Management
Bachelor of Science in Management (Course 15-1)
Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics (Course 15-2)
Undergraduate Study
Bachelor of Science in Management (Course 15-1)
The Bachelor of Science in Management provides students with an innovative business education that is comprehensive and flexible. Students begin with coursework that builds a strong foundation in probability and statistics, managerial communication, managerial psychology, microeconomics, and accounting. They augment this foundation by selecting two restricted electives in core business functions: finance, operations management, marketing, and strategy. Students then tailor the remainder of their program by selecting five electives that go into depth in an individualized concentration area. The Undergraduate Education Office and the Course 15 advisor provide guidance and approval for the concentration to ensure students achieve a coherent focus.
Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics (Course 15-2)
The Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics program is for students with a strong interest and ability in math and computer science. Students learn techniques such as data modeling and analysis, optimization, and machine learning, so as to help businesses make improved decisions and design efficient processes. Electives provide the opportunity to learn additional methodologies, such as artificial intelligence, systems dynamics, and game theory; take advanced subjects in probability, statistics, and optimization; or study how analytics is applied in content areas such as operations, transportation, marketing, and finance. Students can also refine their skills in practice-based project courses.
Bachelor of Science in Finance (Course 15-3)
At the intersection of economics, strategy, and accounting, finance is about managing assets to keep markets and organizations operating. The Bachelor of Science in Finance is designed to train students for careers that focus on the theory and application of the tools of modern finance. The curriculum provides a theoretical foundation in managerial finance, corporate finance, and investments, and requires students to complete laboratory and communications subjects to ensure they have the ability to apply the tools of finance to industry. The restricted electives permit students flexibility to select the rest of their program from advanced topics in, and topics complementary to, finance.
Minor in Management
The Minor in Management provides undergraduates in other majors with an understanding of the business, human, and organizational dimensions of scientific and technological enterprise.
The minor consists of six subjects:
| Required subjects | ||
| 15.301 | People, Teams, and Organizations Laboratory | 12-15 |
| or 15.312 | Organizational Processes for Business Analytics | |
| 15.501 | Corporate Financial Accounting | 12 |
| Select one of the following: | 9-15 | |
| Laboratory in Investments | ||
| Introduction to Operations Management 1 | ||
| Marketing Innovation | ||
| Competitive Strategy | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select any three Course 15 subjects other than Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and general-elective transfer credit. (Two six-unit subjects count as a single elective subject.) 2 | 27-36 | |
| Total Units | 60-78 | |
| 1 | Subject has prerequisites that are outside of the program. |
| 2 | 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics is also a permissible elective. |
Minor in Business Analytics
The Minor in Business Analytics introduces data analysis techniques and their application to practical business problems. Its focus reflects the core content of the SB degree program in business analytics.
The minor consists of six subjects:
| 15.053 | Optimization Methods in Business Analytics | 12 |
| 15.076 | Analytics for a Better World | 12 |
| 15.069 | Applied Probability and Statistics | 12 |
| or 14.30 | Introduction to Statistical Methods in Economics | |
| or 18.05 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics | |
| Select three additional subjects from a list of electives. (Consult Sloan Undergraduate Education Office regarding additional options.) At least two of the subjects must be from Course 15. Two six unit subjects count as one elective. | 27-36 | |
| Total Units | 63-72 | |
| Electives | ||
| 6.1200[J] | Mathematics for Computer Science | 12 |
| 6.3900 | Introduction to Machine Learning | 12 |
| 6.4100 | Artificial Intelligence | 12 |
| 14.12 | Economic Applications of Game Theory | 12 |
| 14.15[J] | Networks | 12 |
| 14.32 | Econometric Data Science | 12 |
| 15.0201[J] | Economics of Energy, Innovation, and Sustainability | 12 |
| 15.0251 | Game Theory for Strategic Advantage | 9 |
| 15.0341 | Econometrics for Managers: Correlation and Causality in a Big Data World | 9 |
| 15.037[J] | Energy Economics and Policy | 12 |
| 15.0621 | Data Mining: Finding the Models and Predictions that Create Value | 6 |
| 15.0711 | The Analytics Edge | 12 |
| 15.276 | Communicating with Data | 12 |
| 15.312 | Organizational Processes for Business Analytics | 12 |
| 15.6731 | Negotiation Analysis | 6 |
| 15.690 | Diversity as Discovery | 6 |
| 15.7611 | Introduction to Operations Management | 9 |
| 15.780 | Analytics of Operations Management | 12 |
| 15.8141 | Marketing Innovation | 9 |
| 15.8731 | System Dynamics: Tools for Solving Complex Problems | 9 |
| 15.874[J] | People and the Planet: Environmental Governance and Science | 9 |
| 18.06 | Linear Algebra | 12 |
| 18.C06[J] | Linear Algebra and Optimization | 12 |
| 18.615 | Introduction to Stochastic Processes | 12 |
| IDS.012[J] | Statistics, Computation and Applications | 12 |
Minor in Finance
The Minor in Finance provides an understanding of the major areas of finance—corporate finance and investments. The minor will prepare students to understand and apply financial tools for different roles in financial industries or corporate finance positions.
The minor consists of five subjects:
| Required Subjects | ||
| 15.417 | Laboratory in Investments | 15 |
| 15.418 | Laboratory in Corporate Finance | 15 |
| 15.501 | Corporate Financial Accounting | 12 |
| Electives | ||
| Select two of the following: 1 | 18 | |
| Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital | ||
| Financial Markets | ||
| Advanced Corporate Finance | ||
| Options and Futures Markets | ||
| Mergers, Acquisitions, and Private Equity | ||
| Taxes and Business Strategy | ||
| Total Units | 60 | |
| 1 | Consult the Sloan Undergraduate Education Office regarding additional options. |
Interdepartmental (Non-Course 15) Students
Course 15 undergraduate subjects are open for WebSIS pre-registration or online registration. There is no bidding necessary for undergraduate subjects. All students who wish to take unrestricted Sloan graduate subjects should consult the MIT Sloan undergraduate website where the course schedule and course syllabi are most readily available for assistance in subject selection.
Inquiries
For additional information about these Course 15 undergraduate programs or about taking a Course 15 class, students are encouraged to visit or contact the Office of Undergraduate Education, Room E52-154 (Suite 133), 617-253-8614, and the MIT Sloan undergraduate website.
Graduate Study
The MIT Sloan School of Management offers opportunity for graduate study leading to the degrees of Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Management, Master of Science in Management of Technology, Master of Finance, Master of Business Analytics, Master of Science in Management Studies, and Doctor of Philosophy. In addition, there are two dual degree options: an MBA/SM with the MIT School of Engineering, known as the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program; and an MBA/MPP or MPA with the Harvard Kennedy School.
Admission Requirements for Graduate Study
Applications are welcome from college graduates in all areas of concentration—the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Please see the individual program websites for specific entrance requirements and more information.
Master of Business Administration
The MIT Sloan School MBA program offers a course of study in graduate management education, leading to a master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science in Management (SM). Degree candidates are admitted in winter or spring to a program that begins with a mandatory orientation program in August. The two-year program of study requires candidates to complete a core curriculum plus 144 units of graduate elective subjects. The program of study focuses on management science, preparing students to analyze and solve organizational and performance issues in a management context. Students also fulfill research and leadership requirements through activities in the mid-term Sloan Intensive Period and through elective coursework. Residency for four academic terms is required. A grade point average (GPA) of 4.0/5.0 (B) is required at the time of graduation.
The MBA curriculum is designed for maximum flexibility, allowing students to create an individual program best suited to their needs and career interests. During the first term, students take a sequence of core subjects with the option of one of three elective subjects.
In the first term, MBA students are assigned to one of 60 teams consisting of six to seven people. These teams are combined into six larger sections, called cohorts or oceans, for the fall core subjects. Students take all the core subjects in the same assigned section, which facilitates cohort integration and the formation of study groups.
After the first term, students have a wide range of elective subject choices. Students are given a great deal of independence in choosing their subjects, and they may design a program that includes a depth of focus as well as breadth. This includes the option of earning a certificate by enrolling in and completing the elective requirements for a track or certificate program. The MBA Program currently offers six certificates: in finance, enterprise management, entrepreneurship and innovation, healthcare, sustainability, and business analytics.
The Sloan Intensive Period, offered each term, provides students and faculty with the opportunity to explore jointly, in a nontraditional setting, what makes MIT Sloan unique: exceptional research expertise, leadership acumen, and the hands-on application of knowledge.
Practical exposure to management takes place in the MIT Sloan School through a variety of activities. Students in the MBA program have the opportunity to spend the summer between their first and second years working in an internship that contributes to their understanding of and effectiveness in dealing with management problems, by registering in an optional elective internship course under faculty guidance.
During the academic year students have additional opportunities both in and outside the classroom to apply their learning. Many Sloan subjects incorporate action learning into their pedagogy and require students to complete projects within companies and organizations as a deliverable for the subject. These subjects may include a 1–3 week international or domestic experience within a host organization. Corporate leaders are often invited to work with students either through guest lectureships in classes or through interaction with one of the more than 60 student organizations. Some students may also have the opportunity to work as paid teaching and research assistants to the Sloan faculty.
Outside of the classroom, the MBA community's student organizations and clubs provide students the opportunity to practice leadership through the execution of conferences, international study tours and treks, business plan and case competitions, and other club-related activities.
Master of Business Analytics
The Master of Business Analytics program is a specialized advanced master's degree designed to prepare students for careers in data science and business analytics.
The program is tailored for students in their final year of their undergraduate education or recent college graduates who plan to pursue a career in the data science industry, as well as those seeking career advancement or change, especially engineers, mathematicians, physicists, computer programmers, and other high-tech professionals.
The full-time, 12-month program is divided into three semesters: fall, spring, and summer. From spring until the summer session, students complete a mandatory 7-month analytics capstone project course. During this capstone course, students work in small teams with a US or international company on a real data science problem and go onsite to the company for a summer professional experience. Each group completes a written report and gives a final oral presentation to the company and MIT Sloan and MIT Operations Research Center faculty.
Master of Finance
The Master of Finance (MFin) is an 18-month program, with a 12-month accelerated option, that prepares students for a broad range of careers in finance requiring analytical rigor and the ability to innovate around market challenges. The program consists of required fundamental and advanced subjects, restricted electives, action learning, ethics modules, a programming literacy test, and an optional master's thesis. Students are able to complete a concentration in financial engineering, capital markets, or corporate finance. While not required, those in the 18-month program are eligible to conduct an internship between their spring and final fall term.
Required summer-term coursework provides the foundation in finance, accounting, and financial mathematics for continuing with more advanced required and elective subjects in the subsequent terms. Restricted electives ensure appropriate depth as well as opportunities for breadth of study, depending on the student's interest. Students are required to take an action learning course, either a proseminar or Finance Lab, project-based classes in which students work in teams to address current problems identified by finance professionals. A thesis option is available for students who wish to research a topic of particular interest.
Frequent seminars, conferences, and major lectures present students with opportunities to hear from recognized leaders from a variety of industries. MFin students have full access to the extensive resources of the MIT Sloan Career Development Office as well as Career Advising and Professional Development. In addition, students participate in a wide array of professional clubs, student government, sports teams, and organizations at the school and campus level.
To graduate, students must attain at least a B (4.0/5.0) for finance core and restricted classes as well as their overall GPA at the time of graduation. Residency for all academic terms is required.
Students may not pursue another degree program while enrolled in the MFin. Except in the case of core requirements, coursework completed at MIT prior to matriculation in the MFin program may not be applied toward the MFin degree without the approval of the MFin faculty director.
In addition to the traditional synergies among finance, economics, and accounting, the program exploits intellectual ties among finance and mathematics, statistics, psychology, management, computer science, and engineering. The program is primarily targeted at recent graduates with zero to three years of experience. Recent graduates of postgraduate programs in mathematics, science, and engineering who wish to enter the finance profession are also encouraged to apply. MFin prepares students for a wide variety of finance roles in the private and public sector as well as doctoral studies.
Typically, applications to the MFin program are due in early January; decisions are usually announced by mid-March. This is subject to change. For exact deadlines, please refer to the Master of Finance website.
Master of Science in Management Studies
The Master of Science in Management Studies (MSMS) program is a customizable advanced master's degree that complements an overseas management education. Designed for students in the process of completing, or who have already completed, their MBA (or comparable master's) degree at one of Sloan's international partner schools, the MSMS program allows students to pursue their area of interest in management and construct an individualized curriculum of all-elective subjects from the offerings at MIT Sloan, other MIT departments, and Harvard University. Students specialize in a specific area within management by designating a concentration, taking elective subjects, and working with a Sloan faculty member to write a compulsory master's thesis in their area of study.
The 9-month program, which runs from September to June, requires full-time residence. In addition, MSMS students are required to meet MIT's requirement of at least 66 units of graduate subjects, and a master's thesis. To graduate, students must attain a GPA of 4.0/5.0 (B) by the time of graduation. For more information, visit the MSMS website.
Doctor of Philosophy
The PhD Program is the heart of MIT Sloan's research community and develops some of the best management researchers in the world. Approximately 19 new students join the program each year, and concentrate in one of nine research groups.
Students are funded for a period of five years, with the funding package consisting of full tuition, health insurance, a fellowship with a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) component, a new laptop in years one and four, and conference travel funds.
MIT Sloan's PhD students are immersed in our distinctive research culture. Working closely with faculty, students conduct innovative research and lay the groundwork for lifelong careers in academic research. There are two separate research requirements within the program: the master's thesis and the PhD dissertation.
In the second or third year of the program, students are expected to complete their first major research paper, which will become a master’s thesis, thereby earning them an SM in Management Research. General Exams are usually taken at the end of the second year or beginning of the third year of study, and after successful completion, work begins on choosing and defining a doctoral research topic. The PhD dissertation consists of significant, original scholarly research. Candidates typically require two or three years of full-time work to complete their doctoral theses.
Interdisciplinary Programs
Computational Science and Engineering
The Master of Science in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE SM) is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with a strong foundation in computational methods for applications in science and engineering. The CSE SM program trains students in the formulation, analysis, implementation, and application of computational approaches via a common core, which serves all science and engineering disciplines, and an elective component which focuses on particular disciplinary applications. The program emphasizes:
- Breadth through introductory courses in numerical analysis, simulation, and optimization
- Depth in the student’s chosen field
- Multidisciplinary aspects of computation
- Hands-on experience through projects, assignments, and a master's thesis
Current MIT graduate students may pursue a CSE SM in conjunction with a department-based master's or PhD program.
For more information, see the full program description under Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs.
Leaders for Global Operations
The 24-month Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program combines graduate degrees in engineering and management for those with previous postgraduate work experience and strong undergraduate degrees in a technical field. During the two-year program, students complete a six-month internship at one of LGO's partner companies, where they conduct research that forms the basis of a dual-degree thesis. Students finish the program with two MIT degrees: an MBA (or SM in management) and an SM from one of eight engineering programs, some of which have optional or required LGO tracks. After graduation, alumni lead strategic initiatives in high-tech, operations, and manufacturing companies.
System Design and Management
The System Design and Management (SDM) program is a partnership among industry, government, and the university for educating technically grounded leaders of 21st-century enterprises. Jointly sponsored by the School of Engineering and the Sloan School of Management, it is MIT's first degree program to be offered with a distance learning option in addition to a full-time in-residence option.
Master's Degree Programs for Mid-Career Executives
MIT Sloan Fellows MBA Program
This full-time, 12-month (June–May) immersive MBA program is designed for high-performing mid-career professionals. The program typically enrolls about 115 outstanding individuals with 10–20 years of professional experience from more than 30 nations, representing a wide variety of for-profit and nonprofit industries, organizations, and functional areas. About half of the participants are sponsored by or have the strong support of their employers, with the other half being self-sponsored participants, many with unique entrepreneurial experiences and perspectives.
The program is characterized by a rigorous academic curriculum, frequent interactions with international business and government leaders, and a valuable exchange of global perspectives. The fellows work together in a team environment, tackling practical issues with a spirit of intellectual adventure. After collaborating across disciplines, cultures, and backgrounds in this intense learning environment, they leave the program with a robust alumni network and the skills necessary to create change, build alliances, and drive global ventures.
For more information about the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA Program and how to apply, visit the website or contact the admissions office, 617-258-5434.
MIT Executive MBA
The MIT Executive MBA (EMBA) is a rigorous 20-month, executive schedule Master of Business Administration that builds on MIT Sloan’s history of distinguished MBA programs and mid-career education. The classroom-based program is designed to develop principled, innovative leaders, usually with a decade or more of work experience, who can transform the world's most important institutions. The MIT Executive MBA is an opportunity to join an elite forum for innovation and leadership in which mid-career executives develop an edge in their general management skills and build a business network that lasts a lifetime.
The program brings together rising executives from diverse industries to collaborate on the complex challenges they face now—and will face in years to come—within their organizations and within the larger international marketplace. Although a large proportion of MIT EMBAs come from careers in life science, engineering, and technology, our ranks also include leaders in government, start-ups, nonprofits, finance, and the military. All are inspired by this rare opportunity to drive positive change, master the science of management, and integrate global leadership and data-driven analytics.
For more information about the MIT Executive MBA and how to apply, visit the EMBA website or contact the program office, Room E52-255, 617-253-5033.
Faculty and Teaching Staff
Georgia Perakis, PhD
John C Head III Dean (Interim), MIT Sloan School of Management
Professor of Operations Management, Operations Research, and Statistics
Associate Dean for Social and Ethical Responsibilities in Computing, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and MIT Sloan School of Management
(On leave)
Michelle Hanlon, PhD
Howard W. Johnson Professor
Professor of Accounting
Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research, MIT Sloan School of Management
Rodrigo Verdi, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor of Accounting
Deputy Dean for Degree Programs, Teaching and Learning, MIT Sloan School of Management
Dimitris J. Bertsimas, PhD
Boeing Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management
Professor of Operations Research
Associate Dean for Business Analytics, MIT Sloan School of Management
(On leave)
Christopher Roland Knittel, PhD
George P. Shultz Professor
Professor of Applied Economics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Associate Dean for Climate and Sustainability, MIT Sloan School of Management
Fiona E. Murray, PhD
Bill Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Associate Dean for Innovation and Inclusion, MIT Sloan School of Management
Ray Eugene Reagans, PhD
Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management
Professor of Organization Studies
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, MIT Sloan School of Management
Jacob Cohen, MS, JD
Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Law
Senior Associate Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management
Professors
Deborah L. Ancona, PhD
Seley Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Organization Studies
(On leave)
Sinan Aral, PhD
David Austin Professor in Management
Professor of Information Technology and Marketing
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Paul Asquith, PhD
Gordon Y Billard Professor of Finance
Pierre Azoulay, PhD
International Programs Professor of Management
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Arnold I. Barnett, PhD
George Eastman Professor of Management Science and Statistics
Cynthia Barnhart, PhD
Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor of Operations Research and Statistics
Provost
Alessandro Bonatti, PhD
John Norris Maguire (1960) Professor
Professor of Applied Economics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
John Stephen Carroll, PhD
Gordon Kaufman Professor of Management
Professor of Organization Studies
Emilio J. Castilla, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor
Professor of Management
Hui Chen, PhD
Nomura Professor of Finance
John E. Core, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor
Professor of Accounting
(On leave)
Jared R. Curhan, PhD
Gordon Kaufman Professor of Management
Professor of Organization Studies
(On leave, spring)
Michael A. Cusumano, PhD
Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor in Management
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
(On leave)
Joseph J. Doyle, PhD
Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management
Professor of Applied Economics
(On leave)
Steven D. Eppinger, ScD
General Motors Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management
Professor of Operations Management, Management Science, and Innovation
(On leave)
Vivek F. Farias, PhD
Patrick J. McGovern (1959) Professor
Professor of Operations Management
Roberto Fernandez, PhD
William F. Pounds Professor of Management
Professor of Organization Studies
Charles H. Fine, PhD
Chrysler Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management
Professor of Operations Management
Kristin J. Forbes, PhD
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Professor of Management
Professor of Global Economics and Management
(On leave)
Robert Michael Freund, PhD
Theresa Seley Professor in Management Sciences
Professor of Operations Research
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
David Gamarnik, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor
Professor of Operations Research
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Robert S. Gibbons, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Applied Economics
Stephen C. Graves, PhD
Abraham J. Siegel Professor Post-Tenure of Management
Professor Post-Tenure of Operations Management and Leaders for Global Operations
Professor Post-Tenure of Mechanical Engineering
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
John R. Hauser, ScD
Kirin Professor of Marketing
Yasheng Huang, PhD
Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management
Professor of Global Economics and Management
Simon Johnson, PhD
Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Global Economics and Management
Katherine C. Kellogg, PhD
David J. McGrath jr (1959) Professor of Management and Innovation
Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Erin L. Kelly, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Leonid Kogan, PhD
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Professor of Management
Professor of Finance
S.P. Kothari, PhD
Gordon Y Billard Professor in Management
Professor of Accounting and Finance
(On leave)
Retsef Levi, PhD
J. Spencer Standish (1945) Professor of Management
Professor of Operations Management
Danielle Li, PhD
David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
(On leave)
Andrew W. Lo, PhD
Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor
Professor of Finance
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Deborah J. Lucas, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Finance
(On leave)
Stuart E. Madnick, PhD
John Norris Maguire (1960) Professor
Professor of Information Technology
Thomas L. Magnanti, PhD
Institute Professor
Professor of Operations Research
Professor of Electrical Engineering
Thomas W. Malone, PhD
Patrick J. McGovern (1959) Professor of Management
Professor of Information Technology
Robert C. Merton, PhD
School of Management Distinguished Professor of Finance
Wanda J. Orlikowski, PhD
Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management
Professor of Information Technology and Organization Studies
James B. Orlin, PhD
E. Pennell Brooks (1917) Professor in Management
Professor of Operations Research
Jonathan A. Parker, PhD
Robert C. Merton (1970) Professor of Finance
Robert S. Pindyck, PhD
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. Professor in Finance and Economics
Professor of Applied Economics
Drazen Prelec, PhD
Digital Equipment Corp. Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management
Professor of Management Science
Professor of Economics
Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Hazhir Rahmandad, PhD
Schussel Family Professor of Management Science
Professor of System Dynamics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
David Rand, PhD
Erwin H. Schell Professor
Professor of Marketing
Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
(On leave)
Nelson Repenning, PhD
School of Management Distinguished Professor
Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies
Roberto Rigobon, PhD
Society of Sloan Fellows Professor
Professor of Applied Economics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
David C. Schmittlein, PhD
Professor of Marketing
(On leave)
Antoinette Schoar, PhD
Stewart C. Myers-Horn Family Professor of Finance
Nemit Shroff, PhD
School of Management Distinguished Professor
Professor of Accounting
Duncan Simester, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor
Professor of Marketing
Eric So, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Global Economics and Management
John Sterman, PhD
Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management
Professor of System Dynamics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Scott Stern, PhD
David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
(On leave)
Tavneet Suri, PhD
Louis E. Seley Professor in Applied Economics
Professor of Applied Economics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
David Thesmar, PhD
Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics
Professor of Finance
Nikolaos (Nikos) Trichakis, PhD
J. C. Penney Professor of Management Science
Professor of Operations Management
(On leave)
Catherine E. Tucker, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Marketing
Catherine Turco, PhD
Michael M. Koerner (1949) Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Adrien Frederic Verdelhan, PhD
Stephens Naphtal Professor of Finance
Professor of Finance
Eric A. von Hippel, PhD
T. Wilson (1953) Professor in Management
Professor of Management of Innovation
Professor of Engineering Systems
Jiang Wang, PhD
Mizuho Financial Group Professor
Professor of Finance
Joseph P. Weber, PhD
George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management
Professor of Accounting
Roy E. Welsch, PhD
Eastman Kodak Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management
Professor of Statistics
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Michael Whinston, PhD
Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management
Professor of Economics
Professor of Applied Economics
Catherine Wolfram, PhD
William Barton Rogers Professor in Energy
Professor of Applied Economics
JoAnne Yates, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Managerial Communication, and Work and Organization Studies
Juanjuan Zhang, PhD
John D. C. Little Professor of Marketing
Professor of Marketing
Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan, PhD
Alvin J. Siteman (1948) Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Associate Professors
Dean Eckles, PhD
William F. Pounds Professor of Management
Associate Professor of Marketing
Associate Director, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Maryam Farboodi, PhD
Jon D. Gruber Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Finance
Negin Golrezaei, PhD
W. Maurice Young (1961) Career Development Professor of Management
Associate Professor of Operations Management
Swati Gupta, PhD
Class of 1947 Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Operations Research and Statistics
John J. Horton, PhD
Associate Professor of Information Technology
Alexandre Jacquillat, PhD
Maurice F. Strong Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Operations Research and Statistics
Jónas Oddur Jónasson, PhD
Robert G. James Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Operations Management
Namrata Kala, PhD
Associate Professor of Applied Economics
(On leave)
Jackson G. Lu, PhD
Sloan School Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies
(On leave)
Rahul Mazumder, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor
Associate Professor of Operations Research
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Christopher Palmer, PhD
Associate Professor of Finance
(On leave)
Andy Sun, PhD
Iberdrola-Avangrid Professor in Electric Power Systems
Associate Professor of Operations Research
Andrew G. Sutherland, PhD
Associate Professor of Accounting
Emil Verner, PhD
Albert F. (1942) & Jeanne P. Clear Career Development Professor in Global Management
Associate Professor of Finance
Nathan Wilmers, PhD
Sarofim Family Career Development Professor
Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies
(On leave)
Yanchong Karen Zheng, PhD
George M. Bunker Professor of Management
Associate Professor of Operations Management
(On leave, spring)
Haoxiang Zhu, PhD
Gordon Y Billard Professor of Finance
Associate Professor of Finance
(On leave, fall)
Assistant Professors
Abdullah Almaatouq, PhD
Douglas Drane Career Development Professor in Information Technology
Assistant Professor of Information Technology
Charles Angelucci, PhD
Class of 1957 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Ali Aouad, PhD
Assistant Professor of Operations Management
Michiel Bakker, PhD
Assistant Professor of Information Technology
Rahul Bhui, PhD
