MIT Sloan, widely regarded as the home for the less flashy Tech and Finance leaders, has made headlines recently, earning the title of the MBA program that fetches the best post-MBA salary.
In this in-depth analysis of the MIT Sloan MBA program, we cover:
• MIT Sloan MBA Incoming Class Profile (2021)
• MIT Sloan MBA Fees
• MIT Sloan MBA - Financial Aid and Scholarships
• MIT Sloan MBA Curriculum – Overview
• MIT Sloan MBA Labs
• Independent Activities Period (IAP)
• MIT Sloan Intensive Period (SIP)
• Leadership Development at MIT Sloan Full-time MBA
• MIT Sloan MBA Tracks
• MIT Sloan MBA Application Process
• MIT Sloan MBA – LGO (Dual Degree)
• MIT Post-MBA Salary (2009-2021)
• MIT Sloan Post-MBA Salary (By Industry) (2021)
• MIT Sloan Post-MBA Salary (By Function) (2021)
• MIT Sloan Post-MBA Employment (By Geographical Location) (2021)
MIT Sloan MBA Incoming Class Profile (2021)
At MIT Sloan, known as the home of engineers, transitioning to careers in Consulting and Finance – the 2023 graduating class has attracted 33% from engineering, followed by Economics (19%) and Business (18%).
Consulting (22%) background is the widely represented pre-MBA industry. Financial services were closely behind (21%), and technology (16%) third. 12% from Government, Non-profit and Education is one of the highest representation of the industry in any top MBA program.
The entry criteria as in top schools have remained stringent with the median GMAT score at 730 and GPA at 3.59, while the average experience has been a traditional 5 years.
| Entry | MIT Sloan (Median) |
|---|---|
| GMAT | 730 |
| GRE (Quant) | 165 |
| GRE (Verbal) | 165 |
| GPA | 3.63 |
MIT Sloan MBA Fees
The total 1-year fee at MIT Sloan School of Management’s MBA comes at a premium of $117,998. Tuition, which is the bulk of the expense, is at $78,954 with housing ($15,750), food ($6,225), personal expenses and health insurance ($9,321), transport ($2,250), and books/supplies ($930) contributing to the total. Computer charges for the first year are at $2,000. These fees are generally due in the months of August and January.
Monthly Installment at MIT Sloan MBA: Alternatively, candidates can also avail a 10-month installment plan with monthly payments.
Living and adjusting costs are slightly higher for international students depending on the additional expenses of visa applications or accommodating dependents & family members.
MIT Sloan MBA - Financial Aid and Scholarships
All students who successfully enroll at MIT are automatically funneled into an independent evaluation for Financial Aid.
There are 86 eligible fellowships that all candidates, including international students, are considered.
These fellowships are awarded based on academic excellence, professional achievements, and potential to grow the MIT Sloan community. Some of these fellowships are sponsored by companies such as the Samsung Fellowship and the Exxon Education Foundation Fellowship.
ASEAN has two fellowships, one with student support and the other one without.
In addition, there are 11 more scholarships that have different eligibility criteria and require a separate application form to be filled. For example, the McKinsey Award seeks three students for outstanding academic and leadership with impact achievement for a reward of $10,000.
The nationality-based scholarships that support candidates with residence in a particular nationality offer a minimum scholarship that covers the cost of study with a stipend for living expenses. The fellowships also award candidates from both the for-profit and non-profit industries.
