America, and 60% holding US citizenship. Prior to business school, engineering is the most popular undergraduate major among students. 46% of the class is female.[25]
Walker Memorial is the primary venue for C-Functions and other events.
A staple of MIT Sloan MBA life is the weeklyC-Function, which stands for "cultural function" or "consumption function". The school sponsors food and drink for all members of the MIT Sloan graduate community to enjoy entertainment organized by specific campus cultural groups or clubs as well as parties with non-cultural themes. C-Functions are usually held most Thursdays in the Walker Memorial building, which is also used as the venue for many other MIT Sloan community events. MIT Sloan alumni groups around the world also organize C-Functions for their club members, for social and networking activities.
Students at MIT Sloan run over 70 active clubs.[26] Some of the most popular clubs are theSloan Women in Management Club;[27] theEntrepreneurship & Innovation Club; theDesign Club; theFinance Club; theManagement Consulting Club; theEntertainment, Media and Sports Club; theVenture Capital and Private Equity Club; theProduct Management Club;[28] and theTechnology Club. TheSloan Business Club is the official undergraduate business club for all MIT students.[29]
Throughout the school year, a number of professional and academic conferences are organized by, or in partnership with, the school. Annual highlights include theMIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, the MIT Venture Capital & Innovation Conference, the Sloan Women in Management Breaking the Mold Conference, the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, and the MIT Sloan CFO Summit. The most visible conference—and the largest student-run conference in the world—is theMIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, whichFast Company ranked the #3 most innovative sports company, behind only the NFL andMLB Advanced Media.[30]
Like the rest of the institute, MIT Sloan students have an extended period between semesters reserved for special activities. During the month of January, there are no formal classes at the school; instead, they are replaced by what is known as theIndependent Activities Period (IAP). During IAP, students engage in activities that would be challenging to participate in alongside regular classes, often including international travel programs. In the middle of semesters, the MBA program has an additional, shorter gap, called the Sloan Innovation Period (SIP), focusing on intensive experiential leadership activities outside of the classroom.[31]
^Morales, Andrew (August 1, 2014)."Where We Earn Our Honors". MIT Sloan School of Management. Archived fromthe original on July 16, 2020. RetrievedAugust 1, 2015.
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