Class of 1958 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Taha Choukhmane, PhD
Class of 1947 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Finance
Johan Chu, PhD
Sarofim Family Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of System Dynamics
(On leave)
Mert Demirer, PhD
Ford Foundation International Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
(On leave)
Daniel Freund, PhD
Assistant Professor of Operations Management
Chelsea Lide, PhD
Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Tong Liu, PhD
Judy C. Lewent (1972) and Mark Shapiro Career Development Professor of Finance
Assistant Professor of Finance
(On leave, spring)
Haihao (Sean) Lu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Operations Research and Statistics
Thodoris Lykouris, PhD
Mitsui Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Operations Management
(On leave)
Alexey Makarin, PhD
Mitsubishi Career Development Professor in International Management
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Lira Mota, PhD
Class of 1958 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Finance
Ellen Muir, PhD
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Matthew Phillips, PhD
Silverman (1968) Family Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Accounting
(On leave)
Jacquelyn Pless, PhD
Fred Kayne (1960) Career Development Professor of Entrepreneurship
Assistant Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Chara Podimata, PhD
Class of 1942 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Operations Research and Statistics
Manish Raghavan, PhD
Drew Houston (2005) Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Assistant Professor of Information Technology
(On leave)
Georg Rilinger, PhD
Fred Kayne (1960) Career Development Professor of Entrepreneurship
Assistant Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Lawrence Schmidt, PhD
Victor J. Menezes (1972) Career Development Professor of Finance
Assistant Professor of Finance
Kerry Y. Siani, PhD
Class of 1958 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Finance
(On leave, spring)
Anna Stansbury, PhD
Class of 1948 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies
(On leave)
Basima Tewfik, PhD
Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Austin van Loon, PhD
Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Benjamin Vatter, PhD
Class of 1943 Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Felix W. Vetter, PhD
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Chloe Xie, PhD
Zenon Zannetos (1955) Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Vicky Chuqiao Yang, PhD
Richard S. Leghorn (1939) Career Development Professor in Management of Technological Innovation
Assistant Professor of System Dynamics
Professors of the Practice
William Aulet, MS
Professor of the Practice of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Athanasios Orphanides, PhD
Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management
Rama Ramakrishnan, PhD
Professor of the Practice of Operations Research and Statistics
Donald Sull, PhD
Professor of the Practice in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Zeynep Ton, DBA
Professor of the Practice of Operations Management
Visiting Professors
Bala Dharan, PhD
Visiting Professor of Accounting
Edward Maydew, PhD
Visiting Professor of Accounting
Gilbert Metcalf, PhD
Visiting Professor of Applied Economics
Manuel Sosa, PhD
Visiting Professor of Operations Management
Jules van Binsbergen, PhD
Visiting Professor of Finance
Lawrence Weiss, DBA
Visiting Professor of Finance
Sean Willems, PhD
Visiting Professor of Operations Management
Visiting Associate Professors
Hong Ru, PhD
Visiting Associate Professor of Finance
Visiting Assistant Professors
Daniel Auguste, PhD
Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Assistant Professor of Management
Michael Gechter, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Rachel Hayes, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Accounting
Suzie Noh, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Accounting
Tuomas Tomunen, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance
Adjunct Professors
Mary P. Rowe, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Management
Senior Lecturers
Bridget Akinc, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Leadership
John L. Akula, JD, PhD
Senior Lecturer of Law
Kirk Arnold, BA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Joseph J. Battat, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Global Economics and Management
Jim Baum, MEng
Senior Lecturer in Management
Lou Bergholz, BS
Senior Lecturer in Management
Tara Bieber, MD, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Executive Education
Kara Blackburn, MA
Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Adam Blake, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Kimberly Boucher, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Lori Breslow, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Philip Budden, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
John F. Carrier, ScD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Carly Chase, BA
Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Senior Lecturer in Management
Sharmila Chatterjee, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Paul Cheek, BS
Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Senior Lecturer in Management
Court Chilton, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Zen Chu, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
John Davis, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
James P. Dougherty, MA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Max Faingezicht, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Mohammad Fazel-Zarandi, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Operations Research and Statistics
William Fischer, DBA
Senior Lecturer in Operations Management
Jonathan Fleming, MRP
Senior Lecturer in Management
Daena Giardella, MA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Edward Golding, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Renée Richardson Gosline, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Research Scientist of Management
John C. Grant, SM
Senior Lecturer in Management
Hal Gregersen, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Nathaniel Gregory, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Joseph Hadzima, SM, JD
Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship
Leigh Hafrey, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Brian Halligan, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Neal Hartman, MEd
Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Virginia Healy-Tangney, MA, MS
Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Kit Hickey, MBA
Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Thomas J. Hynes III, BS
Senior Lecturer in Management
Kate W. Isaacs, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Jason Jay, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Charles F. Kane, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Ralph Katz, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Miroslav W. Kazakoff, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Christine Kelly, EdD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Donald Kieffer, BA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Matthew Kressy, BFA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Mark P. Kritzman, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Stuart Krusell, MPA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Roger Lehman, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Konstantinos Ligris, MBA, JD
Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Senior Lecturer in Management
Shari Loessberg, JD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Egor Matveyev, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Research Scientist of Management
Paul McDonagh-Smith, BA
Senior Lecturer in Information Technology and Executive Education
Arathi Mehrotra, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Communications
Jeffrey A. Meldman, JD, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Paul F. Mende, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Finance
J. Bradley Morrison, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Robert Nachtrieb, ScD
Senior Lecturer in System Dynamics
Christopher Noe, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Accounting
Francis Martin O'Sullivan, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Bethany Patten, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Keri Pearlson, DBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Roberta Pittore, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Robert C. Pozen, JSD
Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Anne Quaadgras, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Gita R. Rao, MBA, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Finance
Douglas Ready, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Executive Education
John M. Reilly, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
James Rhee, JD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
David Robertson, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Operations Management
Louis Rodriques, JD
Senior Lecturer of Law
Thomas A. Roemer, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Matthew Rothman, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Finance
Hiram Samel, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Anjali Sastry, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Imran Sayeed, BA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Claus Otto Scharmer, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Erin Scott, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Peter M. Senge, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Dina Sherif, MA, MPA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Ben Shields, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Susan Siegel, MS
Senior Lecturer in Management
Emmanuelle Skala, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Steven J. Spear, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Mostafa Terrab, PhD
Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Management
Nagarjuna Venna, MS
Senior Lecturer in Management
Luis Videgaray Caso, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Henry Birdseye Weil, SM
Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
George Westerman, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Dana White, MBA
Senior Lecturer in Management
Stephanie L. Woerner, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Principal Research Scientist of Management
Andrey Zarur, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Management
Lecturers
Matias B. Adam, MS, MBA
Lecturer for Action Learning Team Mentoring
Angelique Adams, PhD
Lecturer for Organizations Lab Mentoring
Aman Advani, BS
Lecturer in Management
Luis Barros, MBA
Lecturer for Action Learning Team Mentoring
Geoff Beckwith, MBA
Lecturer for Global Organizations Lab Team Mentoring
Michael Benedetto, BS
Lecturer in Management
Telis Bertsekas, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Rachel Best, MS
Lecturer of Work and Organization Studies
David Birnbach, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Adriana Bokel Herde, MBA
Lecturer for Global Organizations Lab Team Mentoring
James Butler, MS
Lecturer in Management
Kimberly Carballo, PhD
Lecturer in Management
Christopher Scott Cullen, MBA
Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Anthony R. DeVito, MBA
Lecturer for Ops Lab Team Mentoring
Sheila Dodge, SM, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Daniel Glusick, MS
Lecturer for Organizations Lab Mentoring
Catherine Iacobo, MS
Lecturer in Management
Michellana Y. Jester, EdD
Lecturer in Management
Barbara Johnson, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Kevin D. Johnson, MBA
Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Ted Keith, BS
Lecturer in Management
Macauley Kenney, MS
Lecturer in Management
Gene Keselman, MS, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Amy H. Kimball, MBA
Lecturer for Action Learning Team Mentoring
Yu-Ting Kuo, SM
Lecturer in Management
Stephanie Lampkin, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Jenny Larios Berlin, MCP, MBA
Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Malia C. Lazu, BS
Lecturer in Management
Jordan Todd Levine, MEng
Lecturer in Management
Cassandra Lowell, BS
Lecturer in Management
Makeeba McCreary, EdD
Lecturer in Leadership
Harvey G. Michaels, MCP
Lecturer in Management
Research Scientist in Management
Megan Mitchell, MEd
Lecturer in Management
Susan Neal, MBA
Lecturer in Management
John Neeson, BA
Lecturer for Team and Project Mentoring
Dipul Patel, MS, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Michael Plancon, MBA
Lecturer for Organizations Lab Mentoring
Tracy Purinton, MEd
Lecturer in Management
Oljeta Bida Qirko, MS, MBA
Lecturer for Global Organizations Lab Team Mentoring
James Repenning, MBA
Lecturer for Sustainable Business Lab Mentoring
John M. Richardson, JD
Lecturer in Management
Nicki Roth, MA
Lecturer in Management
Jonathan Ruane, MBs, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Research Scientist of Management
Mark Schwiebert, BS
Lecturer for Organizations Lab Mentoring
Aithan Shapira, PhD
Lecturer in Management
Shira Springer, MBA
Lecturer in Managerial Communication
Carl Stjernfeldt, MS, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Andrew Surwilo, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Jayne Tan, MBA
Lecturer for G-Lab Team Mentoring
Allan Telio, MBA
Lecturer in Communications
Catherine Thut, PhD
Lecturer for Global Organizations Lab Team Mentoring
Donald Triner Jr, MS
Lecturer for Team Mentoring
Libby Wayman, MS
Lecturer in Management
Melissa J. Webster, MBA
Lecturer in Management
Research Staff
Senior Research Scientists
Peter D. Weill, PhD
Senior Research Scientist in Management
Principal Research Scientists
Andrew Paul McAfee, DBA
Principal Research Scientist of Management
Michael D. Siegel, PhD
Principal Research Scientist of Management
Barbara Wixom, PhD
Principal Research Scientist of Management
Research Associates
Maria Valeria Budinich, MS
Research Associate of Management
David Keith, PhD
Research Associate of Management
Georgios Petropoulos, PhD
Research Associate of Management
Research Scientists
Florian Berg, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Christian Catalini, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Danica Mijovic-Prelec, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Benjamin Mueller, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Ranjan Pal, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Anne Sartori, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Ina Marie Sebastian, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Neil Thompson, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Nick van der Meulen, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Erez Yoeli, PhD
Research Scientist of Management
Professors Emeriti
Lotte Bailyn, PhD
T. Wilson (1953) Professor Emerita of Management
Ernst R. Berndt, PhD
Louis E. Seley Professor Emeritus of Applied Economics
John Carrington Cox, PhD
Nomura Professor Emeritus of Finance
Bengt Holmström, PhD
Paul A. Samuelson Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Economics
Professor Emeritus of Applied Economics
Henry D. Jacoby, PhD
William F. Pounds Professor Emeritus of Management
Professor Emeritus of Applied Economics
Gordon M. Kaufman, DBA
Morris A. Adelman Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Management and Statistics
Thomas Anton Kochan, PhD
George Maverick Bunker Professor Emeritus of Management
Professor Emeritus of Work and Employment Research
Donald R. Lessard, PhD
Epoch Foundation Professor Emeritus of International Management
Professor Emeritus of Global Economics and Management
John D.C. Little, PhD
Institute Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Marketing
Robert B. McKersie, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Management
Stewart C. Myers, PhD
Robert C. Merton (1970) Professor Emeritus of Financial Economics
Professor Emeritus of Finance
Paul Osterman, PhD
Nanyang Technological University Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Human Resources and Management
Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies and Planning
Richard Schmalensee, PhD
Howard W. Johnson Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Management
Professor Emeritus of Economics
Michael S. Scott Morton, PhD
Jay W. Forrester Professor Emeritus of Computer Science
Thomas Martin Stoker, PhD
Gordon Y Billard Professor Emeritus in Management and Economics
Professor Emeritus of Applied Economics
Glen L. Urban, PhD
David Austin Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Marketing
James M. Utterback, PhD
David J. McGrath jr (1959) Professor Emeritus of Management and Innovation
Professor Emeritus of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
John Van Maanen, PhD
Erwin H. Schell Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Organization Studies
Ross L. Watts, PhD
Erwin H. Schell Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus of Management and Accounting
Birger Wernerfelt, DBA
J. C. Penney Professor Emeritus of Management
Professor Emeritus of Marketing
D. Eleanor Westney, PhD
Society of Sloan Fellows Professor Emerita of International Management
Professor Emerita of Global Economics and Management
Managerial Economics
15.000 Explorations in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
2-0-1 units
Broad introduction to the various aspects of management including analytics, accounting and finance, operations, marketing, entrepreneurship and leadership, organizations, economics, systems dynamics, and negotiation and communication. Introduces the field of management through a variety of experiences as well as discussions led by faculty or industry experts. Also reviews the three undergraduate majors offered by Sloan as well as careers in management. Subject can count toward the 6-unit discovery-focused credit limit for first year students. Limited to undergraduates; preference to first years.
J. Orlin
15.002 Leadership Challenges for an Inclusive World
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Units assigned to MBA students upon completion. Restricted to Sloan MBA students.
Consult D. Gormley
15.003 Analytics Tools
Prereq: None
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
2-0-1 units
Units assigned to Master of Business Analytics students upon completion of the Analytics Tools requirement. Restricted to Master of Business Analytics students.
Consult D. Gormley
15.004 Programming for Finance Professionals
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
1-0-0 units
Two-day accelerated course with supplemental recitations designed to develop skills in applying basic methods from the programming language Python (with additional references from R) to financial problems. Topics include programming basics in Python, data manipulation, visualization and reporting and an overview of programming ethics. MFin students will apply and build upon these skills in 15.433 Financial Markets and 15.450/15.457 Analytics and Advanced Analytics of Finance. Students must pass one of two exams offered during the summer term to demonstrate their ability to solve financial problems using R and Python. Restricted to Sloan Master of Finance Program students.
Consult J. Alton
15.005 Sloan Intensive Period Elective Requirement
Prereq: 15.002
G (Spring; second half of term)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Units assigned to MBA students upon completion of the Sloan Intensive Period (SIP) elective requirement. Restricted to Sloan MBA students.
Consult D. Gormley
15.010 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
4-0-5 units
Introduces principles of microeconomics as a framework for making more informed managerial decisions. Discusses the supply and demand paradigm with applications to digital marketplaces, innovation, sources of market power, and strategic pricing. Provides an introduction to game theory to study competition and cooperation both within and between firms. Restricted to first-year Sloan MBA students.
C. Knittel
15.011 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
Subject meets with 15.0111
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
4-0-5 units
Introduces principles of microeconomics as a framework for making more informed managerial decisions. Discusses the supply and demand paradigm with applications to digital marketplaces, innovation, sources of market power, and strategic pricing. Provides an introduction to game theory to study competition and cooperation both within and between firms. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Intended for non-Sloan graduate students; not open to Sloan MBA students.
C. Knittel
15.0111 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
Subject meets with 15.011
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
4-0-5 units
Introduces principles of microeconomics as a framework for making more informed managerial decisions. Discusses the supply and demand paradigm with applications to digital marketplaces, innovation, sources of market power, and strategic pricing. Provides an introduction to game theory to study competition and cooperation both within and between firms. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Intended for undergraduate students; not open to Sloan MBA students.
C. Knittel
15.012 Applied Macro- and International Economics
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Explores the macroeconomic environment in which firms operate. Aims to provide a strong foundation in macroeconomic concepts and apply them to understand specific country experiences. Introduces the basic tools of short-run macroeconomic management, primarily monetary and fiscal policy, utilizing historical case studies and modern policy discussions as context. Explores drivers of long-term growth, examining the cases of economic miracles and productivity slowdowns in developed economies, and then delves into the fundamental theory of trade, applying it to the discussions of global trade wars and trade agreements.
A. Makarin, R. Rigobon
15.013 Economics for Strategic Decisions
Prereq: 15.010 or 15.011
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Applies principles of economics most relevant for corporate strategy to analysis of particular industries. Topics include market structure and its determinants; rational strategic behavior in small numbers situations; strategies for price and nonprice competition; dynamic pricing, output, and advertising decisions; entry and entry deterrence; competition with network externalities; investments under uncertainty; competition among platforms; R&D and patent licensing; and the growth and evolution of industries.
R. Pindyck
15.014 Applied Macro- and International Economics II
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
4-0-2 units
Establishes understanding of the development processes of societies and economies. Studies several dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social, political, institutional, economy, organizational, relational, and personal) and the balance among them. Explores the basics of governmental intervention, focusing on areas such as the judicial system, environment, social security, and health. Builds skills to determine what type of policy is most appropriate. Considers implications of new technologies on the financial sector: internationalization of currencies, mobile payment systems, and cryptocurrencies. Discusses the institutional framework to ensure choices are sustainable across all dimensions and applications.
R. Rigobon, A. Makarin
15.015 Macroeconomic Policy Reforms
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-0-4 units
Focuses on the current policy and economic issues in the US economy. Students propose economic and policy reforms around issues such as labor markets, inflation and central banking, financial regulation, education, health, housing, transportation, social security, democracy, immigration, diversity, and environmental policy. Topics change year to year. In each class, proposals are presented and voted upon by the group.
R. Rigobon
15.018 Current Debates of Macroeconomics and Public Policy
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-0-4 units
Concentrates on debates about current policy challenges. Students debate and vote on policy actions on current issues in developed and developing nations. Subjects include industrial policy, macroeconomics, poverty, social safety net, labor practices, immigration and labor markets, international economics, human rights, civil rights, democracy, environmental policy, regulation, and crypto assets. Topics change from year to year.
R. Rigobon
15.020 Economics of Energy, Innovation, and Sustainability
Prereq: 14.01 or 15.011
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units
Credit cannot also be received for 14.43[J], 15.0201[J]
Covers energy and environmental market organization and regulation. Explores economic challenges and solutions to transforming energy markets to be more efficient, accessible, affordable, and sustainable. Applies core economic concepts - consumer choice, firm profit maximization, and strategic behavior - to understand when energy and environmental markets work well and when they fail. They also conduct data-driven economic analysis on the trade-offs of real and proposed policy interventions. Topics include renewable generation sources for electricity, energy access in emerging markets, efficiency programs and fuel efficiency standards, transitioning transportation to alternative fuels, measuring damages and adaptation to climate change, and the effect of energy and environmental policy on innovation. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Li
15.0201[J] Economics of Energy, Innovation, and Sustainability
Same subject as 14.43[J]
Prereq: 14.01 or 15.0111
U (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units. HASS-S
Credit cannot also be received for 15.020
Covers energy and environmental market organization and regulation. Explores economic challenges and solutions to transforming energy markets to be more efficient, accessible, affordable, and sustainable. Applies core economic concepts - consumer choice, firm profit maximization, and strategic behavior - to understand when energy and environmental markets work well and when they fail. They also conduct data-driven economic analysis on the trade-offs of real and proposed policy interventions. Topics include renewable generation sources for electricity, energy access in emerging markets, efficiency programs and fuel efficiency standards, transitioning transportation to alternative fuels, measuring damages and adaptation to climate change, and the effect of energy and environmental policy on innovation. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Li
15.021[J] Real Estate Economics
Same subject as 11.433[J]
Prereq: 14.01, 15.010, or 15.011
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
See description under subject 11.433[J].
A. Saiz
15.022[J] Real Estate Markets: Macroeconomics
Same subject as 11.429[J]
Prereq: 11.431[J] or permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
See description under subject 11.429[J]. Limited to 30.
W. Wheaton
15.024 Applied Economics for Managers
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.722
Develops facility with concepts, language and tools of micro economics. Primary focus on the analysis of markets, strategic interactions among firms and game theory as applied to firms. Emphasizes integration of theory, data, and judgment in the analysis of a wide range of corporate decisions, both between and within firms. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
T. Suri
15.025 Game Theory for Strategic Advantage
Subject meets with 15.0251
Prereq: 14.01, 15.010, 15.011, 15.024, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.741
Develops and applies principles of game theory relevant to managers' strategic decisions. Topics include how to reason about strategies and opponents; strategic commitment and negotiations; reputation and seemingly irrational actions; bidding in auctions; and the design of auctions, contests and markets. Applications to a variety of business decisions that arise in different industries, both within and outside the firm. Meets with 15.0251 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
A. Bonatti
15.0251 Game Theory for Strategic Advantage
Subject meets with 15.025
Prereq: 14.01, 15.0111, or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.741
Develops and applies principles of game theory relevant to managers' strategic decisions. Topics include how to reason about strategies and opponents; strategic commitment and negotiations; reputation and seemingly irrational actions; bidding in auctions; and the design of auctions, contests and markets. Applications to a variety of business decisions that arise in different industries, both within and outside the firm. Meets with 15.025 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
A. Bonatti
15.026[J] Global Climate Change: Economics, Science, and Policy
Same subject as 12.348[J]
Prereq: (Calculus II (GIR), 5.60, and 14.01) or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Introduces scientific, economic, and ecological issues underlying the threat of global climate change, and the institutions engaged in negotiating an international response. Develops an integrated approach to analysis of climate change processes, and assessment of proposed policy measures, drawing on research and model development within the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. Graduate students are expected to explore the topic in greater depth through reading and individual research..
Staff
15.027 Opportunities in Developing Economies
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Investigates the role of the private sector in developing economies, highlighting how solving market failures can improve overall welfare. Covers constraints faced by firms in developing economies: contract enforcement, corruption, political risk, human rights, IP and infrastructure. Uses case studies to discuss successful firms and innovative solutions to these constraints, including public-private partnerships, the role of technology, the role of finance and impact investing.
T. Suri
15.029[J] United States Energy Policy: Lessons Learned for the Future
Same subject as 5.81[J]
Subject meets with 5.811[J], 15.0291[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Fall; second half of term)
2-0-4 units
See description under subject 5.81[J].
J. Deutch
15.0291[J] United States Energy Policy: Lessons Learned for the Future
Same subject as 5.811[J]
Subject meets with 5.81[J], 15.029[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: U (Fall; second half of term)
2-0-4 units
See description under subject 5.811[J].
J. Deutch
15.032[J] Engineering, Economics and Regulation of the Electric Power Sector
Same subject as IDS.505[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject IDS.505[J]. Permission of instructor required for undergraduates wishing to take the class.
C. Batlle-Lopez, T. Schittekatte
15.034 Econometrics for Managers: Correlation & Causality in a Big Data World
Subject meets with 15.0341
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
4-0-5 units
Introduces econometrics as a framework to go beyond correlations and get to causality, which is crucial for investment decisions in finance, marketing, human resources, public policy, and general business strategy. Through labs and projects, students get experience in many relevant applications. Students gain a deeper understanding of modeling using multivariate regression, instrumental-variable regression, and machine learning tools including regression trees, random forest, LASSO, and neural networks. No prior knowledge is necessary. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Doyle
15.0341 Econometrics for Managers: Correlation and Causality in a Big Data World
Subject meets with 15.034
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
4-0-5 units
Introduces econometrics as a framework to go beyond correlations and get to causality, which is crucial for investment decisions in finance, marketing, human resources, public policy, and general business strategy. Through labs and projects, students get experience in many relevant applications. Students gain a deeper understanding of modeling using multivariate regression, instrumental-variable regression, and machine learning tools including regression trees, random forest, LASSO, and neural networks. No prior knowledge is necessary. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Doyle
15.036[J] Dimensions of Geoengineering
Same subject as 1.850[J], 5.000[J], 10.600[J], 11.388[J], 12.884[J], 16.645[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
See description under subject 5.000[J]. Limited to 100.
J. Deutch, M. Zuber
15.037[J] Energy Economics and Policy
Same subject as 14.44[J]
Prereq: 14.01 or 15.0111
U (Spring)
4-0-8 units. HASS-S
Credit cannot also be received for 14.444[J], 15.038[J]
See description under subject 14.44[J]. Limited to 60.
C. Knittel
15.038[J] Energy Economics and Policy
Same subject as 14.444[J]
Prereq: 14.01 or 15.0111
G (Spring)
4-0-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 14.44[J], 15.037[J]
See description under subject 14.444[J]. Limited to 60.
C. Knittel
15.039[J] Organizational Economics
Same subject as 14.26[J]
Subject meets with 14.260
Prereq: 14.01
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: U (Spring)
4-0-8 units. HASS-S
See description under subject 14.26[J]. Limited to 60.
C. Angelucci
Operations Research/Statistics
15.053 Optimization Methods in Business Analytics
Prereq: 1.00, 1.000, 6.100A, or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
4-0-8 units. REST
Introduces optimization methods with a focus on modeling, solution techniques, and analysis. Covers linear programming, network optimization, integer programming, nonlinear programming, and heuristics. Applications to logistics, manufacturing, statistics, machine learning, transportation, game theory, marketing, project management, and finance. Includes a project in which student teams select and solve an optimization problem (possibly a large-scale problem) of practical interest.
J. Orlin
15.054[J] The Airline Industry
Same subject as 1.232[J], 16.71[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject 16.71[J].
P. P. Belobaba, H. Balakrishnan, A. I. Barnett, R. J. Hansman, T. A. Kochan
15.060 Data, Models, and Decisions
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.730
Introduces students to the basic tools in using data to make informed management decisions. Covers basic topics in data analytics, including introductory probability, decision analysis, basic statistics, regression, simulation, linear and discrete optimization, and introductory machine learning. Spreadsheet exercises, cases, and examples drawn from marketing, finance, operations management, and other management functions. Restricted to first-year Sloan master's students.