| Name | Eligibility | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Aker Scholarship | Norwegian Nationals | Full cost of study and living expenses |
| Fundacion Gondra Barandiaran | Spanish Nationals with engineering degrees | Full tuition for two years |
| Kennedy Memorial Trust Scholarships | British Nationals | Academic Award |
| Legatum Fellowship | Select entrepreneurial graduate students at MIT with a commitment to starting a business in a low-income country after graduation | Up to $50,000 in tuition/stipend support, as well as access to additional travel and prototyping funds. |
| MIT-China Scholarship Council Fellowship Program | Chinese Nationals | Standard stipend, full tuition, international round-trip airfare, and appropriate fees. |
| MIT Public Service Center Fellowship | Leading role in implementing service projects for a community organisation | Consultant or partnership role with their supervisors |
| Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program | Veteran of the US military | $15,000 |
| The Zuckerman Fellowship | Dual degree students only | Full tuition and health insurance fees for one year plus a living stipend. |
MIT Sloan MBA Curriculum - Overview (2021)
Core Curriculum
The core curriculum at MIT provides MBA students with a functional perspective to the future roles they might choose with an emphasis on developing leadership and communication skills. The scope is on strengthening their peer-to-peer learning and adopting strategies that increase their influence as leaders and in persuading diverse stakeholders.
| MIT Core (2021) | Description |
|---|---|
| Economic Analysis for Business Decisions | Combination of managerial decision making with microeconomics |
| Data, Models, and Decisions | Statistical and Optimization tools for management functions |
| Communication for Leaders | Individual and team strategies to communication with practice |
| Organizational Processes | Looking at organizations from a strategic design, political and cultural lens |
| Financial Accounting | Analysis and critically evaluating financial information presented |
Electives
The Sloan MBA program’s core electives are strongly structured around gaining, maintaining, and exploiting competitive advantage. By touching on tools and frameworks for addressing and managing information and risk, along with problem-solving through case studies, MIT’s case-based approach is strong in imparting competitive strategy and marketing innovation.
| MIT Sloan MBA Electives (2021) | Description |
|---|---|
| Managerial Finance | Company valuations, raising capital and managing risk |
| Intro to Operations Management | Managing uncertainty and interdependence of functions, eg: finance and operations. |
| Competitive Strategy | Problem-solving through different case studies |
| Marketing Innovation | Combination of marketing principles with analytics through cases, lectures and a project |
MIT Sloan MBA Labs
Experiential learning is extensive at MIT with students offered with 11 labs – from market-based focus like China, US, and Israel labs, leveraging each economy’s unique strengths to industry-focus, like healthcare or technology, to function-focus like analytics, operations, or sustainability.
| Lab Name | Focus |
|---|---|
| Analytics Lab | Business problem-solving or innovation using bid data |
| China at a Crossroads: China Lab | Experience running a business in the Chinese market |
| Entrepreneurship Lab | Modern scientific technology such as AI, blockchain etc with Intellectual Property |
| Enterprise Management Lab | Leadership of global businesses |
| Global Entrepreneurship Lab | Experience in SME start-ups, high-growth companies or non-profits |
| Healthcare Lab | Organizational challenges in healthcare service delivery and systems changes |
| Israel Lab | Experience running a business in the Israeli market |
| Operations Lab | Solving operational problems |
| SSIM Organizations Lab | Assisting businesses in the Boston area with their chosen mission |
| Laboratory for Sustainable Business | Aligning a business with strategic and sustainable practices |
| USA Lab | Experience running a business in the American market |
Independent Activities Period (IAP)
With studies on unstructured learning showing immense improvement in developing emotional intelligence, the IAP at MIT Sloan, known as the 4-1-4 on campus, is a one-month of unstructured learning where MBA faculty and students organize, sponsor, and participate informal events. Although these activities do not carry academic merit, they provide opportunities to develop a deep bond with peers and develop a strong understanding of influencing each other outside rigid work or business environments.
MIT Sloan Intensive Period (SIP)
During the Intensive Period, MIT’s mission of producing “principled, innovative leaders” is fulfilled. Through practical skills in morals and ethics, working under pressure as well as broader issues of identity and truth are taught through 3-day workshops.
Recently, 70 MBA students took the “Leading Businesses for People and Profits and Shaping the Future of Work” SIP, where they explored emerging technologies of artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data to solve problems in competitive and profit-making strategies while practicing their ethical leadership skills.
