MITs Master of Science in Engineering and Management (SDM)

Question

Scott,
I would like to know whether you have heard of MIT's MS in Engineering and Management (SDM) program?

The program is jointly offered by the Sloan School of Management and the School of Engineering. It's a 24 month program that involves distance learning, one semester in residency, and several one week trips to the class during the semesters.   

I have the following questions:

1. Have you heard of this program at all. Supposedly its a 10 year old program at MIT.

2. How is the program viewed in the Business community? 

3. Is the degree viewed similar to an MBA degree?

4. Apart from the MIT name, is there any benefit the program provides? 

Any other thoughts?

I am attaching SDMs Employment report 04-05 that contains some information on the salary earned by the graduates of the program. I wasn't very impressed compared to the employment reports of top MBA programs but this may be partly because the sample size in SDM is small (35-50 students) compared to the top MBA programs.

P.S. I am posting the same question to Hjort and Paul.

Thanks
spiderman

scottshrum · Answer

I was an undergrad at MIT, and I never heard of this program while I was there. That doesn't mean that it's bad. It just didn't have a very high profile when I was there. (Any program that has a large distance-learning component will usually have a much lower profile on campus.) 

I do think it's a great program, but it's definitely not the same as an MBA. To answer your questions 2-4, I don't think the business community sees this as the same as an MBA, either. This program is much more appropriate for engineers and technical managers who want tyo grow in that role (become leaders in technical roles), while an MBA is much more commonly a path for transitioning into a much more business-oriented role, such as marketing, finance, consulting, etc. This program has real benefits, but I think you'd have to have really specific career goals (within tech) for it to be of real value to you.

Scott

spiderman_xx · Answer

Thanks Scott.
 
So, will a MS in Engineering and Management be better for an engineer (like me) who wants to move to a business development/strategy role that requires some technical knowledge as well as the business acumen OR an MBA be a better degree to be successful in the role?

Were you at MIT before the program started (1996 - I think) or is it a program that no full time MIT student cares much to talk about?

Thanks

truthringer · Answer

Scott is down in Florida, so I hope you don't mind if jump in. 

An undergraduate engineering degree combined with an MBA is a terrific combination. As you mentioned, the employer report isn't very impressive and because in some respects, because the school is smaller, you'd think that students would be able to command a higher salary.

Your goals seem better suited with going for an MBA. The market is more familiar with the degree and merely pouring more engineering on top of engineering probably won't get you that much.

spiderman_xx · Answer

Thank you Omari for Chiming in. I appreciate it. 

You hit the bulls eye by stating "pouring engineering on top of engineering would not get you much". I agree. Since I already have a graduate degree in engineering I do not need further engineering knowledge, the only thing that attracted me to the program is the management portion including, of-course, the MIT name. My first choice in an MBA, if I get into one.

spiderman

MITs Master of Science in Engineering and Management (SDM)

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