D. Gamarnik
15.062[J] Data Mining: Finding the Models and Predictions that Create Value
Same subject as IDS.145[J]
Subject meets with 15.0621
Prereq: 15.060, 15.075[J], or permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
2-0-4 units
Introduction to data mining, data science, and machine learning for recognizing patterns, developing models and predictive analytics, and making intelligent use of massive amounts of data collected via the internet, e-commerce, electronic banking, medical databases, etc. Topics include logistic regression, association rules, tree-structured classification and regression, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and neural network methods. Presents examples of successful applications in credit ratings, fraud detection, marketing, customer relationship management, investments, and synthetic clinical trials. Introduces data-mining software (R and Python). Grading based on homework, cases, and a term project. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking the undergraduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
R. E. Welsch
15.0621 Data Mining: Finding the Models and Predictions that Create Value
Subject meets with 15.062[J], IDS.145[J]
Prereq: 15.075[J] or permission of instructor
U (Spring; second half of term)
2-0-4 units
Introduction to data mining, data science, and machine learning for recognizing patterns, developing models and predictive analytics, and making intelligent use of massive amounts of data collected via the internet, e-commerce, electronic banking, medical databases, etc. Topics include logistic regression, association rules, tree-structured classification and regression, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and neural network methods. Presents examples of successful applications in credit ratings, fraud detection, marketing, customer relationship management, investments, and synthetic clinical trials. Introduces data-mining software (R and Python). Grading based on homework, cases, and a term project. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking the graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
R. E. Welsch
15.066[J] System Optimization and Analysis for Operations
Same subject as 2.851[J]
Prereq: Calculus II (GIR)
G (Summer)
4-0-8 units
Introduction to mathematical modeling, optimization, and simulation, as applied to manufacturing and operations. Specific methods include linear programming, network flow problems, integer and nonlinear programming, discrete-event simulation, heuristics and computer applications for manufacturing processes, operations and systems. Restricted to Leaders for Global Operations students.
Staff
15.068 Statistical Consulting
Prereq: 15.060
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Addresses statistical issues as a consultant would face them: deciphering the client's question; finding appropriate data; performing a viable analysis; and presenting the results in compelling ways. Real-life cases and examples.
A. I. Barnett
15.069 Applied Probability and Statistics
Prereq: Calculus I (GIR)
U (Fall)
4-0-8 units. REST
Presents probability from the perspective of applied mathematics, with strong emphasis on an intuitive overview of key theorems and continuing demonstrations of their usefulness. Covers the laws of probability and numerous important discrete and continuous random variables, both individually and in combination. Introduces simulation. Offers an introduction to statistics that emphasizes its probabilistic foundations and the fact that statistical reasoning is applied common sense. Covers hypothesis testing, statistical sampling, and various forms of regression analysis. Draws applications from economics, finance, engineering, marketing, public policy, operations management, and operations research.
A. Barnett
15.070[J] Discrete Probability and Stochastic Processes
Same subject as 6.7720[J], 18.619[J]
Prereq: 6.3702, 6.7700[J], 18.100A, 18.100B, or 18.100Q
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Provides an introduction to tools used for probabilistic reasoning in the context of discrete systems and processes. Tools such as the probabilistic method, first and second moment method, martingales, concentration and correlation inequalities, theory of random graphs, weak convergence, random walks and Brownian motion, branching processes, Markov chains, Markov random fields, correlation decay method, isoperimetry, coupling, influences and other basic tools of modern research in probability will be presented. Algorithmic aspects and connections to statistics and machine learning will be emphasized.
G. Bresler, D. Gamarnik, E. Mossel, Y. Polyanskiy
15.071 The Analytics Edge
Prereq: 15.060
G (Fall, Spring)
4-0-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.0711, 15.072
Develops models and tools of data analytics that are used to transform businesses and industries, using examples and case studies in e-commerce, healthcare, social media, high technology, criminal justice, the internet, and beyond. Covers analytics methods such as linear regression, logistic regression, classification trees, random forests, neural networks, text analytics, social network analysis, time series modeling, clustering, and optimization. Uses mostly R programming language and some work in Jupyter notebooks. Includes team project. Meets with 15.0711 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
R. Freund
15.0711 The Analytics Edge
Prereq: 15.053 and 15.069
U (Spring)
4-0-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.071, 15.072
Develops models and tools of data analytics that are used to transform businesses and industries, using examples and case studies in e-commerce, healthcare, social media, high technology, criminal justice, the internet, and beyond. Covers analytics methods such as linear regression, logistic regression, classification trees, random forests, neural networks, text analytics, social network analysis, time series modeling, clustering, and optimization. Uses mostly R programming language and some work in Jupyter notebooks. Includes team project. Meets with 15.071 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
R. Freund
15.072 Advanced Analytics Edge
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.071, 15.0711
More advanced version of 15.071 introduces core methods of business analytics, their algorithmic implementations and their applications to various domains of management and public policy. Spans descriptive analytics (e.g., clustering, dimensionality reduction), predictive analytics (e.g., linear/logistic regression, classification and regression trees, random forests, boosting deep learning) and prescriptive analytics (e.g., optimization). Presents analytics algorithms, and their implementations in data science. Includes case studies in e-commerce, transportation, energy, healthcare, social media, sports, the internet, and beyond. Uses the R and Julia programming languages. Includes team projects. Preference to Sloan Master of Business Analytics students.
B. Van Parys
15.073[J] Applied Probability and Stochastic Models
Same subject as 1.203[J], IDS.700[J]
Prereq: 6.3700 or 18.600
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units
A vigorous use of probabilistic models to approximate real-life situations in Finance, Operations Management, Economics, and Operations Research. Emphasis on how to develop a suitable probabilistic model in a given setting and, merging probability with statistics, and on how to validate a proposed model against empirical evidence. Extensive treatment of Monte Carlo simulation for modeling random processes when analytic solutions are unattainable.
A. Barnett
15.075[J] Statistical Thinking and Data Analysis
Same subject as IDS.013[J]
Prereq: 6.3700 or 15.069
U (Spring)
3-1-8 units. Institute LAB
Introduces a rigorous treatment of statistical data analysis while helping students develop a strong intuition for the strengths and limitations of various methods. Topics include statistical sampling and uncertainty, estimation, hypothesis testing, linear regression, classification, analysis of variation, and elements of data mining. Involves empirical use of hypothesis testing and other statistical methodologies in several domains, including the assessment of A-B experiments on the web and the identification of genes correlated with diseases.
M. Fazel Zarandi
15.076 Analytics for a Better World
Prereq: Calculus I (GIR)
U (Spring)
4-0-8 units. Institute LAB
Introduces predictive and prescriptive analytics methods to solve problems that contribute to the welfare of society. Emphasis on using machine learning and optimization methods in innovative ways using real world data. Methods used include: linear and discrete optimization, linear and logistic regression, optimal classification and regression trees, deep learning, random forests, and boosted trees. Projects utilize Julia, Jump, and Tensor Flow. Assessment based on projects, including a capstone project. Restricted to undergraduates.
D. Bertsimas
15.077[J] Statistical Machine Learning and Data Science
Same subject as IDS.147[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
4-0-8 units
Advanced introduction to theory and application of statistics, data-mining and machine learning using techniques from management science, marketing, finance, consulting, and bioinformatics. Covers bootstrap theory of estimation, testing, nonparametric statistics, analysis of variance, experimental design, categorical data analysis, regression analysis, MCMC, and Bayesian methods. Focuses on data mining, supervised learning, and multivariate analysis. Topics chosen from logistic regression, principal components and dimension reduction; discrimination and classification analysis, trees (CART), partial least squares, nearest neighbors, regularized methods, support vector machines, boosting and bagging, clustering, independent component analysis, and nonparametric regression. Uses statistics software R, Python, and MATLAB. Grading based on homework, cases, and a term project.
R. E. Welsch
15.081[J] Introduction to Mathematical Programming
Same subject as 6.7210[J]
Prereq: 18.06
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
See description under subject 6.7210[J].
D. Bertsimas, P. Jaillet
15.083 Integer Optimization
Prereq: 6.7210[J] or 15.093
G (Spring)
4-0-8 units
In-depth treatment of mixed-integer optimization. Topics include modeling techniques, combinatorial optimization, ideal formulations, cutting plane methods, branching algorithms, row generation algorithms, column generation algorithms, heuristic algorithms, and mixed-integer non-linear optimization. Instruction provided in modeling complex problems arising in practice; understanding the theory of integer optimization; knowing the core technologies employed within modern solvers; and developing algorithms to solve large-scale problems for which off-the-shelf solvers may not be sufficient. Examples drawn from a broad range of industries, such as transportation, energy, telecommunications, finance, product design, sports, and social networks. Includes a term project.
A. Jacquillat
15.084[J] Nonlinear Optimization
Same subject as 6.7220[J]
Prereq: 18.06 and (18.100A, 18.100B, or 18.100Q)
G (Spring)
4-0-8 units
See description under subject 6.7220[J].
R. M. Freund, P. Parrilo, G. Perakis
15.085[J] Fundamentals of Probability
Same subject as 6.7700[J]
Prereq: Calculus II (GIR)
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
See description under subject 6.7700[J].
T. Broderick, D. Gamarnik, Y. Polyanskiy
15.086 Engineering Probability
Prereq: Calculus I (GIR) and permission of instructor
G (Summer; first half of term)
1-0-2 units
Introduction to applied probability. Makes real-life problems central to the pedagogy and aims for an intuitive understanding of probability as well as mastery of key probabilistic concepts and methods. Preference to first-year Leaders for Global Operations students.
A. Barnett
15.087 Engineering Statistics and Data Science
Prereq: Calculus II (GIR), 15.086, 18.06, and permission of instructor
G (Summer)
4-0-8 units
Develops ideas for making principled decisions and recommendations based on data, providing an introduction to statistical inference and statistical learning. Covers data displays and summary statistics for quantitative and qualitative data, the law of large numbers for means and empirical distributions, the normal distribution and the central limit theorem, confidence intervals, statistical hypothesis tests for the population mean and differences between population means, simple and multiple regression with quantitative data, model selection, the bias-variance tradeoff, logistic regression for binary outcomes, CART, random forests, gradient boosting, and deep learning. The statistical programming language R is used for in-class demonstrations and for out-of-class assignments. Preference to first-year Leaders for Global Operations students. No required textbook.
R. Mazumder
15.089 Analytics Capstone
Prereq: None
G (IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Practical application of business analytics problems within a real company. Teams of 1-2 students, matched with company projects, visit companies to define project and scope. In class, students refine and improve on projects and devise methods for solving problems for their select companies. Mentors are assigned to each team. The culmination of the program is summer, on-site, practical training. Restricted to Master of Business Analytics students.
M. Li, J. Levine
15.090 Common Experience in Operations Research
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Provides students with experience working in teams on a data-driven ML project. After a week of classes that cover a range of tools (Keras, Google Collab, etc.) and deep learning technologies, students compete in teams in a jointly chosen Kaggle competition. Short homework assignments help students get acquainted with the required technologies, and regular presentations foster interactions within the ORC cohort. Restricted to Operations Research Center doctoral students.
A. Jacquillat, D. Freund
15.094[J] Robust Modeling, Optimization, and Computation
Same subject as 1.142[J]
Prereq: 18.06 or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
4-0-8 units
Introduces modern robust optimization, including theory, applications, and computation. Presents formulations and their connection to probability, information and risk theory for conic optimization (linear, second-order, and semidefinite cones) and integer optimization. Application domains include analysis and optimization of stochastic networks, optimal mechanism design, network information theory, transportation, pattern classification, structural and engineering design, and financial engineering. Students formulate and solve a problem aligned with their interests in a final project.
D. Bertsimas
15.095 Machine Learning Under a Modern Optimization Lens
Prereq: 6.7210[J], 15.093, or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-1-8 units
Develops algorithms for central problems in machine learning from a modern optimization perspective. Topics include sparse, convex, robust and median regression; an algorithmic framework for regression; optimal classification and regression trees, and their relationship with neural networks; how to transform predictive algorithms to prescriptive algorithms; optimal prescriptive trees; and robust classification. Also covers design of experiments, missing data imputations, mixture of Gaussian models, exact bootstrap, and sparse matrix estimation, including principal component analysis, factor analysis, inverse co-variance matrix estimation, and matrix completion.
D. Bertsimas
15.097 Seminar in Statistics and Data Analysis
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Group study of current topics related to statistics and data analysis.
Staff
15.098 Seminar in Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes
Prereq: 6.3702
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Doctoral student seminar covering current topics in applied probability and stochastic processes.
D. Gamarnik, D. Shah
15.099 Seminar in Operations Research
Prereq: 6.7210[J]
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Doctoral student seminar covering current topics related to operations research.
D. Bertsimas, R. Freund, J. Orlin, G. Perakis
15.110 Operations Research Experience Internship
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Required subject in which students engage in an off-campus internship where they build operations research models and work with data that addresses a real-world problem. Internship experience must be at least ten weeks in length and students must have a formal offer letter from their employer or organization. Requirements include a report summarizing how OR models and methods were used by the student participating in the internship and a letter from the internship advisor. Report must be submitted to the ORC academic administrator upon completion of the internship. Restricted to ORC students. Additional restrictions may apply.
Consult L. Rose
Health Care Management
15.128[J] Revolutionary Ventures: How to Invent and Deploy Transformative Technologies
Same subject as 9.455[J], 20.454[J], MAS.883[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
2-0-7 units
See description under subject MAS.883[J].
E. Boyden, J. Bonsen, J. Jacobson
15.136[J] Principles and Practice of Drug Development
Same subject as 10.547[J], HST.920[J], IDS.620[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Description and critical assessment of the major issues and stages of developing a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical. Drug discovery, preclinical development, clinical investigation, manufacturing and regulatory issues considered for small and large molecules. Economic and financial considerations of the drug development process. Multidisciplinary perspective from faculty in clinical; life; and management sciences; as well as industry guests.
S. Finkelstein, A. J. Sinskey, R. Rubin
15.137[J] Case Studies and Strategies in Drug Discovery and Development
Same subject as 7.549[J], 20.486[J], HST.916[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
See description under subject 20.486[J].
A. W. Wood
15.141[J] Economics of Health Care Industries
Same subject as HST.918[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.1411
Uses economics as a framework to consider healthcare issues, including differences between health care and other industries, the role of health insurance, regulatory issues and incentives for innovation, data analytics to measure value, personalized/stratified medicines, strategic issues in pricing and marketing, use of e-commerce and information technology, and formation and management of various alliances. Provides a better understanding of the US healthcare landscape, and considers incentives for global health investments. Visiting speakers from industry and academia provide multiple expert viewpoints on these topics. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking the graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Doyle
15.1411 Economics of Health Care Industries
Prereq: None
U (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.141[J], HST.918[J]
Uses economics as a framework to consider healthcare issues, including differences between health care and other industries, the role of health insurance, regulatory issues and incentives for innovation, data analytics to measure value, personalized/stratified medicines, strategic issues in pricing and marketing, use of e-commerce and information technology, and formation and management of various alliances. Provides a better understanding of the US healthcare landscape, and considers incentives for global health investments. Visiting speakers from industry and academia provide multiple expert viewpoints on these topics. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking the undergraduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Doyle
Global Economics & Management
15.216 Central Banks, Monetary Policy and Global Financial Markets
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Explores the role of central banks and monetary policy in the global economy and the effects of their policies on countries, companies and global financial markets. Reviews the decision-making process and policy implementation, and provides conceptual tools for analyzing and predicting central bank decisions and assessing their likely impact. Covers monetary policy, bank regulation and crisis management, drawing on the experience of the Federal Reserve, the ECB and other central banks in advanced and emerging market economies.
A. Orphanides
15.218 Global Economic Challenges and Opportunities
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
In-depth analysis of the major risks and opportunities in the global economy. Analyzes key economic forces and policy responses that shape the business environment and link countries around the world, such as financial crises, monetary and fiscal policy, trade wars, unsustainable debt, exchange rates, and financial contagion. Discusses current global economic issues to develop the tools and frameworks to be able to predict and plan for how governments will respond to different challenges in the future. Some background or coursework in international economics recommended. Preference given to MIT Sloan students.
K. Forbes
15.219[J] Global Energy: Politics, Markets, and Policy
Same subject as 11.267[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units
Credit cannot also be received for 11.167[J], 14.47[J], 15.2191[J], 17.399[J]
Focuses on the ways economics and politics influence the fate of energy technologies, business models, and policies around the world. Extends fundamental concepts in the social sciences to case studies and simulations that illustrate how corporate, government, and individual decisions shape energy and environmental outcomes. In a final project, students apply the concepts in order to assess the prospects for an energy innovation to scale and advance sustainability goals in a particular regional market. Recommended prerequisite: 14.01. Meets with 15.2191[J] when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
Staff
15.2191[J] Global Energy: Politics, Markets, and Policy
Same subject as 11.167[J], 14.47[J], 17.399[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units. HASS-S
Credit cannot also be received for 11.267[J], 15.219[J]
Focuses on the ways economics and politics influence the fate of energy technologies, business models, and policies around the world. Extends fundamental concepts in the social sciences to case studies and simulations that illustrate how corporate, government, and individual decisions shape energy and environmental outcomes. In a final project, students apply the concepts in order to assess the prospects for an energy innovation to scale and advance sustainability goals in a particular regional market. Recommended prerequisite: 14.01. Meets with 15.219[J] when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Preference to juniors, seniors, and Energy Minors.
Staff
15.223 Global Markets, National Policies and the Competitive Advantages of Firms
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Examines opportunities and risks firms face in today's global market. Provides conceptual tools for analyzing how governments and social institutions influence economic competition among firms embedded in different national settings. Public policies and institutions that shape competitive outcomes are examined through cases and analytical readings on different companies and industries operating in both developed and emerging markets.
S. Johnson
15.225 Modern Business in China: China Lab
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Provides integrated approach to analyze the economy, geopolitics, and geo-economy of China through action learning. Covers modern history, economics, and politics in China that shape the business environment, cases of companies entering or operating in the Chinese market, and project-related issues and personal and learning reflections. Students work in teams to tackle a real world problems and challenges facing organizations in China. Projects focus on dynamic sectors such as artificial intelligence, the sharing economy, social media, health care, energy, and manufacturing. Examples of projects include creating a business plan for fundraising, developing a new market strategy, and assembling financial models. Subject to availability, some projects may explore policy issues. Limited to graduate students who participate in China Lab.
Y. Huang, J. Grant
15.226 Modern Business in Southeast Asia: ASEAN Lab
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Provides integrated approach to analyze the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region — specifically Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia — through action learning. Covers modern history, economics, and politics in that region that shape the business environment, cases of companies operating in that region, and project-related issues and personal and learning reflections. Students work in teams to tackle a real world business problem with an entrepreneurial Indian ASEAN-based company and produce a final deliverable for the host company. Projects focus on dynamic sectors such as artificial intelligence, the sharing economy, social media, health care, energy, and manufacturing; examples include creating a business plan for fundraising, developing a new market strategy, and assembling financial models. Limited to graduate students who participate in ASEAN Lab.
Y. Huang, J. Grant
15.227 - 15.229 Seminar in International Management
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to international business.
Staff
15.230 Public Policy and the Private Sector
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Explores the intersection of public policy and the private sector. Senior level guests, who have been deeply involved in public policy, will join this discussion-based course weekly focusing on key economic policy choices - touching on technology, trade, tax, financial, macro-economic and competitions policies. Provides a deep understanding of the process by which policy comes to life. Examines how the private sector affects - and sometimes shapes - public policy. Taught through the lens of US policy decision-making; also covers international dimensions.
Staff
15.232 Breakthrough Ventures: Effective Business Models in Frontier Markets
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Examines how new approaches to operations, revenue, marketing, finance, and strategy enable improved social outcomes in resource-limited settings across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Draws on system dynamics, design thinking, and strategic analysis. Explores success and failure in attempts to innovate and scale in product and service delivery. Analysis of novel business models draws on case studies, videos, industry reports, research, and guest speakers. Students present their assessments of innovative base-of-the-pyramid enterprises that aim to do more with less. Students who have not taken at least three management or business classes must apply to the instructor for permission to enroll before the first day of class.
A. Sastry
15.235 Blockchain and Money
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-3 units
Explores blockchain technology's potential use - by entrepreneurs and incumbents - to change the world of money and finance. Begins with a review of the technology's initial application, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, giving students an understanding of the commercial, technical and public policy fundamentals of blockchain technology, distributed ledgers and smart contracts in both open-sourced and private applications. Focuses on current and potential blockchain applications in the financial sector. Includes reviews of potential use cases for payment systems, central banking, venture capital, secondary market trading, trade finance, commercial banking, post-trade possessing, and digital ID. Also explores the markets and regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, other tokens, and crypto derivatives. Open to undergraduates with permission of instructor.
S. Johnson
15.236 Global Business of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (GBAIR)
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-2-2 units
Discussion based-course examines applications of artificial intelligence and robotics in the business world. Emphasizes understanding the likely direction of technology and how it is likely to be used. Students examine particular applications to deepen their understanding of topical issues. Also focuses on how global economies will change in light of this wave of technology. Preference to Sloan graduate students.
S. Johnson, J. Ruane, L. Videgaray
15.238[J] Shaping the Future of Technology: From Early Agriculture to Artificial Intelligence
Same subject as 14.78[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: U (Spring)
4-0-8 units. HASS-S; CI-H
See description under subject 14.78[J].
D. Acemoglu, S. Johnson
15.239[J] China's Growth: Political Economy, Business, and Urbanization
Same subject as 11.257[J]
Subject meets with 11.157[J], 15.2391[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
See description under subject 11.257[J].
Y. Huang, S. Zheng, Z. Tan
15.2391[J] China's Growth: Political Economy, Business, and Urbanization
Same subject as 11.157[J]
Subject meets with 11.257[J], 15.239[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
See description under subject 11.157[J].
Y. Huang, S. Zheng, Z. Tan
15.248 MENA Lab: Promoting Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa
Prereq: None
G (Fall, IAP)
3-1-8 units
Experiential study of the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa leveraging on the historic Abraham Accords. Explores the role of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, MNCs, universities, and governments. Teaches the McKinsey process for successful consulting engagements and what makes for high performing teams. Students travel to the Middle East during IAP to work with and consult for host companies on strategic managerial issues in tech industries. Includes an opportunity to work with executives at startup ventures looking to scale their businesses and to engage with their venture capitalist backers.
J. Cohen
History, Environment and Ethics
15.268 Choice Points: Thinking about Life and Leadership through Literature
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Explores decision making and leadership. Analyzes the dilemmas and decisions characters face in a selection of plays, stories, and films. Provokes reflection on what constitutes effective and moral reasoning in critical moments of both life and leadership. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
Consult J. DiFabio
15.269 Leadership Stories: Literature, Ethics, and Authority
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Explores how we use story to articulate ethical norms. The syllabus consists of short fiction, novels, plays, feature films and some non-fiction. Major topics include leadership and authority, professionalism, the nature of ethical standards, social enterprise, and questions of gender, cultural and individual identity, and work/life balance. Materials vary from year to year, but past readings have included work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Seamus Heaney, Aravind Adiga, Ursula LeGuin, Hao Jingfang, Mohsin Hamid, and others; films have included The Lives of Others, Daughters of the Dust, Hotel Rwanda, Hamilton, and others. Draws on various professions and national cultures, and is run as a series of moderated discussions, with students centrally engaged in the teaching process.
L. Hafrey
Communication
15.270 Ethical Practice: Leading Through Professionalism, Social Responsibility, and System Design
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Introduction to ethics in business, with a focus on business management. Students explore theoretical concepts in business ethics, and cases representing the challenges they will likely face as managers. Opportunity to work with guest faculty as well as business and other professional practitioners. Individual sessions take the form of moderated discussion, with occasional short lectures from instructor.
L. Hafrey
15.275 Creative Industries: Media, Entertainment, and the Arts (New)
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Explores the market structure and dynamics of the creative industries, which include but are not limited to music, television, film, publishing, video games, performing arts, fine arts, sports, fashion, and news. Exposes students to both the creative and business sides of these industries. On the creative side, students learn about content creation and production processes and also experience them, including through developing, pitching, storyboarding, and prototyping an original content idea. On the business side, students learn strategies to distribute, promote, and measure creative content and are given an opportunity to apply these strategies as well. Assignments include individual papers and a semester-long team project.
B. Shields
15.276 Communicating with Data
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units
Equips students with the strategies, tactics, and tools to use quantitative information to inform and persuade others. Emphasizes effective communication skills as the foundation of successful careers. Develops the skills to communicate quantitative information in a business context to drive people and organizations toward better decisions. Focuses heavily on the cycle of practicing, reflecting, and revising. Students receive extensive, personalized feedback from teaching team and classmates. Limited to 25; priority to 15-2 and 6-14 majors.
L. Breslow
15.277 Seminar in Communications
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to communication.
Staff
15.278 Seminar in Communications
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to communication.
Staff
15.279 Management Communication for Undergraduates
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Develops writing, speaking, teamwork, interpersonal, social media, and cross-cultural communication skills necessary for management professionals. Assignments include creating persuasive memos, writing in response to cases, and giving presentations. Major project involves the production of a team report and presentation on a topic of interest to a professional audience.
M. Webster
15.280 Communication for Leaders
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-1-5 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.710
Students develop and polish communication strategies and methods through discussion, examples, and practice. Emphasizes writing and speaking skills necessary for effective leaders. Includes several oral and written assignments which are integrated with other subjects, and with career development activities, when possible. Schedule and curriculum coordinated with Organizational Processes. Mandatory one hour recitation in small groups. Restricted to first-year Sloan graduate students.