Leadership Development at MIT Sloan Full-time MBA
Leadership at MIT is developed through 21 electives with varying themes and creative solutions like Leadership Stories: Literature, Ethics, and Authority, and EnActing Leadership: Shakespeare and Performance.
Ethical leadership lessons are offered with a practical lens on incentives in the course Ethical Practice: Leading Through Professionalism Social Responsibility, and System.
A more business-oriented leadership is targeted in Strategic Organizational Design and Entrepreneurial Founding on Teams. Those who want to refine their leadership style should consider U-Lab: Transforming Self, Business and Society, and SSIM: Leading the Way: Individual and Organizational Perspectives on Advancing.
Candidates entering high-pressure finance roles would find the Leadership Lessons Learned from the Military elective a valuable experience to pick strategies in pivoting and excelling in a dynamic and high-pressure environment where life-death decisions and intergenerational wars could be triggered with one misstep.
| MIT Sloan MBA | Leadership Electives | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership Stories: Literature, Ethics, and Authority | Discovering Your Leadership Signature | SSIM: Leadership in Practice: Making and Learning | |
| Ethical Practice: Leading Through Professionalism, Social Responsibility, and System | Strategic Organizational Design | SSIM: Organizations Lab | |
| Advanced Leadership Communication | Improvisational Leadership: In the Moment Leadership Skills | SSIM: ID Lab: Individual Development and Interpersonal Dynamics | |
| EnActing Leadership: Shakespeare and Performance | Developing Leadership Capabilities | SSIM: Teams Lab: Leading Effective Teams | |
| Being Effective: Power and Influence | Entrepreneurial Founding and Teams | SSIM: Leading the Way: Individual and Organizational Perspectives on Advancing | |
| Leadership Lessons Learned from the Military | Building Successful Careers and Organizations | SSIM: Managing Crucial Conversations About & Across Difference | |
| U-Lab: Transforming Self, Business and Society | Leading Creative Teams | Leadership in Real Estate |
MIT Sloan MBA Tracks
Candidates can zone into a specialization of their choice and tap into a wide professional network at MIT with the Finance, Entrepreneurship and Management, or the Enterprise management track.
Each of these tracks has its own specialized electives.
Finance
The track is ideal for those who are currently in Finance or those who are transitioning from a subject matter expert in Finance (Technology domain). The required courses, electives, and experiential learning in the track help the students build the foundational skills in Financial management. The Finance lab validates the research-driven findings at MIT with a practical implication of hedging and other strategies, led by practitioners – a balance essential to learn the cutting edge approaches in the specialization.
Candidates who select the Finance track are awarded a certificate in Finance along with their MBA on graduation.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Track (E&I)
E&I is ideal for those who are already committed to a start-up (own or joining). The emphasis is on developing a strong foundation in Technology Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and the challenges faced at operational and product development levels. The E&I students are mentored by successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders with a certificate offered along with the MBA degree.
Enterprise Management Tracks
This track is typically chosen by students who want to venture into consulting (38.5% of the entire class). The demands from this track enable students to not only get a perspective from the view of executive management but also from a cross-functional perspective. In addition to the core electives, this track requires a SIP in management practice, additional electives in business analytics, product development and innovation, and global management.
MIT Sloan MBA Application Process
MIT Sloan’s MBA application process just requires one 300-word cover letter demonstrating how the candidate has left an impressible footprint by taking on intellectual problems and passionately applying their technical and interpersonal skills to deliver world-class results. The formal tone of the cover letter helps the admission team separate the authentic from the spin.
No additional written essays are required to be completed.
Organizational Chart: Applicants are required to attach an organizational chart that clearly demonstrates their position within the organization, the responsibilities, the chain of command, and the supervisory roles, if any.
Video Essay: A 60-second video introducing themselves, looking straight at the camera without any editing or post-production is another required aspect of the MBA application.
