career-compatible graduate education
Created in 1996 in response to industry’s need to develop the next generation of leaders, SDM is at the forefront of graduate education at MIT. Not an MBA, SDM combines cutting-edge courses from the MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT’s School of Engineering, enriching the experience with innovative distance learning, flexible matriculation options and an interdisciplinary perspective. SDM prepares graduates to think outside the box, lead across organizational boundaries and inspire others to collaborate and innovate in both technical and nontechnical arenas.
The centerpiece of SDM’s portfolio is its rigorous 13- to 24-month graduate program. Built on a foundation of core courses in system architecture, systems engineering, and system and project management—and integrated with classes in engineering and specially designed courses in management—this program leads to a master of science degree granted jointly by MIT Sloan and the School of Engineering. Accepted applicants can enroll as full-time on-campus students or part-time commuters/distance learners. All SDM fellows, wherever they may live, work together in global teams on class assignments throughout matriculation.
SDM students are among the best and brightest of their generation, carefully selected for the ability to think holistically and to succeed in SDM’s unique, demanding, interdisciplinary curriculum. Upon graduation, many SDM alumni capitalize on their state-of-the-art skills in systems thinking and innovation to take on leadership roles in a wide range of organizations.
All SDMs participate in a vibrant lifelong learning community where students, alumni, faculty and industry partners share knowledge, work to improve the SDM program and support each other in creating new strategies for success.
MIT’s SDM program presents a systems approach to leadership and innovation, which is the beginning of a new way of thinking and a new way of life.