N. Hartman, L. Breslow, V. Healy-Tangney, K. Blackburn, M. Kazakoff, J.Yates, B. Shields
15.281 Advanced Leadership Communication
Prereq: 15.279, 15.280, 15.284, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Introduces interactive oral and interpersonal communication skills critical to leaders, including strategies for presenting to a hostile audience, running effective and productive meetings, active listening, and contributing to group decision-making. Includes team-run classes on chosen communication topics, and an individual analysis of leadership qualities and characteristics. Students deliver an oral presentation and an executive summary, both aimed at a business audience.
N. Hartman, K. Blackburn, B. Shields, V. Healy-Tangney
15.283 Social Media Management: Persuasion in Networked Culture
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Explores how organizations and leaders can maximize the business value of social media platforms. Provides a framework and best practices for social media management, enhances understanding of strategic communication within the social media context, and improves social media communication skills. Assignments include case analysis, weekly content creation, and a final group project on social media strategy and content.
B. Shields
15.284 Strategic Leadership Communication
Prereq: None
G (Fall; partial term)
3-0-3 units
Introduces the essentials of how individuals and organizations develop and implement effective communication strategies, focusing on persuasion, audience analysis, communicator credibility, message construction, and delivery. Includes oral presentations and writing assignments with feedback to help students improve their communication effectiveness. Provides instruction to create communication strategies, develop and present clearly organized and powerful presentations, expand personal oral delivery and writing styles, and enhance presentations through effective visual aids. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
N. Hartman, L. Breslow
15.285 Sports Strategy and Analytics
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Explores how leaders and organizations apply data and analytics to gain a competitive edge in the multibillion-dollar global sports industry. Provides context on the structure and dynamics of the sports industry, discusses best practices in data-driven decision making both on- and off-the-field, and improves students' skills in analyzing and communicating data. Assignments include a decision analysis paper and a final team project in which students apply their skills to solve a problem in sports.
B. Shields, R. Reagans
15.286 Communicating with Data
Prereq: 15.280, 15.284, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.287, 15.721
Focuses on structuring the oral and visual communication of data. Introduces these concepts and a methodology of self-reflection to help students accelerate their life-long learning process. Improves students' ability to develop strategic communications that use data to persuade others to take action. Primary focus is on reducing barriers to action by making data as easy as possible for others to absorb through clear structure, clear design, and clear delivery. Significant time will be devoted to practice. Students give and receive substantial feedback on their work.
M. Kazakoff, A. Mehrotra
15.287 Communication and Persuasion Through Data
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
2-0-1 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.286, 15.721
Focuses on the strategic and tactical use of data to move others to take (the correct) action. Sharpens communication skills via practice and real-world examples. Students spend significant time writing, speaking and designing visuals for a professional audience. Intended for students who expect to communicate quantitative information with non-experts inside and outside of their organizations, as well as students seeking to improve communication skills in general. Restricted to Sloan Master of Business Analytics students.
A. Telio, N. Hartman, B. Shields, L. Breslow
15.288 Tough Conversations
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-3 units
Equips managers with the knowledge and skills to productively navigate conversations about race, gender, and other aspects of social identities at work. Analyzes the structure of difficult conversations, investigates the research on conversational dynamics, and explores strategies for speaking up in organizations. Significant class time is devoted to experiential exercises. Weekly assignments include individual written reflections based on readings and research. For the final project, students write a short case, record a conversation, and assess their work. Restricted to second-year MBA students.
K. Blackburn
15.289 Doctoral Seminar: Communication Skills for Academics
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-3 units
Focuses on the communication skills needed for a career in academia. Topics include preparing and delivering conference papers and job talks, formulating and rehearsing elevator pitches, methods for effective teaching, creating your professional presence on social media, and discussions for conferences. Participants are expected to deliver multiple oral presentations based on their current research and practice effective teaching methods. Priority to Sloan doctoral students who have completed their first year.
E. So
Work and Organizational Studies
15.301 People, Teams, and Organizations Laboratory
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
3-3-9 units. Institute LAB
Surveys individual and social psychology and organization theory interpreted in the context of the managerial environment. Laboratory involves projects of an applied nature in behavioral science. Emphasizes use of behavioral science research methods to test hypotheses concerning decision-making, group behavior, and organizational behavior. Instruction and practice in communication includes report writing, team projects, and oral and visual presentation. 12 units may be applied to the General Institute Laboratory Requirement. Shares lectures with 15.310.
J. Carroll
15.302[J] Power: Interpersonal, Organizational, and Global Dimensions
Same subject as 11.045[J], 17.045[J], 21A.127[J]
Subject meets with 21A.129
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: U (Spring)
Acad Year 2025-2026: Not offered
3-0-9 units. HASS-S
See description under subject 21A.127[J].
S. Silbey
15.304 Being Effective: Power and Influence
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Discusses how to map power and interest patterns in organizations, how to understand your own interests and objectives, and how to operate effectively in organizational environments. Provides frameworks as well as a range of practical tools to address these goals. Utilizes a wide range of material drawn from the business and public worlds.
P. Osterman
15.305 Leadership and Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Explores leadership from the military perspective taught by professors of military science from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Survey of basic principles for successfully managing and leading people, particularly in public service and the military. Develops skills in topics such as oral and written communication techniques, planning, team building, motivation, ethics, decision-making, and managing change. Relies heavily on interactive experiential classes with case studies, student presentations, role plays, and discussion. Also appropriate for non-management science majors.
P. Francik, J. Huck, B. Collins
15.308 Leading the Way: Interpersonal and Organizational Strategies for Advancing DE&I
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Introduces and analyzes competing explanations and claims about inequality within US workplaces; reviews evidence regarding the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and policies; and investigates how race, gender, and other identities may affect employees' experience in work organizations. Significant class time is devoted to experiential exercises to develop skills for interacting effectively with diverse others, managing teams and critical conversations, and advocating thoughtfully for change. Weekly assignments include written reflections based on readings and social science research. Restricted to Sloan MBA students.
K. Blackburn, E. Kelly
15.309 Leadership Lessons Learned from the Military
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
2-1-3 units
Focuses on the nature of military leadership and its relevance to the civilian professional and organizational experience. Draws on expertise among personnel in the ROTC units at MIT, the service experience of veterans in various MIT Sloan programs, invited keynote speakers, and Sloan faculty.
L. Hafrey
15.310 People, Teams, and Organizations
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
2-1-6 units
Surveys social psychology and organization theory as interpreted in the context of the managerial environment. Covers a number of diverse topics, including motivation and reward systems, social influence, groups and teams, leadership, power, organizational design and culture, and networks and communication patterns. Similar in content to 15.311; shares lectures with 15.301. Preference to non-Course 15 students.
J. Carroll, P. Osterman
15.311 Organizational Processes
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
2-3-4 units
Enhances students' ability to take effective action in complex organizational settings by providing the analytic tools needed to analyze, manage, and lead the organizations of the future. Emphasizes the importance of the organizational context in influencing which individual styles and skills are effective. Employs a wide variety of learning tools, from experiential learning to the more conventional discussion of written cases. Centers on three complementary perspectives on organizations: the structural design, political, and cultural "lenses" on organizations. Major team project to analyze an actual organizational change, with oral and written reports. Restricted to first-year Sloan master's students.
K. Kellogg
15.312 Organizational Processes for Business Analytics
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Develops appreciation for organizational dynamics and competence in navigating social networks, working in a team, demystifying rewards and incentives, leveraging the crowd, understanding change initiatives, and making sound decisions. Provides instruction and practice in written and oral communication through presentations, and interpersonal and group exercises.
R. Reagans, L. Breslow
15.316 Building and Leading Effective Teams
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-1-0 units
An intensive one-week introduction to leadership, teams, and learning communities. Introduction of concepts and use of a variety of experiential exercises to develop individual and team skills and develop supportive relationships within the Fellows class. Restricted to first-year Leaders for Global Operations students.
J. S. Carroll
15.317 Leadership and Organizational Change
Prereq: None
G (Spring, Summer; second half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Course spans the entire two-year Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program, with a focus on leadership that blends theory and practice. During their first summer in the program, students reflect on exemplary leaders' stories in cases, the arts, journalism, philosophy, and social science, and evaluate their own previous leadership experience. During the succeeding four semesters, they apply the lessons they have learned in class to their off-campus internship and other activities at Sloan, and intensively review that experience as they reach the end of the program. Classes take the form of moderated discussion, with the expectation that students will participate fully in each session; students also submit short, written deliverables throughout the program.
L. Hafrey
15.318 Discovering Your Leadership Signature
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.739
Trains students to understand and develop their unique way of leading — their leadership signature. Involves intensive self-assessment and interactive exercises to grow self-awareness and confidence in one's core leadership values and styles, and expand one's ability to consciously direct personal and professional growth. Students engage in exercises to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses that help and hinder their ability to lead authentically and effectively, and experiment inside and outside of class with new habits of thought and behavior. Assignments include creating and declaring a model of one's leadership signature, identifying development goals, and defining and taking initial steps towards one's desired future self. Grounded in readings from Jungian-oriented psychology, family systems and developmental psychology, and leadership literature.
K. Isaacs
15.320 Strategic Organizational Design
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Focuses on effective organizational design in both traditional and innovative organizations, with special emphasis on innovative organizational forms that take advantage of new information technologies. Topics include when to use functional, divisional, or matrix organizations; how IT creates new organizational possibilities; examples of innovative organizational possibilities, such as democratic decision-making, crowd-based organizations, and other forms of collective intelligence. Team projects include inventing new possibilities for real organizations.
T. Malone
15.321 Improvisational Leadership: In-the-Moment Leadership Skills
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Designed to provide a practical understanding of the skills of improvisation and their application to leadership. Examines the essential elements of successful leadership, including creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and the capacity to develop effective influence strategies and build strong teams. Cultivates students' ability to respond to the unexpected with confidence and agility. Each class offers a highly experiential learning laboratory where students practice a wide variety of improvised business scenarios, interactive exercises, and simulations.
D. Giardella
15.322 Leading Organizations
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.716
Analyzes through lectures, discussions, and class exercises, the human processes underlying organizational behavior. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
J. Van Maanen
15.323 Leading from the Middle
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-0-1 units
Students and Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) alumni develop and present case studies that focus on the challenges and opportunities of leading from positions in the middle of an organization. Restricted to Leaders for Global Operations program students.
L. Hafrey
15.325 Leadership in Disrupted Industries
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
2-0-1 units
Exposes students to accomplished leaders facing disruptive forces that are changing their industries, and explores leadership strategies to navigate disruption from the perspective of top management. Student panels prepare a detailed set of questions for each leader based on their organization and industry context. All students write two short papers — the first evaluating the leadership of a prior manager and the second explaining the planned changes to their own leadership approach.
Consult R. Pozen, B. Shields
15.326 Seminar in Leadership II
Prereq: 15.325
G (Spring; second half of term)
2-0-1 units
Continuation of 15.325, providing students opportunities to meet senior executives of private and public institutions, including current or former policymakers, and discuss challenges associated with the management of country and global affairs. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
Staff
15.328 Seminar in Organizational Studies
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to organizational studies.
Consult D. G. Ancona
15.329 Seminar in Organizational Studies
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to organizational studies.
Consult D. G. Ancona
15.335 Organizations Lab: Leading with Impact
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Experiential study of the organizational change process within the larger context of the community in which the organization resides. Exposes students to leadership exemplars in the for-profit, nonprofit, and public sectors. Examines cases of complex social dynamics in areas of housing, employment, credit, education, and criminal justice. Centers around a semester-long action learning project in which students assist a local nonprofit organization in achieving sustainable social justice objectives. Through a project identified with the nonprofit leaders, students apply their knowledge of systems and their practice of leadership to recommend an operational change that advances the mission of the organization.
N. Repenning, B. Akinc, M. McCreary
15.336 ID Lab: Individual Development and Interpersonal Dynamics
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Introduces specific frameworks and tools to help students refine the relevant leadership skills of self-reflection, inquiry, listening, perspective-taking, and strategic expression. Includes weekly class sessions, written reflections, interactive exercises, and professional executive coaching to enable students to clarify and articulate important aspects of who they are and how they impact others. Includes oral presentations and writing assignments focusing heavily on the cycle of practicing, reflecting, and revising. Students receive extensive, personalized feedback from teaching team, coaches, and classmates. Readings from developmental psychology and leadership literature augment analyses.
T. Purinton
15.337 Teams Lab
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Introduces frameworks and tools to develop the awareness, perspective, and skills to be the team leader and team member of choice, no matter the context or role within an organization. Subject moves from identifying the building blocks of effective teams, to examining the real work of becoming a high-performing team, culminating with researching the emerging trends and future of teaming. For each of the three parts of the subjects, students are placed on different teams of peers and navigate the course content, activities, and conversations through the lens of being a functioning team. Includes individual sessions with professional executive coaches to augment in-class instruction and activities. Preference given to 2nd year MBA students.
N. Repenning, L. Bergholz
15.338 Leadership and Teams Lab
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-3 units
Required subject spanning the Sloan Fellows summer term. Introduces foundational leadership frameworks by weaving theory, assignments, living cases, and one-one-one and team coaching together. Building on the observation that conflict is the feedstock of innovation for both teams and organizations, frames the core challenge of leadership as leveraging the benefits of competing perspectives without falling prey to the negative interpersonal dynamics that such differences can catalyze. Offers several tools to develop increased self-awareness and emotional self-regulation to constructively uncover conflict and leverage diversity. Employs a variety of learning modalities, including experiential learning, executive coaching, and facilitated team reflections. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBA students.
N. Repenning
15.339 Developing Leadership Capabilities
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
2-0-4 units
Focuses on the key leadership capabilities needed in today's increasingly decentralized organizations: sensemaking, relating, visioning, and inventing. Through conceptual discussions, small group exercises, and self-reflection in a workshop setting, students examine a model of leadership, assess their leadership strengths and weaknesses, articulate their values and aspirations, and practice developing leadership capabilities in interaction with class members. Admission by application.
T. Malone, W. Orlikowski
15.341 Individuals, Groups, and Organizations
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units
Covers classic and contemporary theories and research related to individuals, groups, and organizations. Designed primarily for doctoral students in the Sloan School of Management who wish to familiarize themselves with research by psychologists, sociologists, and management scholars in the area commonly known as micro organizational behavior. Topics may include motivation, decision making, negotiation, power, influence, group dynamics, and leadership.
J. Curhan
15.342 Organizations and Environments
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Provides an introduction to research in "organizations and environments," an interdisciplinary domain of inquiry drawing primarily from sociology, and secondarily from economics, psychology, and political science. Seeks to understand organizational processes and outcomes in the surrounding economic, cultural, and institutional context in which they are situated. Also provides an introduction to the main groups that together form the Behavioral Policy Sciences (BPS) area of MIT/Sloan, including economic sociology, organization studies, work and employment, strategic management, global management, and technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Consists of four modules taught by faculty from each of the four BPS groups, as well as integrative sessions taught by the main instructor. Preference to first-year doctoral students in BPS.
R. Reagans
15.345 Doctoral Proseminar in Behavioral and Policy Sciences
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
Can be repeated for credit.
A professional seminar for doctoral students to report on their research, work on their thesis proposals, and practice their job talks. Also addresses general professional issues such as publishing, searching for jobs, the academic career, etc.
J. Carroll
15.347 Doctoral Seminar in Research Methods I
Subject meets with 21A.809
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Introduces the process of social research, emphasizing the conceptualization of research choices to ensure validity, relevance, and discovery. Includes research design and techniques of data collection as well as issues in the understanding, analysis, and interpretation of data.
E. Castilla
15.348 Doctoral Seminar in Research Methods II
Prereq: 15.347 or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Builds on 15.347 to examine contemporary social research methods in depth. Focuses on making students familiar with the most important quantitative methods (e.g., logit/probit models, models for ordinal and nominal outcomes, count models, event history models).
E. J. Castilla
Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
15.350 Managing Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Focuses on the challenges inherent in attempting to take advantage of both incremental innovation and more radical or breakthrough changes in products, processes and services. Highlights the importance of innovation to both new ventures and to large established firms and explores the organizational, economic and strategic problems that must be tackled to ensure innovation is a long term source of competitive advantage. Discussions and class presentations cover non- technical as well as technology-based innovation. Restricted to MIT Sloan Fellows in Innovation and Global Leadership.
Staff
15.351[J] Introduction to Making and Hardware Ventures
Same subject as 2.351[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Introduces core maker technologies alongside the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework to form a foundation for creating hardware-based ventures. Fosters an understanding of how to make the abstract concrete and develops competency in rapid prototyping. Includes a large hands-on component that builds skills in the various elements of making. Enrollment limited; application required.
C. Lowell, M. Kenney, M. Culpepper
15.352[J] StartMIT: Exploring Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Same subject as 6.9302[J]
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
4-0-2 units
See description under subject 6.9302[J].
S. Neal, D. Ruiz Massieu
15.356 Lead User Innovation Methods
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
4-0-5 units
Explains both the theory behind lead user innovation development methods, and how they can be profitably used in practice. Covers lead user searches, internet-based crowdsourcing, design by customers using innovation toolkits, and more. Includes visits from industry experts who present cases that illustrate the art required to implement each method.
E. A. von Hippel
15.357 Economics of Ideas, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Advanced subject in the economics of technological change. Covers the micro-foundations of the knowledge production function (including the role of creativity and the impact of Science), the impact of institutions and strategic interaction on the commercialization of new technology, and the diffusion and welfare impact of ideas and technology. Includes a mixture and explicit comparisons of both theoretical and empirical research. Students should have adequate preparation in microeconomic theory and econometrics. Primarily for PhD students.
P. Azoulay, S. Stern
15.358 Platform Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Prereq: 15.900 or 15.902
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Considers key strategic concepts and ideas useful for managers and entrepreneurs, especially the distinction between a product versus a platform strategy as well as product versus a service strategy. Takes a relatively deep dive into various hardware and software technologies that have stimulated new platforms and business models as well as applications and startup companies in a variety of fields. Topics may include enterprise Software as a Service, blockchain, Gig/sharing economy ventures, AI/ML in self-driving technology and other enterprise applications, cybersecurity, Industrial Internet of Things, and Quantum Computing. Classes consist of lectures, case studies, guest lectures, videos, and weekly student team presentations as well as final papers.
M. Cusumano
15.359[J] Engineering Innovation: Global Security Systems
Same subject as 6.9160[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-3-6 units
Provides students with the perspective of a chief technology officer and systems engineer in innovation-focused organizations such as the Departments of Defense, DARPA, NATO, and the UN. Discusses technological and innovation measures taken to ensure mutual safety and security globally. Outlines the journey from ideation to impact, revolving around complex engineering design challenges. Involves iterative testing and refinement of solutions, focusing on scalability in operational environments. Emphasis is placed on efficient team-building and leadership within the innovation landscape and is supported by stakeholders. Examines stakeholders' roles in successfully deploying solutions. Develops skills to organize technical thoughts, write impactful reports, and present convincing arguments effectively. Equips students with the ability to navigate design challenges, adjust to engineering frameworks, and manage use case variations.
G. Keselman
15.360 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Proseminar
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
2-0-1 units
Provides an overview of the process of entrepreneurship. Describes the entrepreneurial mindset, skillset, and way of operating to most efficiently and effectively create new innovation-driven ventures. Allows quick and efficient understanding of the resources available to guide students' entrepreneurial education journey. Aimed at a wide spectrum of students from little exposure to startup founders who want to enhance their skills or change industries. Format consists of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Emphasis is on building a common base of fundamental knowledge as well as community. Serves as an entry point to understand and access the rich body of resources in entrepreneurship at MIT. Enrollment in Silicon Valley Study Tour for the following spring term is required. No listeners; restricted to students in Sloan Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) Certificate program.
B. Aulet
15.361 Executing Strategy for Results
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.711
Provides students an alternative to the mechanistic view of strategy execution that reframes an organization as a complex network of teams continuously adjusting to market conditions and to other teams. Introduces the Flexible Execution Model, consisting of seven elements; strategy for execution, shared context, goals 2.0, resource re-allocation, distributed leaders, top leaders, and execution culture that together shape how well an organization executes its strategy. Discusses a set of practical tools, based on research and field-tested, that help leaders achieve their organizations' strategic priorities. Explores novel ways to use data including surveys, Glassdoor reviews, and other sources to measure strategy execution and identify what is and is not working. Preference given to Master of Business Administration students.
D. Sull
15.363[J] Strategic Decision Making in Life Science Ventures
Same subject as HST.971[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Surveys key strategic decisions faced by managers, investors and scientists at each stage in the value chain of the life science industry. Aims to develop students' ability to understand and effectively assess these strategic challenges. Focuses on the biotech sector, with additional examples from the digital health and precision medicine industries. Includes case studies, analytical models, and detailed quantitative analysis. Intended for students interested in building a life science company or working in the sector as a manager, consultant, analyst, or investor. Provides analytical background to the industry for biological and biomedical scientists, engineers and physicians with an interest in understanding the commercial dynamics of the life sciences or the commercial potential of their research.
J. Fleming, A. Zarur
15.364 Innovation Ecosystems for Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Leaders (iEco4REAL)
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.3641
Aimed at students seeking an action-oriented understanding of innovation ecosystems, such as Silicon Valley, Greater Boston, Singapore, Lagos, and other sites across the globe. Provides a framework for analyzing these critical innovation economies from the perspective of key stakeholders: large corporations, governments, universities, entrepreneurs, and risk capital providers. Outlines the design and delivery of policies and programs (e.g., hackathons, accelerators, prizes, tax policy, immigration policy) intended to accelerate innovation-driven entrepreneurship in an ecosystem. Focused on how these programs can be used to drive corporate innovation and entrepreneurship and build stronger cultures of innovation. Meets with 15.3641 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
P. Budden, F. Murray
15.3641 Innovation Ecosystems for Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Leaders (iEco4REAL)
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.364
Aimed at students seeking an action-oriented understanding of innovation ecosystems, such as Silicon Valley, Greater Boston, Singapore, Lagos, and other sites across the globe. Provides a framework for analyzing these critical innovation economies from the perspective of key stakeholders: large corporations, governments, universities, entrepreneurs, and risk capital providers. Outlines the design and delivery of policies and programs (e.g., hackathons, accelerators, prizes, tax policy, immigration policy) intended to accelerate innovation-driven entrepreneurship in an ecosystem. Focuses on how these programs can be used to drive corporate innovation and entrepreneurship and build stronger cultures of innovation. Meets with 15.364 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
P. Budden, F. Murray
15.365 Overcoming Obstacles to Entrepreneurial Success
Prereq: 15.360, 15.378, 15.390, 15.399, or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Identifying, understanding, and coping with the key problems from founding a firm throughout its full life cycle to success. Each week a successful MIT-alum entrepreneur forwards a brief on their major issue that had to be overcome. Guest speakers include prominent entrepreneurial role models. Student teams propose solutions for class discussion followed by the speaker's response and what they actually did and why. The speaker then relates the rest of the firm's development up to the present. Class begins with the research on the day's focus and ends with student teams creating one-page take-aways. Delta v, MIT Fuse, MIT 100K Finals, Sandbox or the EMBA Program are also accepted prereqs. Exemplifies the preferred dual-track entrepreneurial education, integrating academic research and practitioner experience.
E. Roberts, I. Sayeed
15.366 Climate & Energy Ventures
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Project-based approach to innovation and venture creation in the energy sector and sectors that can mitigate climate change. Explores how innovation and entrepreneurial concepts apply (or do not apply) to the significant opportunities in these industries. Working in teams, students create new ventures specifically for the energy sector or to address climate change. Lectures guide teams through key elements of their projects. 15.390 is recommended as a prerequisite.
T. Hynes, F. O'Sullivan, L. Wayman
15.367[J] Healthcare Ventures
Same subject as HST.978[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject HST.978[J].
M. Gray, Z. Chu
15.368 Disciplined Entrepreneurship Lab
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-5 units
Project-based course offering the opportunity to experience startup life in a low stakes environment while contributing strategic value to early-stage ventures. Students secure a startup project of their choice or work with a startup pre-selected by the action learning team. Startups represent a range of industries and, while concentrated in the Boston area, may also come from other parts of the US. Students cannot drop course once project commences.
B. Aulet
15.369 Entrepreneurship in Organizations
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Addresses the practical steps that can be taken to make existing organizations (corporations, non-profits, government, etc.) become more entrepreneurial. Uses a systematic approach to integrate lectures, exercises, guest speakers, and a team project. Application required.
S. Siegel, S. Neal, Y. Kuo
15.371[J] Innovation Teams
Same subject as 2.907[J], 10.807[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
4-4-4 units
Introduces skills and capabilities for real-world problem solving to take technology from lab to societal impact: technical and functional exploration, opportunity discovery, market understanding, value economics, scale-up, intellectual property, and communicating/working for impact across disciplines. Students work in multidisciplinary teams formed around MIT research breakthroughs, with extensive in-class coaching and guidance from faculty, lab members, and select mentors. Follows a structured approach to innovating in which everything is a variable and the product, technology, and opportunities for new ventures can be seen as an act of synthesis. Teams gather evidence that permits a fact-based iteration across multiple application domains, markets, functionalities, technologies, and products, leading to a recommendation that maps a space of opportunity and includes actionable next steps to evolve the market and technology.
L. Perez-Breva, D. Hart
15.373[J] Venture Engineering
Same subject as 2.912[J], 3.085[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Provides an integrated approach to the development and growth of new innovative ventures. Intended for students who seek to leverage their engineering and science background through innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Emphasizes the concept that innovation-driven entrepreneurs must make a set of interdependent choices under conditions of high uncertainty, and demonstrates that venture engineering involves reducing uncertainty through a structured process of experimental learning and staged commitments. Provides deep understanding of the core technical, customer, and strategic choices and challenges facing start-up innovators, and a synthetic framework for the development and implementation of ventures in dynamic environments.