Recommendation Letter: MIT only requires letters from one recommender and follows GMAC’s three-question probe regarding their interaction with the candidate capturing the strengths compared to the peers, constructive feedback, and any other information. In addition, there is a grading matrix on the candidate’s overall performance in leadership, communication, and problem-solving
MIT Sloan MBA Application Fees: The application fee is $250 (US Dollars) for most applicants. However, there is a waiver for select applicants such as active military personnel or veterans. Teach for America members and alumni are also exempt from the application fee. There are three rounds of applications each year. The first round is in September, the second in January, and the third round in April.
MIT Sloan MBA – LGO (Dual Degree)
LGO is a dual degree that can be pursued at MIT along with an MBA to gain an MS (Master of Science) in Engineering. Usually, 13% of the MBA class pursue this route. The specific department is selected at the application stage from the eight varying disciplines of engineering - Aeronautics and Astronautics, Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Operations Research.
The core courses taken in the summer for the LGO dual degree are Organizational Leadership and Change, Lean Tools and Applications, Programming in Python, Operations Management, Building and Leading Effective Teams, Systems Optimization and Analysis, and Probability, Statistics, Data Analytics, and Machine Learning. It covers leadership, efficiency, programming and quantitative measuring, and analysis of variables.
Product Design and Development is a key elective that counts towards the MBA or engineering elective.
The Medical Device Design and a more general Product Design and Development elective trains the candidate on the whole design from user needs to the technical architecture of the product to prototyping or simulations and the iteration process of product development.
Robotics, Drug development, and surface engineering are some of the other interesting electives candidates can choose from.
As with the full-time MBA, LGO candidates are also required to take Action Learning Labs and build their profile through the six-month off-campus internships.
Analytics Lab, Global Entrepreneurship Lab, Healthcare Lab, Operations Lab, and Sustainability Lab are the popular choices for LGO candidates, while the internship is evaluated jointly by management and engineering supervisors.
MIT Post-MBA Salary (2009-2021)
By Function
Consulting was the leading choice of function for Sloanies (40% in 2021), remaining stable in the 35-38% over a 12-year period since 2009.
Product Management and Product development is a growth function, with the offers growing steadily from the low of 7.7% in 2009 and the 2012 low (6.6%), reaching 17% in 2021.
By Industry
In 2021, 28% opted for Technology (internet/software, computers/electronics, telecommunications) industry that began at a low 10.1% in 2009.
Technology is forecast to attract talented management professionals in the future as well with the disruption in FinTech, Crypto, and online governance/management products.
MIT Sloan Post-MBA Salary (By Industry) (2021)
Consulting was also the leading choice of industry, followed by Technology and Finance. One possible reason is the high median base salary of $165,000 despite the sign-on bonus in Finance being $25,000 higher at $50,000.
| Industry | % | Median | Sign-on Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 31% | $165,000 | $25,000 |
| Technology | 28% | $149,250 | No data |
| Finance | 19% | $150,000 | $50,000 |
MIT Sloan Post-MBA Salary (By Function) (2021)
Consulting was the most popular function, with 69 students hired full-time by MBB (McKinsey 20, Bain 13, and BCG 36). Blue-chip companies like Amazon and Google bagged 19 and 14 Sloanies, respectively.
| Function | % | Median Base Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 40% | $165,000 |
| Finance | 17% | $150,000 |
| Marketing | 4% | $135,000 |
| Product Management | 17% | $140,000 |
| Operations/Strategy/Planning | 12% | $135,000 |
MIT Sloan Post-MBA Employment (By Geographical Location) (2021)
89% of Sloanies were hired in North America, most in the cities of Boston (23%) and New York (20%), San Francisco Bay Area (15%), Seattle (8.4%), and Los Angeles (4.9%) with a median salary of $150,000.
4% were hired in Europe with a median base salary of $120,000 and 3% in Asia with a median base salary of $127,500.
The employment scope for international students is positive as Sloan’s STEM MBA gives them an additional 24 months of stay in the US to gather work experience.
Although the geographic split of the class was 62% domestic students and 38% international, 89% placement in North America satisfied the secondary goal of international MBA candidates – find a credible path to gain citizenship in the US.
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