S. Stern, E. Fitzgerald
15.374 Organizing for Innovation
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Builds an understanding of what it means for an organization to 'manage' innovation. Subject has four parts: the sources of innovation (from the research lab, to local innovation ecosystems, to open innovation); motivating technical or/and creative professionals (incentives, structure, and culture); organizing the innovation process (from the study product development processes to R&D portfolios to building an experimental capacity); and emphasizing the connection between the management of innovation and competitive strategy.
P. Azoulay
15.375[J] Global Ventures
Same subject as EC.731[J], MAS.665[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject MAS.665[J].
J. Bonsen, A. Pentland, R. Raskar
15.376[J] AI for Impact: Solving Societal-Scale Problems
Same subject as MAS.664[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Can be repeated for credit.
See description under subject MAS.664[J].
R. Rasksar, J. Bonsen A. Pentland
15.378 Building an Entrepreneurial Venture: Advanced Tools and Techniques
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-1-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.3781
Intensive, project-based subject intended for startup teams already working on building a new, high-impact venture. Applies advanced entrepreneurial techniques to build and iterate a venture in a time-compressed manner. Includes weekly coaching sessions with instructors and peers, as well as highly interactive and customized sessions that provide practical, in-depth coverage on key topics in entrepreneurship. Topics include venture creation, primary market research, product development, market adoption, team and culture, and scaling processes with constrained resources. Meets with 15.3781 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Application required; consult instructor. No listeners.
K. Ligris
15.3781 Building an Entrepreneurial Venture: Advanced Tools and Techniques
Prereq: 15.3901 or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-1-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.378
Intensive, project-based subject intended for startup teams already working on building a new, high-impact venture. Applies advanced entrepreneurial techniques to build and iterate a venture in a time-compressed manner. Includes weekly coaching sessions with instructors and peers, as well as highly interactive and customized sessions that provide practical, in-depth coverage on key topics in entrepreneurship. Topics include venture creation, primary market research, product development, market adoption, team and culture, and scaling processes with constrained resources. Meets with 15.378 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Application required; consult instructor. No listeners.
C. Chase, K. Arnold, J. Baum
15.379[J] Mobility Ventures: Driving Innovation in Transportation Systems
Same subject as 11.529[J]
Subject meets with 11.029[J], 15.3791[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-3-6 units
See description under subject 11.529[J].
J. Zhao, J. Moavenzadeh, J. Larios Berlin
15.3791[J] Mobility Ventures: Driving Innovation in Transportation Systems
Same subject as 11.029[J]
Subject meets with 11.529[J], 15.379[J]
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
3-3-6 units
See description under subject 11.029[J]. Preference to juniors and seniors.
J. Zhao, J. Moavenzadeh, J. Larios Berlin
15.382 Managing Innovation in Financial Institutions
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Provides a practical guide to managing financial service firms, such as mutual funds, sovereign funds, banks, insurance companies, and pension plans. Focuses on strategies for adopting innovative products and services in responding to unmet financial needs and disrupting existing parts of the financial sector.
R. Pozen
15.383 Corporate Boards: Functions and Responsibilities
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Provides a practical guide to the functions and responsibilities of directors on boards of public and private companies. Focuses on the activities of the audit, compensation, and nominating committees, as well as the duties of directors in battles for control.
R. Pozen
15.385 Innovating for Impact
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Provides a structured approach to innovation and entrepreneurship that creates business value while solving social and environmental problems. Covers physical domains of sustainability, e.g., waste, water, food, energy, and mobility, as well as social and human capital domains, such as health and education. Students explore case studies of critical decisions made in the early stages of an enterprise that help determine its impact. Considers perspective and tools applicable to the startup context or to new lines of business in existing enterprises.
J. Jay
15.386 Leading in Ambiguity: Steering Through Strategic Inflection Points
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Develops the skills required to think and lead in complex, ambiguous, multi-dimensional situations. Senior leaders from a wide variety of organizations, both public and private, profit and non-profit, large and small, discuss complex real-life situations. Students are frequently asked to take a position about how they might approach each situation, perhaps using management frameworks they have studied previously. Executives then discuss what they did, or are doing, and reflect on their own journeys as enterprise-level leaders. Assignments ask students to reflect on how they have and will show up as leaders in a variety of contexts. Restricted to Sloan graduate students. No listeners or guests.
C. Chilton
15.387 Entrepreneurial Sales
Prereq: 15.390 or read the book Disciplined Entrepreneurship
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units
Instruction in the fundamental Go-to-Market (GTM) motions and how to identify, build and execute on the right GTM motion(s) for technology startups. This includes not only building out a sales organization, but also the underlying processes and sales fundamentals required to measure results and sustain competitive advantage. This course is highly relevant to anyone interested in building a business or better understanding how to drive revenue from founding to scale.
J. Baum, A. Blake, M. Faingezicht, E. Skala
15.388 Venture Creation Tactics
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-1-8 units
Advanced, intensive, project-based subject intended for solo-founders or startup teams already working on building a new, high-impact venture, with a refined business plan. Supports students in their development of data to derisk the opportunity of pursuing a new venture full-time for founders, investors, and new recruits. This lab-style class promotes rapid experimentation by connecting the dots from the frameworks, concepts, and first principles covered in the introductory entrepreneurship subjects and guides students on how to tactically apply them in real-world situations. Topics include: advanced early go-to-market, enhanced target customer profile and persona development, digital advertising, outbound sales, UX design, rapid prototyping, recruiting early team members, and executing a fundraising plan. No listeners.
P. Cheek, N. Venna, G. Whitfield, M. Kenney
15.389 Global Entrepreneurship Lab
Prereq: None
G (Fall, IAP)
3-1-8 units
Experiential study of the climate for innovation and determinants of entrepreneurial success. Students work in teams of four with the top management of a company to address real-world business challenges. Students gain insight as to how companies build, run, and scale a new enterprise. Focuses primarily on scale-ups operating in emerging markets. Restricted to MBA students; all other graduate students by permission of instructor only.
M. Jester, S. Johnson
15.390 Entrepreneurship 101: Systematic Approach to New Venture Creation
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
2-2-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.3901
Covers the process of identifying and quantifying market opportunities, then conceptualizing, planning, and starting a new, technology-based enterprise. Topics include opportunity assessment, the value proposition, the entrepreneur, legal issues, entrepreneurial ethics, the business plan, the founding team, seeking customers and raising funds. Students develop detailed business plans for a start-up. Intended for students who want to start their own business, further develop an existing business, be a member of a management team in a new enterprise, or better understand the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process. Meets with 15.3901 when offered concurrently.
B. Aulet, P. Cheek
15.3901 Entrepreneurship 101: Systematic Approach to New Venture Creation
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
2-2-8 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.390
Covers the process of identifying and quantifying market opportunities, then conceptualizing, planning, and starting a new, technology-based enterprise. Topics include opportunity assessment, the value proposition, the entrepreneur, legal issues, entrepreneurial ethics, the business plan, the founding team, seeking customers, and raising funds. Students develop detailed business plans for a start-up. Intended for students who want to start their own business, further develop an existing business, be a member of a management team in a new enterprise, or better understand the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process. Meets with 15.390 when offered concurrently. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.
B. Aulet, P. Cheek
15.392 Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures
Prereq: 10.807[J] or 15.390
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Surveys the personal, institutional and operational challenges involved in scaling an entrepreneurial venture. Discusses both effective and ineffective solutions. Addresses topics such as leadership, culture, operations, governance, and human resources. Includes case studies and guest speakers.
E. Cohen, B. Halligan, J. Larios Berlin
15.393 The Nuts and Bolts of New Ventures
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Designed to foster an understanding of how to start a new venture (for-profit and social/development). Details the process from an idea's inception to the development of a successful new venture to deliver products and services enabled by the idea. Explores customer identification, the business/economic models, financial projections, legal and operational issues, and financing alternatives and sources. All sessions taught by persons who have actually launched or have been involved in successful ventures.
J. Hadzima
15.394 Entrepreneurial Founding and Teams
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.3941
Explores key organizational and strategic decisions in founding and building a new venture. Through a series of cases, readings, and activities, students examine the trade-offs and consequences of early founder decisions: whom to include in the founding team, how to allocate equity among co-founders, how to determine founder roles, how to hire and motivate early-employees, and whether to involve external investors. Aims to equip students with tools and frameworks to help them understand the implications of early decisions, and to build enduring resources that enable the venture to execute even if the original plan changes substantially. Meets with 15.3941 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
K. Hickey, E. Scott
15.3941 Entrepreneurial Founding and Teams
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.394
Explores key organizational and strategic decisions in founding and building a new venture. Through a series of cases, readings, and activities, students examine the trade-offs and consequences of early founder decisions: whom to include in the founding team, how to allocate equity among co-founders, how to determine founder roles, how to hire and motivate early-employees, and whether to involve external investors. Aims to equip students with tools and frameworks to help them understand the implications of early decisions, and to build enduring resources that enable the venture to execute even if the original plan changes substantially. Meets with 15.394 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
K. Hickey, E. Scott
15.396 Seminar in Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Group study of current topics related to entrepreneurship.
W. Aulet
15.397 Seminar in Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to high-tech entrepreneurship.
Staff
15.398 Corporations at the Crossroads: Leading an Organization Through Change & Challenge
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
2-0-4 units
Focuses on the CEO and other analogous leadership roles such as co-founder, chairman of the board, etc. Provides a unique opportunity for students to interact with some of the world's leading organizational leaders who are invited to participate in each class. The guest speakers offer advice and answer questions related to issues in management, strategy, and leadership, and the fulfillment experienced via their role and responsibilities.
D. Schmittlein, S. Hockfield
15.399 Entrepreneurship Lab
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
2-9-1 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.3991
Project-based subject, in which teams of students from MIT and surrounding colleges work with startups on problems of strategic importance to the venture. Provides an introduction to entrepreneurship, and the action learning component allows students to apply their academic knowledge to the problems faced by entrepreneurial firms. Popular sectors include software, hardware, robotics, clean technology, and life sciences. Meets with 15.3991 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
K. Hickey, D. Patel, K. Boucher
15.3991 Entrepreneurship Lab
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-9-1 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.399
Project-based subject, in which teams of students from MIT and surrounding colleges work with startups on problems of strategic importance to the venture. Lectures provide an introduction to entrepreneurship, and the action learning component allows students to apply their academic knowledge to the problems faced by entrepreneurial firms. Popular sectors include software, hardware, robotics, clean technology, and life sciences. Meets with 15.399 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
K. Hickey, D. Patel, K. Boucher
Finance
15.401 Managerial Finance
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
4-0-5 units
Introduction to finance from the perspective of business people and finance professionals. Designed to build effective decision-making skills based on sound financial knowledge, focusing on areas such as day-to-day operational issues and management, launching a startup, or negotiating option bonuses. Provides a firm grounding in the modern financial analysis underlying any decision, through three core themes: determining the value of a project, deciding how to finance a project, and managing its risk. Students also hone their ability to negotiate skillfully and speak intelligently about finance. Meets with 15.417 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Some sections are restricted to graduate students only without the permission of the instructor. See syllabus url for further details.
L. Schmidt, L. Mota, E. Lazarus, T. Choukhmane
15.402 Corporate Finance
Prereq: 15.401
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.418
Introduction to corporate finance which focuses on financing a firm through turbulence, for innovation, and for growth. Primarily uses case studies to introduce financial analytical tools needed to make real-world value-enhancing business decisions across many industries: how to decide which projects to invest in, how to finance those investments, and how to manage the cash flows of the firm. Meets with 15.418 when offered concurrently.
P. Asquith, M. Farboodi, C. Palmer
15.403 Introduction to the Practice of Finance
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring; first half of term)
2-0-1 units
Explores various career paths within the finance industry, from private equity to public policy, FinTech to social impact, investment banking to investment management, corporate finance to venture capital. Students engage with industry professionals about the challenges they face and how their part of the industry is changing. They also network with peers to discover the challenges and rewards associated with various careers, and explore how coursework connects with industry practice. Priority given in the fall term to MBA students in the MIT Sloan Finance Certificate program.
T. Bertsekas
15.410 Finance Ethics & Regulation
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
2-0-1 units
Explores a range of ethical issues and challenges that arise in organizations and financial practice. Provides fundamental theories typically used to evaluate ethical dilemmas and references both real situations and hypothetical examples. Highlights the importance of ethical values and their impact on financial regulation for professional practice. Discusses the various factors that influence ethical behavior, such as family, religious values, personal standards and needs, senior leadership behavior, norms among colleagues, organizational expressed and implicit standards, and broader community values. Restricted to students in the Master of Finance Program.
J. Cohen, E. Golding
15.414 Financial Management
Prereq: 15.511
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.724
Provides a rigorous introduction to corporate finance and capital markets, with an emphasis on applications vital to corporate managers. Exposes students to the major financial decisions made by leaders within a firm and to the ways the firm interacts with investors, with a focus on valuation. Topics include project and company valuation, measuring risk and return, stock pricing, corporate financing policy, the cost of capital, and risk management. Presents a broad overview of both theory and practice. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
E. Verner
15.415 Foundations of Modern Finance
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
6-0-9 units
Core theory of capital markets and corporate finance. Topics include functions and operations of capital markets, analysis of consumption-investment decisions of investors, valuation theory, financial securities, risk analysis, portfolio theory, pricing models of risky assets, theory of efficient markets, as well as investment, financing and risk management decisions of firms. Provides a theoretical foundation of finance and its applications. Restricted to students in the Master of Finance Program.
L. Kogan, J. Wang
15.417 Laboratory in Investments
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-3-9 units. Institute LAB
Introduction to finance with a lab component that puts theory into practice. Designed to build effective decision-making skills for business and to develop hands-on analytical techniques that are used by investment managers and traders. Lectures provide a firm grounding in financial analysis--determining the value of a decision, deciding how to finance a project, and assessing its risk. Lab sessions introduce students to modern tools and methods used in financial markets. Through team projects, students develop and test asset-pricing models, forecasting methods, and investment strategies using real-world market data. Provides instruction in writing and speaking from a financial perspective. Meets with 15.401 when offered concurrently.
P. Mende
15.418 Laboratory in Corporate Finance
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.501
U (Fall)
4-2-9 units. Institute LAB
Credit cannot also be received for 15.402
Introduction to corporate finance. Classroom portion primarily uses case studies to introduce financial analytical tools needed to make real-world value-enhancing business decisions across many industries: how to decide which projects to invest in, how to finance those investments, and how to manage the cash flows of the firm. Laboratory sessions are organized around team valuation projects, such as valuation of an oil field and analysis of a potential merger between two public firms proposed by student teams. Projects require extensive use of financial databases. Laboratory sessions also provide instruction on writing and speaking on financial topics. Meets with 15.402 when offered concurrently.
C. Palmer
15.425 Corporate Finance
Prereq: 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Foundational, applied course providing instruction in the tools and techniques of corporate financial management from the perspective of the CFO. Case studies present the financial tools needed to make value-enhancing business decisions: how to decide which projects to invest in, how to finance those investments, and how to manage the cash flows of the firm. Topics include capital budgeting, investment decisions and valuation; working capital management, security issues; dividend policy; optimal capital structure; and real options analysis. Restricted to students in the Master of Finance Program.
P. Asquith, L. Weiss
15.426[J] Real Estate Finance and Investment
Same subject as 11.431[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
See description under subject 11.431[J]. Limited to graduate students.
W. Torous
15.429[J] Securitization of Mortgages and Other Assets
Same subject as 11.353[J]
Prereq: 11.431[J], 15.401, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
See description under subject 11.353[J]. Limited to 55.
W. Torous
15.431 Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital
Prereq: 15.402, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.4311
Examines the elements of entrepreneurial finance, focusing on technology-based start-up ventures, and the early stages of company development. Addresses key questions which challenge all entrepreneurs: how much money can and should be raised; when should it be raised and from whom; what is a reasonable valuation of a company; and how funding, employment contracts and exit decisions should be structured. Aims to prepare students for these decisions, both as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. In-depth analysis of the structure of the private equity industry. Meets with 15.4311 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students will differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
M. Rhodes-Kropf, T. Liu
15.4311 Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital
Prereq: 15.417
U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.431
Examines the elements of entrepreneurial finance, focusing on technology-based start-up ventures, and the early stages of company development. Addresses key questions which challenge all entrepreneurs: how much money can and should be raised; when should it be raised and from whom; what is a reasonable valuation of a company; and how funding, employment contracts and exit decisions should be structured. Aims to prepare students for these decisions, both as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. In-depth analysis of the structure of the private equity industry. Meets with 15.431 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students will differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
M. Rhodes-Kropf, T. Liu
15.433 Financial Markets
Subject meets with 15.4331
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Provides students with a solid understanding of key financial markets and the empirical skills and tools used to support decision making. Employs an in-depth, empirically-driven exploration of markets, including equity, fixed income, and derivatives. Students apply real-world financial data to test and understand financial models, focusing on key risk factors and risk management concerns in these markets, along with the quantitative tools used to analyze risk. Discusses major institutions and players involved in each market, the evolution of the markets, and issues such as liquidity. Meets with 15.4331 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
H. Zhu
15.4331 Financial Markets
Subject meets with 15.433
Prereq: 15.417
U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Provides students with a solid understanding of key financial markets and the empirical skills and tools used to support decision making. Employs an in-depth, empirically-driven exploration of markets, including equity, fixed income, and derivatives. Students apply real-world financial data to test and understand financial models, focusing on key risk factors and risk management concerns in these markets, along with the quantitative tools used to analyze risk. Discusses major institutions and players involved in each market, the evolution of the markets, and issues such as liquidity. Meets with 15.433 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Preference to Course 15 students.
H. Zhu
15.434 Advanced Corporate Finance
Prereq: 15.402, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.4341
Exposes students to advanced application of tools and techniques of corporate financial management. Covers complex valuations, modelling of capital structure decisions, financial restructuring, analysis and modelling of merger transactions, and real options. Additional topics include security design, choice of financial instruments, pricing of convertible bonds and convertible preferred stocks. Also covers project finance and other hybrid financing facilities.
E. Matveyev
15.4341 Advanced Corporate Finance
Prereq: 15.418
U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.434
Exposes students to advanced application of tools and techniques of corporate financial management. Covers complex valuations, modelling of capital structure decisions, financial restructuring, analysis and modelling of merger transactions, and real options. Additional topics include security design, choice of financial instruments, pricing of convertible bonds and convertible preferred stocks. Also covers project finance and other hybrid financing facilities.
E. Matveyev
15.436 Corporate Financial Strategy
Prereq: 15.402, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Case-based subject that bridges theory and practice in corporate finance, exploring the connection between finance and strategy. Covers a range of transactions and financial engineering steps used by companies to pursue their strategic goals, such as carve-outs, spin-offs, and related tools to break up and refocus business assets; special purpose vehicles to raise non-traditional capital and reconfigure corporate assets and operations; diversification as a financial strategy; control setups such as dual class shares; recapitalizations and strategic use of debt leverage; steps to address financial distress and bankruptcy; and more. Students work in study teams to complete homework assignments and prepare for class discussion. Includes project and team case competition.
N. Gregory
15.437 Options and Futures Markets
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.4371
Students develop the economic intuition and technical skills necessary to understand how to hedge and price derivatives, and how to use them for investment and risk management purposes. Topics include determinants of forward and futures prices, hedging and synthetic asset creation with futures, uses of options in investment strategies, relation between puts and calls, option valuation using binomial trees and Monte Carlo simulation, advanced hedging techniques, exotic options, and applications to corporate securities and other financial instruments. Meets with 15.4371 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Lucas
15.4371 Options and Futures Markets
Prereq: 15.417
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.437
Students develop the economic intuition and technical skills necessary to understand how to hedge and price derivatives, and how to use them for investment and risk management purposes. Topics include determinants of forward and futures prices, hedging and synthetic asset creation with futures, uses of options in investment strategies, relation between puts and calls, option valuation using binomial trees and Monte Carlo simulation, advanced hedging techniques, exotic options, and applications to corporate securities and other financial instruments. Meets with 15.437 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Lucas
15.438 Fixed Income Securities and Derivatives
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.4381
Develops an overall familiarity with fixed income markets and instruments, and a sophisticated understanding of tools used for valuation, and for quantifying, hedging, and speculating on risk. Topics include duration; convexity; modern approaches to modeling the yield curve; interest rate forwards, futures, swaps and options; credit risk and credit derivatives; mortgages; securitization; with applications to recent market and financial policy developments. Meets with 15.4381 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Lucas
15.4381 Fixed Income Securities and Derivatives
Prereq: 15.417
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.438
Develops an overall familiarity with fixed income markets and instruments, and a sophisticated understanding of tools used for valuation, and for quantifying, hedging, and speculating on risk. Topics include duration; convexity; modern approaches to modeling the yield curve; interest rate forwards, futures, swaps and options; credit risk and credit derivatives; mortgages; securitization; with applications to recent market and financial policy developments. Meets with 15.438 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Lucas
15.439 Quantitative Investment Management
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Focuses on implementing successful investment strategies - blending academic finance with the practice of investment management employed by the world's most sophisticated (quantitative) investors. Covers the dynamics of behavioral finance and their effects on markets; investment strategies in current use, and how to build and test your own quantitative strategies; portfolio construction and trading, considering transaction costs, risk management, and efficient trade execution; and current trends and regulatory changes. Includes guest lecturers. Requires an understanding of basic statistical and financial concepts.
M. Rothman
15.445 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Private Equity
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415; Coreq: 15.402
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.4451
Uses case studies to explore the financial aspects of a wide range of corporate mergers and buyout transactions: classic stock and cash mergers; minority squeeze-outs; company sale process and auction design; hostile takeover law and strategy; the structuring, financing and valuation of leveraged buyouts; the structure, history and returns of private equity buyout funds; publicly traded private equity firms; and more. Includes guest lectures on the practices and tools used in private equity and M&A. Students participate in group work, both in and out of class, including a full-term project involving the mock sale of a company. Meets with 15.4451 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
N. Gregory
15.4451 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Private Equity
Prereq: 15.417; Coreq: 15.418
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.445
Uses case studies to explore the financial aspects of a wide range of corporate mergers and buyout transactions: classic stock and cash mergers; minority squeeze-outs; company sale process and auction design; hostile takeover law and strategy; the structuring, financing and valuation of leveraged buyouts; the structure, history and returns of private equity buyout funds; publicly traded private equity firms; and more. Includes guest lectures on the practices and tools used in private equity and M&A. Students participate in group work, both in and out of class, including a full-term project involving the mock sale of a company. Meets with 15.445 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students will differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
N. Gregory
15.446 Public versus Private Capital Markets
Prereq: 15.401, 15.402, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Reviews the merits and trade-offs of public versus private capital markets, which have witnessed tremendous growth over the last decade, from a corporate governance standpoint. Specific phenomena affecting public companies, such as shareholder activism and passive investing, are also considered. Uses corporate case studies for extensive analysis and discussion.
P. Novelli
15.447 International Capital Markets
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Provides a strategic framework for current and future finance leaders — with domestic or multinational startups, established companies, investment banks or asset management firms — for investing and operating in international capital markets. Covers the determination of rates of returns within countries and internationally, including how financial institutions affect returns and how to trade and hedge international risks including debt crises. Incorporates real-world events into interactive discussions.
J. Parker
15.448-15.449 Seminar in Finance
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to finance.
Staff
15.450 Analytics of Finance
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
5-0-7 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.457
Introduces a set of modern analytical tools that specifically target finance applications. Topics include statistical inference, financial time series, event study analysis, and basic machine learning techniques for forecasting. Focuses on how to apply these tools for financial and macro forecasting, quantitative trading, risk management, and fintech innovations such as Kensho's "financial answer machine'' and big-data lending platforms. 15.457 is a more advanced version of 15.450. Students with solid background in statistics and proficiency in programming are encouraged to register for 15.457.
H. Chen
15.451 Proseminar in Capital Markets/Investment Management
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
2-0-4 units
Provides a unique opportunity to tackle original research problems in capital market analysis and investment management that have been posed by leading experts from the financial community. Students are assigned to teams, and each team is assigned one such problem. Teams present their solutions at a seminar which is attended by representatives of the sponsoring organization and open to the entire MIT community. Not open to students from other institutions.
M. Kritzman
15.452 Proseminar in Corporate Finance/Investment Banking/Private Equity
Prereq: 15.402, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
This action learning course provides an opportunity to bring theory into practice by working on projects sponsored by leaders in corporate finance, investment banking, and private equity. Students work in teams to analyze and problem-solve, culminating in reports which teams present to sponsors for evaluation and feedback. Develops and hones skills required to distill the complexity of a real-world finance problems and to provide an insightful solution that is sensitive to the full context. Recent project sponsors include leading investment banks (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan), private equity firms (Apollo, KKR, Carlyle), and consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain PE group). Not open to students from other institutions. Enrollment by application only.
E. Matveyev
15.453 Finance Lab
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (IAP, Spring; first half of term)
3-0-6 units
Bridges theory and practice, providing students with an immersive research and analysis experience during IAP followed by a classroom segment in the first half of spring term. Students work with leading industry practitioners and a diverse cross-section of students on collaborative teams, focusing on topical, real-world finance research questions posed by the practitioners. Teams then deliver a nuanced analysis and report findings, gaining insight and coaching from the experts. Practitioners represent a range of financial institutions, including investment management, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, risk, and consulting. Examples of project topics include equity and fixed income research, trading, risk analysis, venture capital valuation, private equity due diligence, and fundamental industry analysis. Application required; restricted to MIT students.
G. Rao
15.454 Financial Mathematics
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-3 units
Covers fundamental mathematics essential for the study of modern finance: probability, stochastic processes, linear algebra, statistics, optimization, and basic programming in R. Restricted to students in the Master of Finance Program.
P. Mende
15.455 Advanced Mathematical Methods for Financial Engineering
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-3 units
Covers advanced mathematical topics essential for financial engineering and quantitative finance: linear algebra, optimization, probability, stochastic processes, statistics, and basic programming in R. Covers topics at a more advanced level and at a faster pace than 15.454. Restricted to students in the Master of Finance Program.
P. Mende
15.456 Financial Engineering
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
4-0-5 units
Exposes students to the cutting edge of financial engineering. Includes a deep immersion into 'how things work,' where students develop and test sophisticated computational models and solve highly complex financial problems. Covers stochastic modeling, dynamic optimization, stochastic calculus and Monte Carlo simulation through topics such as dynamic asset pricing and investment management, market equilibrium and portfolio choice with frictions and constraints, and risk management. Assumes solid undergraduate-level background in calculus, probability, statistics, and programming and includes a substantial coding component. Classroom examples presented using Python and R.
L. Kogan, P. Mende
15.457 Advanced Analytics of Finance
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
5-0-7 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.450
Introduces a set of modern analytical tools that specifically target finance applications. Topics include statistical inference, financial time series, event study analysis, and machine learning techniques. Focuses on how to apply these tools for financial and macro forecasting, quantitative trading, risk management, and fintech innovations such as big-data lending and robo-advisors. 15.457 is a more advanced version of 15.450. Students with a solid background in statistics and proficiency in programming are encouraged to register for 15.457.
H. Chen
15.458 Financial Data Science and Computing
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Covers methods of managing data and extracting insights from real-world financial sources. Topics include machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, regression methods, and time series analysis. Applications include algorithmic trading, portfolio risk management, high-frequency market microstructure, and option pricing. Studies major sources of financial data, raw data cleaning, data visualization, and data architecture. Provides instruction in tools used in the financial industry to process massive data sets, including SQL, relational and multidimensional databases. Emphasizes computer implementations throughout.
P. Mende
15.465 Alphanomics: A New Approach to Security Analysis
Prereq: 15.401
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Focuses on investment decisions in the presence of noisy market prices. Exposes students to the role of informational arbitrage, whereby some agents invest resources to become informed about mispricing (i.e., noise) relative to fundamental values, with hopes of profiting from it. Explains the practice of active investing, the relation between information flows and market pricing dynamics, and the roles of retail investors. Topics included derive from financial economics: market efficiency, cognitive constraints, limits to arbitrage, quantitative stock selection; and accounting-based research: equity valuation, fundamental analysis, and the role of financial analysts.
E. So
15.466 Functional and Strategic Finance
Prereq: 15.433 or 15.437
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Applies finance science and financial engineering tools and theory to the design and management of global financial institutions, markets, and the financial system to better understand the dynamics of institutional change and financial product/service design. Focuses on foundational analytical tools students will rely upon throughout their careers - derivative pricing and risk measurement; portfolio analysis and risk accounting; and performance measurement to analyze and implement concepts and new product ideas. Examines the needs of government as user, producer and overseer of the financial system, and how tools are applied to measure and manage risks in financial and other economic crises (e.g. 1973-1975 vs. 2007-2009 vs. 2020-2022). Preference to MBA and MFin students.
R. Merton
15.467 Asset Management, Lifecycle Investing, and Retirement Finance
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Applies finance science and financial engineering tools and theory to asset management, lifecycle investing, and retirement finance. Focuses on foundational analytical tools students will rely upon throughout their careers - derivative pricing and risk measurement, portfolio analysis and risk accounting, and performance measurement to analyze and implement concepts and new product ideas. Students should be comfortable with portfolio-selection theory, CAPM, option pricing, futures, swaps, and other derivative securities. 15.433 is a strongly recommended co-requisite. Preference to MBA and MFin students.
R. Merton
15.470[J] Asset Pricing
Same subject as 14.416[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
Provides a foundation in the neoclassical theory of finance that underlies more advanced study. Covers arbitrage asset pricing, optimal consumption-portfolio choices, neo-classic theory of corporate finance, static equilibrium models of asset pricing, asymmetric information, and dynamic modeling. Prepares students for further study of asset pricing theories, corporate finance and econometric work in finance. Primarily for doctoral students in finance, economics, and accounting.
L. Schmidt, L. Mota
15.471[J] Corporate Finance
Same subject as 14.441[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Provides an introduction to the basic theoretical and empirical contributions in corporate finance. Covers capital structure, corporate governance and agency problems, the market for corporate control, investments and financing frictions, banking and financial intermediation, and other selected topics. Exposes students to the key methodological tools in modern corporate finance. Primarily for doctoral students in finance, economics, and accounting.
A. Schoar, M. Farboodi
15.472[J] Advanced Asset Pricing
Same subject as 14.442[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Focuses on solving, estimating, and empirically evaluating theoretical models of asset prices and financial markets, as well as their microeconomic foundations and macroeconomic implications. Discusses theory and econometric methods, the state of the literature, and recent developments and empirical evidence. Covers topics such as cross-sectional and time-series models, consumption-based and intermediary-based models, financial institutions, household finance, housing, behavioral finance, financial crises, and continuous-time tools and applications. Students complete a short term paper and a presentation. Primarily for doctoral students in finance, economics, and accounting.
J. Parker
15.473[J] Advanced Corporate Finance
Same subject as 14.440[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Builds on 15.471[J] and considers further topics that are at the frontier of corporate finance research. Topics covered include: aggregate effects of financing frictions, financial intermediation, financial distress and bankruptcy, structural estimation of corporate finance models, entrepreneurial finance, venture capital and private equity, and other selected topics. Primarily for doctoral students in finance, economics, and accounting.
A. Schoar, D. Thesmar, C. Palmer
15.474[J] Current Topics in Finance
Same subject as 14.448[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Faculty present their current research in a wide variety of topics in finance. Provides a rapid overview of the literature, an in-depth presentation of selected contributions, and a list of potential research ideas for each topic. Faculty rotate every year to cover new topics. Primarily for doctoral students in accounting, economics, and finance.
Consult J. Alton
15.475[J] Current Research in Financial Economics
Same subject as 14.449[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
3-0-3 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Advanced seminar intended for PhD students interested in finance. Topics and papers vary by term, following the latest research in academia and in correlation with the weekly finance faculty research seminar. Each week, students will critically review the contributions, method of analysis, and presentation of evidence of existing research; one session is devoted to preparing for the finance seminar, while the other session discusses further work on the same topic. Restricted to doctoral students.
Consult J. Alton
15.480[J] Science and Business of Biotechnology
Same subject as 7.546[J], 20.586[J]
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.401; permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
See description under subject 7.546[J].
J. Chen, A. Koehler, A. Lo, H. Lodish
15.481[J] Financial Market Dynamics and Human Behavior
Same subject as 6.9350[J]
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring)
4-0-5 units
Drawing on the latest research in psychology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, as well as in behavioral and mainstream financial economics, provides new perspectives and insights into the role that human behavior plays in the business environment and the dynamics of financial markets and institutions. Incorporates practical applications from several industries including finance, insurance, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and government policy. Students apply ideas from this perspective to formulate original hypotheses regarding new career opportunities and disruptive technologies in their industry of choice. Enrollment may be limited; preference to Sloan graduate students.
A. Lo
15.482 Healthcare Finance
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, 15.415, or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Covers the role of finance in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries; specifically, the application of novel financing methods and business structures to facilitate drug discovery, clinical development, and greater patient access to high-cost therapies. Topics include basic financial analysis for the life-sciences professional; risks and returns in the biopharma industries; the mechanics of biotech startup financing; capital budgeting for biopharma companies; and applications of financial engineering in modern healthcare investment strategies and institutions. Develops a systemic framework for addressing the biggest challenges in the biomedical ecosystem. Enrollment may be limited; preference to Sloan graduate students.
A. Lo
15.483 Consumer Finance and FinTech
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Explores consumer finance and the ways in which financial innovation and new technologies disrupt the financial services industry, leading to material change in business models and product design in financial markets. Provides a solid understanding of rational and behavioral aspects of consumer decision-making and how the players, products, funding markets, regulatory frameworks, and fundamentals all interact to shape ever-changing consumer financial markets, including consumer debt, investment, transactions, and advising markets. Covers past and current innovations and technologies ranging from peer-to-peer lending, AI, deep learning, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and open API's, to the role of FinTech startups. A combination of case studies, guest speakers and group discussion provide real-world insight and interactivity, while special review sessions help hone technical skills.
J. Parker
15.492 Practice of Finance: Crypto Finance
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Explores the markets for cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Begins with the basics and economics of crypto assets' underlying blockchain technology and then turns to the trading and markets for cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, other tokens and crypto derivatives. Students gain an understanding and comparison to traditional finance of the market structure, participants, regulation and dynamics of this relatively new and volatile asset class.
P. Asquith, Y. Gao
15.493 Practice of Finance: Perspectives on Investment Management
Prereq: 15.402, 15.414, or 15.415
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Provides an overview of the investment management industry and an introduction to business fundamentals and valuation. Students read company analyst reports, write papers analyzing various companies, and complete an in-depth company analysis as a final paper. Includes presentations by outside speakers in the investment management industry. Class attendance is mandatory.
J. Shames
15.497 FinTech Ventures
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, 15.415, or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Provides a unique opportunity to work through the nuts and bolts of developing a FinTech startup. Students present ideas, ranging from well-thought-out concepts to emerging ones. Students coalesce around the top ideas to form teams. Each week, a new speaker (entrepreneur, legal expert, venture capitalist) addresses relevant topics, while students present progress reports and receive advice and feedback as they develop their plan for the "Demo Day." Teams then deliver a final pitch in front of a group of investors. A financial background is not required; alternative (legal, financial, technical, operations, etc.) backgrounds are encouraged to apply, individually or as part of a team. Enrollment by application only.
M. Rhodes-Kropf
15.499 Practice of Finance: Social Impact Investing
Prereq: 15.401, 15.414, 15.415, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Deep dive into social impact investing -- an approach intentionally seeking to create financial return and positive social impact that is actively measured. Imparts a solid analytical framework for evaluating the spectrum of social impact investments, including mission related investing. Includes a project which provides practical experience in evaluating an impact enterprise or a public markets ESG strategy. Students gain experience in structuring different types of investments, and critically compare and contrast these investments with traditional mainstream investments, with a view to understanding structural constraints. Designed for students interested in the intersection of finance and social impact. Provides career guidance and networking opportunities.
G. Rao
Accounting
15.501 Corporate Financial Accounting
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.516
Preparation and analysis of financial statements. Focuses on why financial statements take the form they do, and how they can be used in evaluating corporate performance and solvency and in valuation of corporate securities. Introduces concepts from finance and economics (e.g., cash flow discounting and valuation) and explains their relation to, and use in, accounting. Students taking the graduate version complete additional assignments.
Staff
15.511 Financial Accounting
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.515, 15.720
Introduces concepts of corporate financial accounting and reporting of information widely used in making investment decisions, corporate and managerial performance assessment, and valuation of firms. Students perform economics-based analysis of accounting information from the viewpoint of the user (especially senior managers) rather than the preparer (the accountant). Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
S. Kothari
15.515 Financial Accounting
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
4-0-5 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.511, 15.720
An intensive introduction to the interpretation of financial information. Adopts a decision-maker perspective of accounting by emphasizing the relation between accounting data and the underlying economic events generating them. Class sessions are a mixture of lecture and case discussion. Assignments include textbook problems, analysis of financial statements, and cases. Restricted to first-year Sloan master's students.
J. Core
15.516 Corporate Financial Accounting
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring, Summer)
3-0-9 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.501
See description under subject 15.501. If subject is oversubscribed, priority is given to Course 15 students.
Staff
15.518 Taxes and Business Strategy
Prereq: 15.501, 15.511, 15.515, or 15.516
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.5181
Provides conceptual framework for thinking about taxation and decision-making. Topics include taxation of various investments and types of compensation; retirement planning; considerations for choosing organizational form when starting a business; methods of merging, acquiring, divesting business entities; international tax planning strategies; and high wealth planning and estate tax. Applies current debates on tax policy options and recent tax law changes to class discussions. Intended to show how taxes affect individual investment as well as business decisions. Meets with 15.5181 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students will differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
M. Hanlon
15.5181 Taxes and Business Strategy
Prereq: 15.501
U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.518
Provides conceptual framework for thinking about taxation and decision-making. Topics include taxation of various investments and types of compensation; retirement planning; considerations for choosing organizational form when starting a business; methods of merging, acquiring, divesting business entities; international tax planning strategies; and high wealth planning and estate tax. Applies current debates on tax policy options and recent tax law changes to class discussions. Intended to show how taxes affect individual investment as well as business decisions. Meets with 15.518 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria for graduate students will differ from those of undergraduates; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
M. Hanlon
15.521 Accounting Information for Decision Makers
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Focuses on how organizations use granular-level information from their accounting systems on a day-to-day basis for two purposes -- making decisions and evaluating those decisions after the fact. The primary audience is students who intend to work as managers or management consultants. Featuring real-world situations from diverse operating environments, course content emphasizes practical skills that can be applied across various functional areas within organizations.
C. Noe
15.535 Business Analysis Using Financial Statements
Prereq: 15.501, 15.511, 15.515, or 15.516; Coreq: 15.401, 15.414, 15.415, or 15.417
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Focuses on the strategic, financial, and accounting analysis of a company by means of historical financial statement data. Also studies financial statement forecasting along with a specific application of forecasting - valuation. Concepts are applied to a number of decision-making contexts, including securities analysis, credit analysis, merger analysis, and company performance assessment.
C. Noe
15.539 Doctoral Seminar in Accounting
Prereq: 15.515
G (Fall, Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Designed primarily for doctoral students in accounting and related fields. The reading list consists of accounting research papers. Objective is to introduce research topics, methodologies, and developments in accounting, and train students to do independent research.
R. Verdi, E. So
15.540 Theory Studies in Accounting Research
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-3 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Exposes PhD students to theoretical foundations of cutting-edge research in accounting. Rotating modules cover topics on disclosure, contracting, compensation, asset pricing, and investments.
E. So, R. Verdi
Information Technologies
15.561 Digital Revolution: From Foundations to Future Trends
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Emphasizes programming in scripting languages (e.g., Python) within the context of emerging trends that underlie current and future uses of digital technologies in business. Provides a solid grasp of programming basics and the foundations of computing. Other topics include web technologies, database systems, digital experimentation (A/B testing), crowdsourcing, digital marketplaces, distributed ledger technologies, and AI.
A. Almaatouq, J. Horton
15.562 Web3 and Strategy: Blockchain, Metaverse, and NFT Essentials
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-3 units
Covers how Web3 and the Metaverse impact business strategy, organizations, entrepreneurship, and investing. Lectures and guest speakers discuss blockchain, crypto-assets, decentralized currency design, NFTs, decentralized finance (DeFi) and organizations (DAOs), smart contracts, and the impacts of these technologies on the digital economy and beyond.
S. Aral
15.563[J] Artificial Intelligence for Business
Same subject as 6.4150[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Explores how to design and evaluate products and policy based on artificial intelligence. Provides a functional (as opposed to mechanistic) understanding of the emerging technologies underlying AI. Presents AI's opportunities and risks and how to create conditions under which its deployment can succeed. No technical background required.
M. Raghavan
15.567 The Economics of Information: Strategy, Structure and Pricing
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Analysis of the underlying economics of information with business implications. Studies effects of digitization and technology on business strategy and organizational structure. Examines pricing, bundling, and versioning of digital goods, including music, video, software, and communication services. Considers the economic and managerial implications of data-driven decision-making, search, platform competition, targeted advertising, personalization, privacy, network externalities, and artificial intelligence. Readings on fundamental economic principles provide context for industry speakers and case discussions.
J. Horton
15.568 The Art of Leading: Experiencing Leadership in Practice
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Integrates the MIT Sloan 4-Capabilities Leadership model with arts processes to translate leadership capabilities into practice. Through discussions, guest speakers, and reflective exercises, focuses on individual and team practices that develop and sustain effective leadership. Structured around the capabilities of visioning, relating, sensemaking, and inventing as these are expressed in creative processes that facilitate novel perspectives, generate collaborative connections, and enable adaptive innovation.
W. Orlikowski, A. Shapira
15.570 Digital Marketing and Social Media Analytics
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-3 units
Provides a detailed, applied perspective on the theory and practice of digital marketing and social media analytics in the age of big data. Covers concepts such as the difference between earned and paid media, predictive modeling for ad targeting and customer relationship management, measuring and managing product virality, viral product design, native advertising, and engaging the multichannel experience. Stresses the theory and practice of randomized experimentation, AB testing and the importance of causal inference for marketing strategy. Combines lectures, case studies, and guest speakers with relevant industry experience that speak directly to the topics at hand.
S. Aral
15.572 Analytics Lab: Action Learning Seminar on Analytics, Machine Learning, and the Digital Economy
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
2-0-7 units
Student teams design and deliver a project based on the use of analytics, machine learning, large data sets, or other digital innovations to create or transform a business or other organization. Teams may be paired up with an organization or propose their own ideas and sites for the project. Culminates with presentation of results to an audience that includes IT experts, entrepreneurs, and executives.
S. Aral, A. Almaatouq
15.575 Economics of Information and Information Technology
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Builds upon relevant economic theories and methodologies to analyze the changes in organizations and markets enabled by digital technologies. Examines information economics, labor economics, industrial organization and price theory, growth theory, intangible asset valuation, incomplete contracts theory, and design of empirical studies. Extensive reading and discussion of research literature explores the application of these theories to business issues with relevant guest speakers. Students will complete a final research paper and presentation. Primarily for doctoral students.
J. Horton
15.576 Research Seminar in Information Technology and Organizations: Social Perspectives
Prereq: Permission of instructor
Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring)
Acad Year 2025-2026: Not offered
3-0-9 units
Examines the assumptions, concepts, theories, and methodologies that inform research into the social aspects of technology. Extensive reading and discussion of research literature aimed at exploring the multiple social phenomena surrounding the development, implementation, use and implications of information technology in organizations. Primarily for doctoral students.
W. J. Orlikowski
15.579 Seminar in Information Technology
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Fall)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to information technology.
S. Aral
15.579-15.580 Seminar in Information Technology
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to information technology.
S. E. Madnick, T. W. Malone, W. Orlikowski
Law
15.615 Essential Law for Business
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.6151
Provides a solid grounding in what managers need to know about how law shapes opportunities and risks for the businesses they manage and their own careers. Enhances leadership skills for navigating critical law-sensitive junctures that managers encounter in young and mature companies. Explores the legal frameworks of contracts and deals; litigation and liability; employment and changing jobs; regulation and criminal sanctions; complex transactions, including public and private mergers and acquisitions; finance and private equity; distress, reorganization, and bankruptcy; cutting-edge digital technologies; and effective use of IP. No prior knowledge of law expected. Meets with 15.6151 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
J. Akula, L. Rodriques
15.6151 Essential Law for Business
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.615
Provides a solid grounding in what managers need to know about how law shapes opportunities and risks for the businesses they manage and their own careers. Enhances leadership skills for navigating critical law-sensitive junctures that managers encounter in young and mature companies. Explores the legal frameworks of contracts and deals; litigation and liability; employment and changing jobs; regulation and criminal sanctions; complex transactions, including public and private mergers and acquisitions; finance and private equity; distress, reorganization, and bankruptcy; cutting-edge digital technologies; and effective use of IP. No prior knowledge of law expected. Meets with 15.615 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
J. Akula, L. Rodriques
15.617 Deals, Finance, and the Law
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.6171
Addresses law-sensitive issues arising in the overlapping contexts of complex deals and financial services and products. Covers financial services regulation, employment and job changes, and civil and criminal accountability. Develops managerial skills for handling law-sensitive situations at individual and organizational levels. Meets with 15.6171 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Akula
15.6171 Deals, Finance, and the Law
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.617
Addresses law-sensitive issues arising in the overlapping contexts of complex deals and financial services and products. Covers financial services regulation, employment and job changes, and civil and criminal accountability. Develops managerial skills for handling law-sensitive situations at individual and organizational levels. Meets with 15.617 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Akula
15.618 Startups and the Law
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.6181
The legal framework of entrepreneurship and innovation. Key law-sensitive junctures in launching and growing a startup: assembling a team, organizing a business entity, ownership and compensation, early financing, managing contracts and employees, business distress and winding down, and selling a company. Cutting-edge technologies and intellectual property rights. Designed for those who may start or work in such ventures; or are engaged in research with potential for commercial or social impact; or are otherwise attempting to advance an innovation from idea to impact. No prior knowledge of law expected. Meets with 15.6181 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
J. Akula
15.6181 Startups and the Law
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.618
The legal framework of entrepreneurship and innovation. Key law-sensitive junctures in launching and growing a startup: assembling a team, organizing a business entity, ownership and compensation, early financing, managing contracts and employees, business distress and winding down, and selling a company. Cutting-edge technologies and intellectual property rights. Designed for those who may start or work in such ventures; or are engaged in research with potential for commercial or social impact; or are otherwise attempting to advance an innovation from idea to impact. No prior knowledge of law expected. Meets with 15.6181 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
J. Akula
15.620 Patent Law Fundamentals
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Intensive introduction to the basic provisions of US patent law, emphasizing the requirements for patentability and the process of applying for a patent. Topics include requirements of utility, novelty, and non-obviousness; eligible subject matter; applying for a patent, including patent searches and the language of patent claims; infringement, defenses, and remedies; comparison of patents with other forms of intellectual property (copyrights, trade secrets, and trademarks). Reading materials include key sections of the US patent statute (Title 35, US Code) and related judicial decisions.
J. Meldman
15.621 Your Career and the Law: Key Junctures, Opportunities and Risks
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring; first half of term)
2-0-4 units
Explores legal opportunities and risks in employment from the perspectives of both employees and managers. Special attention to issues faced by tech-savvy employees and tech-intensive ventures; employees starting competing ventures; compensation and equity arrangements; the challenges of the gig economy; employee privacy; and discrimination, gender and other inclusion-related issues in the workplace. Led by former practicing attorneys, focuses on how employment law issues play out in the real world. Utilizes realistic scenarios and documents, such as offer letters and non-competition and invention assignment agreements. No prior knowledge of law expected.
J. Akula, L. Rodriques
15.622 The Law of AI, Big Data & Social Media
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.6221
Focuses on the emerging legal framework of cutting-edge digital technologies, including AI/machine learning, big data and analytics, blockchain, the internet, and social media. Considers the law's impact on the development and application of these technologies, and the legal response to beneficial and mischievous impacts. Topics include law-sensitive aspects of privacy and bias, fintech, fair competition and fair dealing in digital markets, political discourse on social media, digital technologies in the workplace, and intellectual property rights in software and other innovations. Gives special attention to the legal concerns of those planning careers built on cutting-edge skills, and of managers and entrepreneurs bringing innovations from ideas to impact. How to find and make good use of legal advice. Meets with 15.6221 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
J. Akula, L. Rodriques
15.6221 The Law of AI, Big Data & Social Media
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.622
Focuses on the emerging legal framework of cutting-edge digital technologies, including AI/machine learning, big data and analytics, blockchain, the internet, and social media. Considers the law's impact on the development and application of these technologies, and the legal response to beneficial and mischievous impacts. Topics include law-sensitive aspects of privacy and bias, fintech, fair competition and fair dealing in digital markets, political discourse on social media, digital technologies in the workplace, and intellectual property rights on software and other innovations. Gives special attention to the legal concerns of those planning careers built on cutting-edge skills, and of managers and entrepreneurs bringing innovations from ideas to impact. How to find and make good use of legal advice. Meets with 15.622 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking undergraduate version.
J. Akula, L. Rodriques
15.630 Law, Ethics, and Data Privacy
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
2-0-1 units
Surveys selected ethical dilemmas and legal issues that arise in business analytics and AI. Explains how to maintain current knowledge about key laws and regulations for evolving technologies. Issues of data privacy are presented through consideration of the European Legislation General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its requirements. Explores the many ethical dilemmas that arise beyond legal regulations with guests who work on the cutting edge of law, ethics, and data science. Restricted to Master of Business Analytics students.
Consult M. Li
15.647-15.649 Seminar in Law
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to law.
J. L. Akula
15.655[J] Law, Technology, and Public Policy
Same subject as 11.422[J], IDS.435[J]
Subject meets with 11.122[J], IDS.066[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject IDS.435[J].
N. Ashford, C. Caldart
15.657[J] Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development
Same subject as 1.813[J], 11.466[J], IDS.437[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject IDS.437[J].
N. Ashford
Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management
15.661 Building Successful Careers and Organizations
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Designed to help students learn more about their strengths, and how they can utilize these strengths to manage their career. Draws on the latest research and practices, experiential exercises, and cases studies, and includes guest speakers. Covers the most important aspects of talent (and career) management. No listeners.
E. Castilla
15.662[J] People and Profits: Shaping the Future of Work
Same subject as 11.383[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Spring)
3-1-8 units
Examines managing work in the 21st century in the interests of both people and profits through the context of rising inequality, technological change, globalization, and the growth of the gig economy. Students evaluate various business and policy interventions intended to improve work through critical analysis of the evidence, interviews with workers and evaluations of firms, and guest speakers. Guests include business leaders at leading-edge firms and labor leaders experimenting with new ways of providing workers a voice in the workplace. Draws on materials from the MIT Task Force on Work of the Future and the online course Shaping Work of the Future.
A. Stansbury
15.663[J] Environmental Law, Policy, and Economics: Pollution Prevention and Control
Same subject as 1.811[J], 11.630[J], IDS.540[J]
Subject meets with 1.801[J], 11.021[J], 17.393[J], IDS.060[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject IDS.540[J].
N. Ashford, C. Caldart
15.665 Power and Negotiation
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Provides understanding of the theory and processes of negotiation as practiced in a variety of settings. Designed for relevance to the broad spectrum of bargaining problems faced by the manager and professional. Allows students an opportunity to develop negotiation skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks. Emphasizes simulations, exercises, role playing, and cases.
J. Lu, B. Tewfik
15.669 Strategies for People Analytics
Prereq: 15.311 or permission of instructor
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Focuses on the strategies used to successfully design and implement people analytics in one's organization. Draws on the latest company practices, research projects, and case studies - all with the goal of helping students deepen their understanding of how people analytics can be applied in the real world. Covers the most important aspects of human resource management and people analytics. Demonstrates how to apply those basic tools and principles when hiring, evaluating and rewarding performance, managing careers, and implementing organizational change. No listeners.
E. Castilla
15.671 U-Lab: Transforming Self, Business and Society
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Experiential opportunity to practice new leadership skills, such as deep listening, being present (mindfulness), and generative dialogue. In weekly coaching circles, each student has one full session to present their current leadership edge and receive feedback from peer coaches. Includes an additional action learning project.
O. Scharmer
15.672 Negotiation Analysis
Subject meets with 15.6721, 15.673, 15.6731
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.675, 15.712
Presents analytical frameworks and strategies to handle a variety of negotiation situations. Includes simulations, games, videos, lectures, discussion, and multiple opportunities to practice and hone negotiation, communication, and influence skills with extensive personalized feedback. Intended for students with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experience levels. Six-unit version includes additional class time and outside work. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version. Limited to 80 via lottery; consult class website for information and deadlines.
J. Curhan
15.6721 Negotiation Analysis
Subject meets with 15.672, 15.673, 15.6731
Prereq: Permission of instructor
U (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.675, 15.712
Presents analytical frameworks and strategies to handle a variety of negotiation situations. Includes simulations, games, videos, lectures, discussion, and multiple opportunities to practice and hone negotiation, communication, and influence skills with extensive personalized feedback. Intended for students with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experience levels. Six-unit version includes additional class time and outside work. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version. Limited to 80 via lottery; consult class website for information and deadlines.
J. Curhan
15.673 Negotiation Analysis
Subject meets with 15.672, 15.6721, 15.6731
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.675, 15.712
Presents analytical frameworks and strategies to handle a variety of negotiation situations. Includes simulations, games, videos, lectures, discussion, and multiple opportunities to practice and hone negotiation, communication, and influence skills with extensive personalized feedback. Intended for students with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experience levels. Six-unit version includes additional class time and outside work. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version. Limited to 80 via lottery; consult class website for information and deadlines.
J. Curhan
15.6731 Negotiation Analysis
Subject meets with 15.672, 15.6721, 15.673
Prereq: Permission of instructor
U (IAP)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.675, 15.712
Presents analytical frameworks and strategies to handle a variety of negotiation situations. Includes simulations, games, videos, lectures, discussion, and multiple opportunities to practice and hone negotiation, communication, and influence skills with extensive personalized feedback. Intended for students with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experience levels. Six-unit version includes additional class time and outside work. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version. Limited to 80 via lottery; consult class website for information and deadlines.
J. Curhan
15.674[J] Leading Creative Teams
Same subject as 6.9280[J], 16.990[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
See description under subject 6.9280[J]. Enrollment limited.
D. Nino
15.675 Negotiation Seminar
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.672, 15.6721, 15.673, 15.6731, 15.712
Provides understanding of the theory and processes of negotiation as practiced in a variety of settings. Designed for relevance to the broad spectrum of bargaining problems faced by the manager and professional. Allows students an opportunity to develop negotiation skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks. Emphasizes simulations, exercises, role playing, and cases. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
J. Curhan
15.676 Work, Employment, and Industrial Relations Theory
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
2-0-7 units
Historical evolution and assessment of different theories and disciplinary perspectives used in research on work, employment, and industrial relations. Introduces doctoral students to the field and explores where their research interests fit within the broader field. First part compares the normative assumptions, theories, and methodologies used by economists, historians, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, and legal scholars from the latter nineteenth century to the present. Final portion explores strategies for advancing research on topics of current interest to participants.
T. Kochan, P. Osterman, E. Castilla, O. Sharone, M. Amengual
15.677[J] Labor Markets and Employment Policy
Same subject as 11.427[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Research-based examination of how labor markets work — and how they have evolved over time — through trends such as rising income inequality, technological change, globalization, falling worker power, and the fissuring of the workplace. Through reading and engaging with economics research papers, students use theoretical frameworks and rigorous empirical evidence to analyze public policy interventions in the labor market, including unemployment insurance, minimum wage, unions, family leave, anti-discrimination policies, and workforce development. Preference to graduate and PhD students.
A. Stansbury
15.679[J] USA Lab: Bridging the American Divides
Same subject as 11.651[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-1-5 units
Practical exploration of community revitalization in America's small towns and rural regions. Focuses on work, community, and culture. Consists of rigorous classroom discussions, research, and team projects with community development organizations. Site visit over SIP week and spring break required for project fieldwork.
L. Hafrey, C. McDowell
15.681 From Analytics to Action
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-3 units
Develops appreciation for organizational dynamics and competence in navigating social networks, working in a team, demystifying rewards and incentives, leveraging the crowd, understanding change initiatives, and making sound decisions. Restricted to Master of Business Analytics students.
R. Fernandez, M. Terrab
15.690 Diversity as Discovery
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: U (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Aims to help students discover who they are as individuals and members of a community. Course operates under two basic assumptions: that we can accomplish more together than alone, and that a significant part of who we are as individuals is left out of most organizational settings. Confronts the lack of tools and frameworks for dealing with the wealth of diversity among populations, and discusses the value diversity could potentially create.
R. Reagans
15.691 Research Seminar in Work, Employment and Industrial Relations
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Discusses important areas for research in work, employment and industrial relations; frameworks for research, research techniques, and methodological problems. Centered mainly on staff research and the thesis research of advanced graduate students and invited guests.
Consult T. A. Kochan
15.698 Seminar in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to industrial relations and human resource management.
Consult P. Osterman
Executive MBA Subjects
15.700 Leadership and Integrative Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Investigates the different perspectives a general manager must take, how to integrate those perspectives, and the role of leadership in setting and realizing goals. Students work intensively in teams and with multiple faculty, using a deep dive into the challenges faced by a major global firm operating in complex global markets. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.701 Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurial Advantage
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.714; or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
6-0-6 units
Exposes students to the content, context, and contacts that enable entrepreneurs to design and launch successful stand-alone ventures, ventures inside established corporations, and ventures in partnership with established corporations based on new innovations. Students examine the critical entrepreneurial and innovation challenges facing entrepreneurs inside new and established firms, and develop frameworks that allow them to identify, evaluate, iterate, and integrate their ideas effectively. Case-based discussions complemented by visits to key actors in MIT labs, as well as live case studies with successful entrepreneurs. Specially designed team projects provide practical experience in entrepreneurial strategy, innovation management, and the workings of the MIT entrepreneurial ecosystem. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.702 Leading in a Global Context: Macroeconomics and Global Markets
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
6-0-6 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Intensive module on the global economy, combining the key perspectives of macroeconomics and global economic strategy. Focuses on the policy and economic environment of firms, as well as on the development of a more international market in products, services, and capital, and how this affects trade and industries. Presents insights into national economic strategies for development, and into the evolving rules and institutions governing the international economic order. Develops an actionable appreciation for managers of the international dimensions of economic policy and strategy in an increasingly complex world economy. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.703 Leading with Impact
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-3-3 units
Student teams work with the leadership of local not-for-profits to solve a pressing problem faced by that organization. The problems will vary with the organization in question, as will the skills and capabilities students draw on to appropriately address them. Culminates with group reflection on what it means to be a principled innovative leader who improves the world.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.704 IDEA Lab
Prereq: 15.701
G (Spring)
6-0-9 units
Opportunity to work with interested organizations - or on a startup - to explore and leverage innovation ecosystems, build greater strength in innovation-driven entrepreneurial advantage, and build a stronger culture of corporate innovation. Faculty and students co-create projects along one of two tracks: the innovation track, focused on organizations wishing to become more innovative and/or engage the ecosystem; or the entrepreneurship track, principally for students with startup enterprises/ventures. Further explores themes of innovation ecosystems, stakeholders, and the innovation loop of experimentation and evaluation. Innovation projects are team-based and can be Boston-based. Entrepreneurship projects can be a solo enterprise, but teams are also encouraged. Restricted to second year Executive MBA students.
F. Murray, P. Budden
15.705 Organizations Lab
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Preparation for an organizational change project. Emphasis on applying tools of organizational, operational, and systems analysis in order to effect change. Includes a focus on the challenges and opportunities presented by issues of leadership and organizational behavior. Each student leads a change project in his or her own organization, focusing on fixing a broken or ineffective process. Examples of possible initiatives include a strategic reorientation, organizational restructuring, introduction of a new technology, a worker participation program, etc. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.707 Global Strategy
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-3 units
Provides students with the evidence, concepts and models for understanding company performance in a global world and the issues facing executives in the early 21st century. Prepares students to manage effectively in todays interconnected world by understanding this changing environment, principles of global strategy, and the relation between global strategy and organization. Focuses on the specificities of strategy and organization of the multinational company. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.708 Global Organizations Lab
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
6-0-9 units
Helps students discover and develop new and effective ways of managing and working together across national borders; also helps accelerate development of the context awareness and integrative management skills needed to lead in a globalized world. Involves intensive team engagement with a firm where students integrate their understanding of the relevant global and national economic and institutional contexts, industry dynamics, the firm's strategic position and capabilities, and its management organization and processes to provide the management sponsor with insight and effective recommendations. Includes a week-long site visit for research. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.709 Key Decisions for Corporate Boards
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Designed to help students understand the fundamental rules and practices of corporate boards in three key areas: the audit committee, the compensation committee, and corporate takeovers. Includes discussion related to case studies, with short lectures at the start and end of each session to highlight the differences and similarities in practices by boards in the US and abroad. Restricted to MIT Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
R. Pozen
15.711 Executing Strategy for Results
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.361
Condensed version of 15.361 that introduces a comprehensive framework to understand how leaders can execute strategy more effectively. Presents case studies of companies that excel at execution, and a series of practical tools that can be applied immediately to boost performance. Intended for owner-operators and managers in complex organizations (more than 200 employees, multiple functions or units), particularly those competing in volatile markets. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
D. Sull
15.712 Negotiation and Influence
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.672, 15.6721, 15.673, 15.6731, 15.675
Provides understanding of the theory and processes of negotiation as practiced in a variety of settings. Designed for relevance to the broad spectrum of bargaining problems faced by the manager and professional. Allows students an opportunity to develop negotiation skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks. Emphasizes simulations, exercises, role playing, and cases. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.714 Competitive Strategy
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.902
Introduces a variety of modern strategy frameworks and methodologies to develop the skills needed to be a successful manager. Cases and readings explore a range of strategic problems, focusing particularly on the sources of competitive advantage and the interaction between industry structure and organizational capabilities. Emphasizes the perspective of the general manager in ensuring the firm's success. Encourages awareness of both the external (market) and internal (organizational) forces that shape firm performance. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.715 Entrepreneurial Strategy
Prereq: None
G (IAP; second half of term)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.911
Provides an integrated strategy framework for innovation-based entrepreneurs. Students examine the core strategic choices facing start-up innovators, and discuss a synthetic framework for the development, implementation and scaling of entrepreneurial strategy in dynamic environments over time. Identifies the types of choices that entrepreneurs must make to take advantage of a novel opportunity, and studies the logic of particular strategic commitments and positions that allow entrepreneurs to establish competitive advantage. Restricted to MIT Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
S. Stern
15.716 Leading Organizations
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.322
Promotes awareness of and strategies to meet the key challenges leaders face today (and tomorrow). Acquaints students with some of the psychological and sociological dynamics that regularly operate in organizational settings - the less visible but quite powerful "forces" that shape the way employees and managers respond (or don't respond) to a changing world. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.717 Organizational Processes
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Designed to enhance students' ability to take effective action in complex organizational settings by providing the analytic tools needed to analyze, manage, and lead the organizations of the future. Emphasizes the importance of the organizational context in influencing which individual styles and skills are effective. Employs a wide variety of learning tools, from experiential learning to the more conventional discussion of written cases. Centers on three complementary perspectives on organizations: the strategic design, political, and cultural "lenses" on organizations. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.718 Introduction to Disciplined Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None
G (IAP; second half of term)
1-0-2 units
Fast-paced introduction to the disciplined entrepreneurship approach to enhancing entrepreneurial skills needed to be more productive at work, start a new venture, interact and evaluate new ventures, and understand what entrepreneurship is and is not. Interactive, action-oriented workshops build skills to apply knowledge imparted by the books Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup and the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
B. Aulet
15.720 Financial Accounting
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.511, 15.515
Examines the basic concepts of corporate financial accounting and reporting, and the role of accounting information in investment decisions, corporate and managerial performance assessment, and the valuation of firms. Develops skills for performing an economics-based analysis of accounting information from the viewpoint of the users of accounting information (especially senior managers), rather than the preparer (the accountant). Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.721 Communication and Persuasion Through Data for Executives
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.286, 15.287
Explains how to better convey complex, quantitative information to non-experts inside and outside of one's organization. Aims to improve skill set and teach tools that can be used to demonstrate to others how to be more effective. Specific skills covered include improving ability to create effective visuals for communicating quantitative information, maximizing audience comprehension when presenting data, and cultivating ability to communicate complex ideas in writing. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
M. Kazakoff
15.722 Applied Economics for Managers
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.024
Develops facility with concepts, language, and analytical tools of economics. Primary focus is on microeconomics. Emphasizes integration of theory, data, and judgment in the analysis of corporate decisions and public policy, and in the assessment of changing US and international business environments. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
R. Gibbons, M. Whinston
15.723 Advanced Applied Macroeconomics and International Institutions
Prereq: 15.702 or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-3 units
Topics draw on current macroeconomic issues and events, such as modern monetary and fiscal policy; financial crisis, contagion, and currency crisis; real exchange rates, purchasing power parity, and long run sustainability; sustainable development; targeting and the new monetary policy regime; and Europe and the Euro: optimal currency areas. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.724 Financial Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.414
Provides a rigorous introduction to corporate finance and capital markets, with an emphasis on applications vital to corporate managers. Exposes students to the major financial decisions made by leaders within a firm and to the ways the firm interacts with investors, with a focus on valuation. Topics include project and company valuation, measuring risk and return, stock pricing, corporate financing policy, the cost of capital, and risk management. Presents a broad overview of both theory and practice. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.725 Marketing Strategy for General Managers
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Helps students consider the entire marketing mix in light of the strategy of the firm. Reviews customer-based sources of competitive advantage and discusses how to identify, measure, and leverage them. Introduces a method for comparing alternative selling formats (e.g., brick and mortar vs. electronic), aiming to find the most efficient ways to sell different products to different customers. Discusses the myriad ways in which the firm can grow its sources of competitive advantage. Provides practical experience in using tools to identify, evaluate, and develop marketing strategies; design efficient products and selling formats; and plan the use and development of the firm's portfolio of resources. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.726 Pricing
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.818
Focuses on practical pricing tactics. Presents a framework for the steps firms should take when thinking about pricing a new product or improving the pricing performance of an old product. Tools covered include monadic pricing surveys, empirical price elasticity calculations, and conjoint. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
C. Tucker
15.727 The Analytics Edge
Prereq: 15.730 or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Introduces modern analytics methods (data mining and optimization), starting with real-world problems where analytics have made a material difference. Modern data mining methods include clustering, classification, logistic regression, CART, random forest methods, and association rules. Modern optimization methods include robust, adaptive and dynamic optimization. Applications include health care, hospital operations, finance, energy, security, internet, and demand modeling. Uses R programming language for data mining and ROME for robust optimization. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.728 Deals, Finance, and the Law
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Addresses the challenges managers face in connection with two overlapping responsibilities: negotiating and managing complex deals, and arranging financing. Examines mergers and acquisitions and early-stage investments in young companies; commercial finance, financial instruments, and structured products; and how these relationships and structures play out in the context of financial distress. Emphasizes the opportunities and risks the different parties involved confront. Focuses primarily on the US, but also considers how key legal issues are analyzed in a transnational context. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.729 Leadership: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (LQ^2)
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Uses interdisciplinary approaches and real-world examples to show how analytics inform organizational change. Takes into account the human and cultural components of organizations. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.730 Data, Models, and Decisions
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.060
Introduces students to fundamental tools in using data to make informed management decisions. Emphasizes the executive perspective: how to leverage best-practice quantitative methods to manage and drive the business. Exercises and cases complemented by perspectives and applications in finance, operations management, healthcare, the Internet, and other functions and industries. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.731 Risk Management
Prereq: (15.730 and 15.734) or permission of instructor
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Provides several core analytical and management concepts, helping students identify, model, think about, analyze, and manage risk. Topics vary; examples include risk measures, the drivers-event-outcomes framework, low-probability high-impact risk events, hedging risk with financial options, real options, risk management in the supply chain, project risk management, modern portfolio management, systemic risk. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.732 Marketing Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.814, 15.8141
Studies the application of a reasoned framework to the selection of target markets and the optimization of marketing decisions. Subject is divided into two parts: a tactical portion that reviews how firms optimize profits in their chosen markets, and a strategic portion that focuses on identifying target markets. Tactical topics include pricing, promotion, channel and product issues. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.733 Global Financial Markets
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Addresses the risks taken by trading goods and services across borders and by borrowing and investing globally. Provides a framework for understanding and assessing cross-border transactions, global financing, and global investment opportunities, with a particular attention to exchange rate risk and how it affects decision-making. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.734 Introduction to Operations Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.761, 15.7611
Provides concepts, techniques and tools to design, analyze and improve core strategic operational capabilities. Covers a broad range of application domains and industries, such as high-tech, financial services, insurance, automotive, health care, retail, fashion, and manufacturing. Emphasizes the effects of uncertainty in business decision making and the interplay between strategic and financial objectives and operational capabilities. Students play simulation games that demonstrate some of the central concepts. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.736 Introduction to System Dynamics
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.871, 15.873, 15.8731
Introduces system dynamics modeling for the analysis of business policy and strategy. Provides the skills to visualize an organization in terms of the structures and policies that create dynamics and regulate performance. Uses causal mapping, simulation models, case studies, and management flight simulators to help develop principles of policy design for successful management of complex strategies. Considers the use of systems thinking to promote effective organizational learning. Restricted to Executive MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.737 Advanced System Dynamics
Prereq: 15.736 or permission of instructor
G (IAP)
3-0-0 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.872
Workshops focus on two models: the dynamics of service quality within a firm; and industry dynamics (particularly investment cycles and bubbles), including the energy and housing markets. Emphasis on formulation, analysis, use, and decision-making. Develops modeling skills. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellows students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.738 Corporate Finance for Turbulence and Innovation
Prereq: 15.414 or 15.724
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Case studies and lectures introduce financial tools needed to make value-enhancing business decisions. Topics drawn from issues such as advanced valuation analysis, capital structure decisions, debt restructuring, bankruptcy, incentive problems, real options, and valuation of international projects. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.739 Discovering Your Leadership Signature
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.318
Introspective course that helps students understand and develop their unique way of leading, i.e., their leadership signature. Students delve deeply into their patterns of leadership to understand what helps and hinders them in becoming a better leader. Substantial time spent learning how to effectively tell leadership stories and examine leadership identity, drawing on theory from the leadership literature, family systems, developmental psychology, personality psychology, and organizational change. Builds on the four capabilities (4-CAPS+) model and includes case studies, reflection, video analysis, and storytelling. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
D. Ancona
15.740 Strategic Communication for Executives
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Develops communication skills crucial to successful management. Focuses on identifying a range of communication styles, and recognizing how to use them; dealing successfully with challenging or hostile audiences; understanding cross-cultural and global communication issues and differences; and leading and communicating in a crisis situation. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellows students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.741 Game Theory for Strategic Advantage
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.025, 15.0251
Leverages game theory — the analysis of multi-person decision problems — to develop interactive thinking in strategic environments. Students play and analyze games that arise frequently in business settings and discuss numerous real-world examples. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
15.742 Platform Strategy
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
1-0-2 units
Provides a framework for strategy for firms pursuing multi-sided platform business models. Emphasizes the development and application of conceptual frameworks that enable managers to make effective decisions as they seek to create value with a platform, and to capture value from it in the face of competition from other platform providers. Restricted to Executive MBA and Sloan Fellow MBA students.
Consult J. Hising DiFabio
Operations Management
15.761 Introduction to Operations Management
Prereq: 6.3700, 15.060, or permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring, Summer)
4-0-5 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.734, 15.7611
Imparts concepts, techniques, and tools to design, analyze, and improve core operational capabilities and apply them to a broad range of domains and industries. Emphasizes the effect of uncertainty in decision-making, as well as the interplay among high-level financial objectives, operational capabilities, and people and organizational issues. Covers topics in capacity analysis, process design, process and business innovation, inventory management, risk pooling, supply chain coordination, sustainable operations, quality management, operational risk management, pricing and revenue management. Underscores how these topics are integrated with different functions of the firm. Case studies and simulation games provide experience in applying central concepts and techniques to solve real-world business challenges. Meets with 15.7611 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version. Summer section is primarily for Leaders for Global Operations students.
N. Trichakis
15.7611 Introduction to Operations Management
Prereq: 15.069, 18.600, or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
4-0-5 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.734, 15.761
Imparts concepts, techniques, and tools to design, analyze, and improve core operational capabilities and apply them to a broad range of domains and industries. Emphasizes the effect of uncertainty in decision-making, as well as the interplay among high-level financial objectives, operational capabilities, and people and organizational issues. Covers topics in capacity analysis, process design, process and business innovation, inventory management, risk pooling, supply chain coordination, sustainable operations, quality management, operational risk management, pricing and revenue management. Underscores how these topics are integrated with different functions of the firm. Case studies and simulation games provide experience in applying central concepts and techniques to solve real-world business challenges. Meets with 15.761 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version.
D. Freund
15.762[J] Supply Chain Analytics
Same subject as 1.273[J], IDS.735[J]
Prereq: 15.761 or SCM.260[J]
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Focuses on effective supply chain strategies for companies that operate globally, with emphasis on how to plan and integrate supply chain components into a coordinated system. Students are exposed to concepts and models important in supply chain planning with emphasis on key tradeoffs and phenomena. Introduces and utilizes key tactics such as risk pooling and inventory placement, integrated planning and collaboration, and information sharing. Lectures, computer exercises, and case discussions introduce various models and methods for supply chain analysis and optimization.
N. Trichakis, S. Willems
15.763[J] Supply Chain: Capacity Analytics
Same subject as 1.274[J], IDS.736[J]
Prereq: 15.761, 15.778, or SCM.260[J]
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
Focuses on decision making for system design, as it arises in manufacturing systems and supply chains. Students exposed to frameworks and models for structuring the key issues and trade-offs. Presents and discusses new opportunities, issues and concepts introduced by the internet and e-commerce. Introduces various models, methods and software tools for logistics network design, capacity planning and flexibility, make-buy, and integration with product development. Industry applications and cases illustrate concepts and challenges. Recommended for Operations Management concentrators. Second half-term subject.
S. Graves, N. Trichakis, S. Willems
15.764[J] The Theory of Operations Management
Same subject as 1.271[J], IDS.250[J]
Prereq: (6.7210[J] and 6.7700[J]) or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Provides mathematical foundations underlying the theory of operations management. Covers both classic and state-of-the-art results in various application domains, including inventory management, supply chain management and logistics, behavioral operations, healthcare management, service industries, pricing and revenue management, and auctions. Studies a wide range of mathematical and analytical techniques, such as dynamic programming, stochastic orders, principal-agent models and contract design, behavioral and experimental economics, algorithms and approximations, data-driven and learning models, and mechanism design. Also provides practical experience in how to apply the theoretical models to solve OM problems in business settings. Specific topics vary from year to year.
Staff
15.765[J] Global Supply Chain Management
Same subject as 1.265[J], 2.965[J], SCM.265[J]
Prereq: 15.761, 15.778, SCM.260[J], SCM.261[J], or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-4 units
See description under subject SCM.265[J].
Staff
15.768 Management of Services: Creating Value for Customers, Employees, and Investors
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.761 or 15.778
G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Focuses on how companies can use operational principles to create value for customers, employees, and investors simultaneously. Case-based subject that emphasizes systems perspective and leadership in operations versus the use of specific analytical tools (e.g., queuing theory, inventory management, process analysis) that were covered in the pre- or co-requisite. Cases include a range of service operations contexts including healthcare, hospitality, retailing, food service, pest control, and financial services.
Z. Ton
15.769 Operations Strategy
Prereq: 15.761, 15.778, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Provides a unifying framework for analyzing strategic decisions in manufacturing and service operations. Covers decisions in technology, facilities, vertical integration, human resources, sourcing, supply chain, and other strategic areas. Examines how decisions in these areas can be made to align with business strategy, and emphasizes the concept of operations as a source of competitive advantage. Discusses operations strategy within the firm, across the supply chain, and for growth and new business models. Qualifies as an elective for the Sloan Sustainability Certificate.
T. Roemer, K. Zheng
15.770[J] Logistics Systems
Same subject as 1.260[J], IDS.730[J], SCM.260[J]
Subject meets with SCM.271
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
See description under subject SCM.260[J].
C. Caplice, D. Correll
15.771[J] Case Studies in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Same subject as 1.261[J], SCM.261[J]
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
2-0-4 units
See description under subject SCM.261[J].
M. Jesus Saenz
15.772[J] D-Lab: Supply Chains
Same subject as 2.771[J], EC.733[J]
Subject meets with 2.871
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-3-6 units
Introduces concepts of supply chain design and planning with a focus on supply chains for products destined to improve quality of life in developing countries. Topics include demand estimation, process analysis and improvement, facility location and capacity planning, inventory management, and supply chain coordination. Also covers issues specific to emerging markets, such as sustainable supply chains, choice of distribution channels, and how to account for the value-adding role of a supply chain. Students conduct D-Lab-based projects on supply chain design or improvement. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.
S. C. Graves
15.773 Hands-on Deep Learning
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.071 or 15.072; or permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Fast-paced introduction to Deep Learning, the engine behind modern artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on developing a practical understanding of how to build models to solve complex problems involving unstructured data. Topics include the basics of deep neural networks and how to set up and train them, convolutional networks to process images and videos, transformers for natural language processing, generative large language models (such as ChatGPT), and text-to-image models (such as MidJourney). Prior familiarity with Python and fundamental machine learning concepts (such as training/validation/testing, overfitting/underfitting, and regularization) required.
R. Ramakrishnan, V. Farias
15.774 The Analytics of Operations Management
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.060; or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Introduces core concepts and methods in data-driven modeling that inform and optimize decisions under uncertainty. Teaches modeling and computational skills (R and Python). Covers topics such as machine learning, time series forecasting, choice modeling, dynamic programming, mixed-integer programming, stochastic optimization, matching algorithms, and multi-armed bandits. Draws on real-world applications from retail, healthcare, logistics, supply chain, public sector, social applications, and online learning.
M. Fazel Zarandi
15.775 Analytics Proseminar
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-0-1 units
Provides opportunities to meet senior executives serving in top analytics and data science functions within a variety of organizations across industries. Discusses key business analytics issues from the perspective of top management. Students prepare detailed briefings identifying and exploring important analytics issues facing these organizations.
Consult M. Li
15.777 Healthcare Lab: Introduction to Healthcare Delivery in the United States
Prereq: 15.060 and 15.761
G (Fall, IAP)
4-0-11 units
Focuses on the business challenges and opportunities to deliver high-quality and reasonably-priced health services, mainly in the United States. Provides an opportunity to interact with guest speakers and senior executives from the health sector. Topics include aspects of healthcare delivery operations and how they are affected by healthcare reform policies, alternative payment models, population health perspectives, and social determinants of health. Discussions include examples from the ongoing healthcare-related work of Sloan faculty, as well as the potential for analytics and digitization to impact healthcare delivery. Provides a broad perspective on various career paths, such as consulting, entrepreneurship, delivery system management, and digital innovation development. Student teams work with a provider, supplier or healthcare-related startup organization on an applied project. Includes on-site work during fall and IAP.
A. Quaadgras, J. Jonasson
15.778 Introduction to Operations Management
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-6 units
Integrated approach to the analysis, design and management of supply networks for products and services. Provides a framework for analysis, design and operation of supply chains (SCs) that relies on fundamental concepts, such as the management of inventory, and operations and logistics planning. Discusses the value of (timely) information and of the need for collaboration and coordination between SC players. Also presents conceptual frameworks that focus on the emergence of a wide range of enabling services that are critical to the survival and growth of this class of system. Includes study and discussion of concepts, examples, and case studies from a wide range of industries. Guest speakers present personal experiences on various aspects of the service industry and supply chains. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBA students.
V. Farias
15.779 Technology, Design and Entrepreneurship: Operating in Emerging Communities
Subject meets with 15.781
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Designed for students working on solutions for resource-constrained communities. Examines downstream issues surrounding the adoption, distribution, and scaling (via business, non-profit, or public policy channels) of new solutions in an international development context. Focuses on implementing solutions as well as understanding the impact of interventions proposed.
C. Vaishnav, D. Rigos, R. Stoner, C. Fine
15.780 Analytics of Operations Management
Prereq: 6.3700, 15.069, or permission of instructor
U (Fall)
3-0-9 units
Introduces core concepts in data-driven modeling that inform and optimize business decisions under uncertainty. Covers models and frameworks, such as machine learning, time series forecasting, dynamic programming, stochastic optimization, and multi-armed bandits. Draws on real-world applications, with several examples from retail, healthcare, logistics, supply chain, and public sector.
M. Fazel Zarandi
15.781 Technology, Design and Entrepreneurship: Operating in Emerging Communities
Subject meets with 15.779
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-1 units
Designed for students working on solutions for resource-constrained communities. Examines downstream issues surrounding the adoption, distribution, and scaling (via business, non-profit, or public policy channels) of new solutions in an international development context. Focuses on implementing solutions as well as understanding the impact of interventions proposed. Restricted to Tata Fellows.
C. Vaishnav, D. Rigos, R. Stoner, C. Fine
15.782 Product Development Methods
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-0 units
Covers modern tools and methods for product design and development, including human-centered design, agile development, product planning, identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design, concept design, sustainable design methods, and product management. Limited enrollment.
S. Eppinger, M. Yang
15.783[J] Product Design and Development
Same subject as 2.739[J]
Prereq: 2.009, 15.761, 15.778, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-3-6 units
Covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. Includes a cornerstone project in which teams conceive, design and prototype a physical product and/or service. Covers human-centered design, agile development, product planning, identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design, concept design, green design methods, and product management. Sloan students register via Sloan course bidding. Engineering students accepted via lottery based on WebSIS pre-registration.
S. Eppinger, M. C. Yang
15.784 Operations Laboratory
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.761
G (Spring)
2-3-4 units
Provides an interactive learning experience in implementing operations improvement and an opportunity to work on challenging operations problems across industries in the Boston area, across the United States, and abroad. Teams of three to four students use their training and experience to help improve operations in organizations that range from small and medium businesses to multi-national corporations. Teams conduct term-long projects via remote interactions with companies, and travel to work on-site at the client company during the Sloan Innovation Period. Boston-area projects involve periodic visits throughout the term.
T. Roemer
15.785 Product Management
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
2-0-4 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.786
Introduction to product management with an emphasis on its role within technology-driven enterprises. Topics include opportunity discovery, product-technology roadmapping, product development processes, go-to-market strategies, product launch, lifecycle management, and the central role of the product manager in each activity. Exercises and assignments utilize common digital tools, such as storyboarding, wireframe mock-ups, and A/B testing. Intended for students seeking a role in a product management team or to contribute to product management in a new enterprise.
V. Farias, C. Fine
15.786 Product Management with Lab
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.761; permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring; first half of term)
3-0-9 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.785
Adds an action learning component to 15.785. Students are matched with partner companies and contribute (over IAP) to a PM-related project at the company. Students must register for both IAP and spring to receive credit and participate in the company project.
V. Farias, C. Fine
15.792[J] Global Operations Leadership Seminar
Same subject as 2.890[J], 10.792[J], 16.985[J]
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
2-0-0 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Integrative forum in which worldwide leaders in business, finance, government, sports, and education share their experiences and insights with students aspiring to run global operations. Students play a large role in managing the seminar. Preference to LGO students.
T. Roemer
15.794 Research Project in Operations
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Required course designed for Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) students in conjunction with on-site projects at LGO partner companies. Internship experience must be at least 1,000 hours in length over 25-week period over the course of two academic terms, and students enter a formal agreement with their internship host company. Students work on faculty-supervised thesis research projects that deal with a specific aspect of operations, informed by this experience. Students' completion of requirements will be certified by faculty advisor. Students are required to summarize their work in the context of understanding organization, leadership, teamwork, and task management, in conjunction with 15.317.
T. Roemer
15.799 Workshop in Operations Management
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Presentations by faculty, doctoral students, and guest speakers of ongoing research relating to current issues in operations management, including reports of research projects (proposed or in progress) and informal discussions of recent literature dealing with subjects of special interest to participants. Primarily for doctoral students.
Staff
Marketing
15.809 Introduction to Marketing and Strategy
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
3-0-6 units
Introduces the core strategic framework used to evaluate the attractiveness of different markets. Reviews the methods that firms can use to optimize their profits in the markets that they choose to target. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBAs.
D. Simester
15.814 Marketing Innovation
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.732, 15.8141
Develops the skills necessary to market innovations, including new products, services, concepts, and customer experiences. Covers how to select the right market, target that market effectively, position a product or service for maximum success, and combine analytics, frameworks, and research for maximum potential. Emphasizes both marketing theory and practice: proven solutions to marketing problems, case sessions to illustrate the application of these techniques in various industries, and practice sessions to apply these techniques to real problems.
Consult J. Hauser, J. Zhang
15.8141 Marketing Innovation
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.732, 15.814
Develops the skills necessary to market innovations, including new products, services, concepts, and customer experiences. Covers how to select the right market, target that market effectively, position a product or service for maximum success, and combine analytics, frameworks, and research for maximum potential. Emphasizes both marketing theory and practice: proven solutions to marketing problems, case sessions to illustrate the application of these techniques in various industries, and practice sessions to apply these techniques to real problems.
R. Bhui
15.815 Applied Behavioral Economics
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Introduction to behavioral economics for future managers, analysts, consultants or advisors to private and public enterprises. Presents basic principles of behavioral economics, and selected applications to marketing, management, finance, and public policy. Focuses on hidden influences, habits, and irrationalities in our behavior. Treats departures from 'rational behavior' as opportunities - for individuals to improve themselves, for companies to solve consumers' problems, for society to create new institutions and policies.
D. Prelec
15.818 Pricing
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.726
Framework for understanding pricing strategies and analytics, with emphasis on entrepreneurial pricing. Topics include economic value analysis, elasticities, customization, complementary products, pricing in platform markets, and anticipating competitive responses.
C. Tucker
15.819 Marketing and Product Analytics
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Uses quantitative data to inform, make, and automate marketing and product decisions, including growth marketing, product design, pricing and promotions, advertising, and customer retention. Topics include creating metrics, randomized experiments, models for targeting, network effects, and analyzing launches. Features lectures, industry examples and guests, and data analysis assignments supported by in-class labs. Draws inspiration from the internet industry, but applications span many industries.
D. Eckles
15.821 Listening to the Customer
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Introduces proven methods for listening to customers and understanding their needs in order to generate new ideas to build the top line. Students practice experiential interviewing and discuss how to use metaphor analysis, observation, the voice of the customer, and other methods to uncover customer needs.
J. Hauser
15.822 Strategic Market Measurement
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Project subject teaches students how to create, carry out, interpret, and analyze a market research questionnaire. Emphasis on discovering market structure and segmentation, but students can pursue other project applications. Includes a user-oriented treatment of multivariate analysis (factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, conjoint and cluster analysis).
D. Prelec
15.830 Enterprise Management Lab
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.761, 15.814, or 15.900
G (Fall, IAP)
3-0-6 units
Lays the foundation for the Enterprise Management (EM) Certificate by developing students' ability to apply integrated management perspectives and practices through action-learning. Small teams of students deliver quality deliverables by working on projects for large organizations and emergent innovators that integrate marketing, operations, and/or strategy. Students engage with faculty mentors and guest faculty speakers from marketing, strategy, and operations. Promotes a holistic cross-functional approach to addressing business issues. Significant class time allocated to team collaboration on projects. Students must register for both the fall term and IAP. Restricted to students eligible for the MIT Sloan Enterprise Management Certificate.
S. Chatterjee
15.833 Business-to-Business Marketing
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Fall; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Applies marketing concepts, analyses and tools used in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Develops an understanding of customer value management and value quantification as a strategy for delivering superior value to targeted business segments while maintaining equitable returns. Focuses on B2B pricing, brand building, web and technology facilitation of the supply chain, and customer relationship management. Underscores sales force management within the context of go-to-market strategy; however, does not address selling per se. Discusses various B2B contexts, such as products and services, for- and non-profits, and domestic and global markets. Emphasizes applications in technology and healthcare domains. Includes value-based pricing project, case studies, applied exercises, and readings.
S. Chatterjee
15.834 Marketing Strategy
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
4-0-2 units
Prepares students to formulate the marketing component of overall corporate strategy. Students examine three types of situations: some in which firms leverage their existing competitive advantages; some in which they build new competitive advantages; and some in which a seemingly weaker competitor, such as a start-up, leapfrogs a larger incumbent. Presents material through a combination of cases, lectures, and a group project.
B. Wernerfelt
15.835 Entrepreneurial Marketing
Prereq: None
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Explores a basic marketing framework in depth as it applies to start-ups. Students then apply this framework to a project.
B. Wernerfelt
15.838 Research Seminar in Marketing
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Seminar on current marketing literature and current research interests of faculty and students. Topics such as marketing models, consumer behavior, competitive strategy, marketing experimentation, and game theory. Restricted to doctoral students.
D. Eckles, D. Prelec
15.839 Workshop in Marketing
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Presentations by faculty, doctoral students, and guest speakers of ongoing research relating to current issues in marketing. Topics: reports of research projects (proposed or in progress) and informal discussions of recent literature dealing with subjects of special interest to participants. Restricted to doctoral students.
Staff
15.840-15.843 Seminar in Marketing
Prereq: 15.810
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to marketing.
Staff
15.846 Branding
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Provides a foundation for building, managing, and defending brands at various stages in the brand life cycle. Introduces the fundamentals of customer experience, brand architecture, and management strategies relevant for B2C and B2B Marketing. Examples from a variety of industries cover topics that include brand co-creation, diffusion, imitation, and authenticity. Explores theory and practice using cases and behavioral academic research. Also looks at the development of leadership branding.
R. Gosline
15.847[J] Consumer Behavior
Same subject as 9.550[J]
Prereq: 15.809, 15.814, or permission of instructor
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 9.55[J], 15.8471[J]
Examines the behavior of consumers through the lens of behavioral economics, cognitive science, and social psychology. Reviews theory and research and brings this knowledge to bear on a wide range of applications in business and public policy. Lectures are combined with cases, guest speakers, and brainstorming sessions where students work in teams to apply concepts to real-world problems. Meets with 15.8471[J] when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria may differ for students taking the graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Rand
15.8471[J] Consumer Behavior
Same subject as 9.55[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 9.550[J], 15.847[J]
Examines the behavior of consumers through the lens of behavioral economics, cognitive science, and social psychology. Reviews theory and research and brings this knowledge to bear on a wide range of applications in business and public policy. Lectures are combined with cases, guest speakers, and brainstorming sessions where students work in teams to apply concepts to real-world problems. Meets with 15.847[J] when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria may differ for students taking the graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Rand
System Dynamics
15.871 Introduction to System Dynamics
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.736, 15.873, 15.8731
Introduction to systems thinking and system dynamics modeling applied to strategy, organizational change, and policy design. Students use simulation models, management flight simulators, and case studies to develop conceptual and modeling skills for the design and management of high-performance organizations in a dynamic world. Case studies of successful applications of system dynamics in growth strategy, management of technology, operations, public policy, product development, and others. Principles for effective use of modeling in the real world. Meets with 15.873 first half of term when offered concurrently. Students taking 15.871 complete additional assignments.
J. Chu, V. Yang, D. Keith
15.872 System Dynamics II
Prereq: 15.871
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.737
Emphasizes tools and methods needed to apply systems thinking and simulation modeling successfully in diverse real-world settings, including supply chains, forecasting, project management, process improvement, service operations, and platform-based businesses, among others. Uses simulation models, management flight simulators, and case studies to deepen the conceptual and modeling skills introduced in 15.871. Through models and case studies of successful applications students develop proficiency in how to use qualitative and quantitative data to formulate and test models, and how to work effectively with senior executives to implement change successfully. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking half-term graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
Staff
15.873 System Dynamics for Business and Policy
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.736, 15.871, 15.8731
Focuses on developing the skills and tools needed to successfully apply systems thinking and simulation modeling in diverse real-world settings, including growth strategy, management of technology, operations, public policy, product development, supply chains, forecasting, project management, process improvement, service operations, and platform-based businesses, among others. Uses simulation models, management flight simulators, and case studies to deepen conceptual and modeling skills beyond what is introduced in 15.871. Exploring case studies of successful applications, students develop proficiency in how to use qualitative and quantitative data to formulate and test models, and how to work effectively with senior executives to successfully implement change. Prepares students for further work in the field. Meets with 15.871 in first half of term when offered concurrently. Students taking 15.871 complete additional assignments.
J. Chu, V. Yang, D. Keith
15.8731 System Dynamics: Tools for Solving Complex Problems
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.736, 15.871, 15.873
Introduction to field of system dynamics. Builds on ideas of control theory to understand dynamics of social, technological and organizational systems. Focuses on developing skills and tools needed to successfully apply systems thinking and simulation modeling in diverse real-world settings, including sustainability, strategy, project management, product development, public policy, healthcare, forecasting, platform-based businesses, and others. Utilizes simulation models, management flight simulators, and case studies to deepen conceptual and modeling skills. Develops proficiency in using qualitative and quantitative data to formulate and test models and how to work effectively with policy makers and executives to successfully implement change. Meets with 15.873 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria may differ for students taking the graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
J. Chu, V. Yang
15.874[J] People and the Planet: Environmental Governance and Science
Same subject as 12.387[J], IDS.063[J]
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
3-0-6 units
See description under subject 12.387[J].
N. Selin, S. Solomon, J. Sterman
15.878 Sustainable Business Lab
Prereq: None. Coreq: 15.915
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Integrative experience that explores the complex set of circumstances and choices leaders must face in light of uncertain environmental and social consequences. Drawing on academic and practical experiences, students engage in a semester-long project focused on a host organization's sustainability challenge. Peer-to-peer learning accompanies in-class cases, simulations, and role-playing to provide students with practical skills for application in projects and for careers beyond. A shared deep dive into a systemic challenge provides a chance for students across programs to reflect and engage in dialogue about the ethical landscape of business. Through personal reflection and career visioning, students clarify their own personal commitments to leadership and change.
J. Jay, B. Patten
15.879 Research Seminar in System Dynamics
Prereq: 15.873 and permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units
Can be repeated for credit.
Doctoral seminar in system dynamics modeling, with a focus on building advanced modeling and research skills. Topics vary from year to year and may include: classic works in dynamic modeling from various disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology, behavioral economics) and current research problems and papers; advanced system dynamics models focused on research and practical problems of interest to students; analytic tools and methods for model development, estimation, and analysis (e.g., automating modeling workflow, maximum likelihood, simulated method of moments, dynamical games, dynamic programming); bootcamp for enhancing modeling skills working on multiple problem sets.
Consult J. Chu, V. Yang
Strategic Management
15.900 Competitive Strategy
Prereq: None
G (Fall, Spring)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.9001
Explores a wide range of strategic problems, focusing particularly on the sources of competitive advantage and the interaction between industry structure and organizational capabilities. Introduces a wide variety of modern strategy frameworks and methodologies. Builds upon and integrates material from core topics, such as economics and organizational processes. Meets with 15.9001 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
D. Sull, P. Azoulay
15.9001 Competitive Strategy
Prereq: None
U (Spring; first half of term)
3-0-6 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.900
Explores a wide range of strategic problems, focusing particularly on the sources of competitive advantage and the interaction between industry structure and organizational capabilities. Introduces a wide variety of modern strategy frameworks and methodologies. Builds upon and integrates material from core topics, such as economics and organizational processes. Meets with 15.900 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details.
G. Rilinger
15.902 Advanced Strategic Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.714
Focuses on developing skills and applying frameworks for the conduct of competitive and corporate strategy. Develops tools from earlier core subjects, especially those from strategic marketing, organizational processes, innovation-driven advantage, and economics. Emphasis is placed on the role of strategic commitments, social networks, strategic coherence, and adapting to environmental and technological change. Restricted to MIT Sloan Fellows.
Staff
15.903 Managing the Modern Organization
Prereq: 15.010 and 15.311
G (Fall, Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Focuses on how managers build and manage complex organizations to achieve strategic goals (e.g., competitive advantages for firms). Develops frameworks that build on 15.010 and 15.311, as well as concepts borrowed from game theory. Applies these frameworks to corporate strategy, with an emphasis on modern managerial practices as key drivers of organizational success.
C. Angelucci
15.904 Strategy and the CEO
Prereq: 15.900 or permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Builds on 15.900 and 15.902 to explore key concepts that have shaped the field of strategic management teaching and strategy consulting over the past several decades. Uses lectures, readings, case studies, and videos to review the evolution of strategy teaching, research, and practice; differences between analytical versus prescriptive tools for strategic thinking and planning; external versus internal influences on financial results; and sources of enduring competitive advantage. Key themes include the role of CEO leadership in strategy formulation and execution, how to view company performance in context, and the role of platform strategies as a tool for competition in the digital age.
M. Cusumano
15.906 Competitive Strategy Boot Camp
Prereq: 15.809
G (Fall; first half of term)
2-0-1 units
Introduces a variety of modern strategy frameworks and methodologies to develop the skills needed to be a successful manager. Cases and readings explore a range of strategic problems, focusing particularly value capture, the sources of competitive advantage and the interaction between industry structure and organizational capabilities. Restricted to Sloan Fellow MBA students.
D. Li
15.910 Innovation Strategy
Prereq: None
G (Fall; second half of term)
3-0-3 units
Establishes a foundation for formulating, analyzing, and executing strategies to develop and commercialize new products and services in technology-intensive industries. Develops and applies rigorous frameworks to examine the interaction between patterns of technological change, market dynamics, and the development of internal firm capabilities. Topics include profiting from innovation, the role of intellectual property, platform strategy, government regulation, and innovation policy. Applies concepts in various industry and case settings with an emphasis on addressing issues most relevant for today's changing economic landscape and fostering innovation for social progress, such as clean energy, environmental management, healthcare, and digitalization.
J. Pless
15.911 Entrepreneurial Strategy
Prereq: None
G (Fall; first half of term)
6-0-3 units
Credit cannot also be received for 15.715
Teaches an integrated strategy framework for start-ups. Provides a deep understanding of the core strategic choices facing innovation-based entrepreneurs, a synthetic framework for the process of choosing and the implementation of entrepreneurial strategy, and the core challenges and approaches for scaling ventures over time. Highlights the process of how to choose an entrepreneurial strategy, the specific choices that matter, how key choices fit together to form an overall entrepreneurial strategy, and the playbook for particular strategies for startups.
S. Stern, E. Scott
15.912 Strategic Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Prereq: 15.910, 15.911, or permission of instructor
G (Spring; second half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Provides a series of strategic frameworks for managing high-technology businesses with a particular focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, especially as it builds upon patterns of technological and market change, prior research on product development and new ventures, and the structure and development of organizational capabilities. Includes case analyses and simulations, as well as independent readings drawn from research in technological innovation, entrepreneurial management, and organizational theory.
Staff
15.913 Strategies for Sustainable Business
Prereq: None
G (Spring; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-3 units
Develops a pragmatic, action-oriented approach to sustainability: the alignment between healthy businesses, healthy environments, healthy societies, and an economy that meets human needs. In-class simulations and role-playing provide a robust foundation for understanding sustainability challenges. Cases analyze innovative strategies for sustainable businesses and organizations. Class discussions explore how sustainability is changing existing business models and market structures, how to develop sustainable management practices, and how firms can implement those practices successfully.
M. Amengual, J. Jay, J. Sterman
15.914 Competitive Dynamics and Strategy: Winning in Technology Markets
Prereq: 15.872 and (15.369, 15.567, 15.900, or 15.902)
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
2-0-7 units
Focuses on competitive strategy in technology-driven markets. Students acquire a portfolio of models of the signature dynamics in these markets and use the models in projects with participating companies to analyze technology markets, formulate competitive strategies, and illuminate the challenges of execution. Addresses issues critical for both established incumbents and new market entrants. Restricted to graduate students.
H. B. Weil
15.915 Business Strategies for a Sustainable Future
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
3-0-6 units
Develops a pragmatic, action-oriented approach to sustainability: the alignment between healthy businesses, healthy environments, healthy societies, and an economy that meets human needs. In-class simulations and role-playing provide a robust foundation for understanding sustainability challenges. Cases analyze innovative strategies for sustainable businesses and organizations. Class discussions explore how sustainability is changing existing business models and market structures, how to develop sustainable management practices, and how firms can implement those practices successfully.
J. Jay, B. Patten, J. Sterman, J. de Zegher
15.928 The Sociology of Strategy
Prereq: 15.342
Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring)
Acad Year 2025-2026: Not offered
3-0-9 units
Doctoral seminar in theory building for social scientists interested in economic sociology, organization theory, strategic management, and related fields. Builds skills for developing social scientific theory. Focuses on assessing and developing the relevance of sociological research for key questions in strategy research: what explains the relative performance of firms and the variety of their strategies for achieving performance. Students also develop skills in evaluating academic research in this area. Restricted to doctoral students.
E. Zuckerman
15.929 Identity and Action
Prereq: 15.342
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Spring)
3-0-9 units
Doctoral seminar in theory building for social scientists. Primary goal is to build skills for developing social scientific theory. Secondary goals are to review and integrate a broad array of ideas concerning the foundations of identity and its relation to action, and to suggest how such issues relate to a broader set of questions in the social sciences. Students learn that any account of action is based on ascribing desires, beliefs, and opportunities to specific actors, but such actors cannot be easily explained except as a result of action by prior actors. The focus of this course is around developing this paradox and providing a foundation for resolving it. Restricted to doctoral students.
E. Zuckerman
15.933 Strategic Opportunities in Energy
Prereq: 15.900 or permission of instructor
G (Fall; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
4-0-2 units
Introduces the energy system in terms of sources and uses, market characteristics, and key metrics. Provides frameworks for understanding the structure and dynamics of the sector and the drivers of the energy future. Opportunities resulting from demand growth, supply challenges, environmental constraints, security of supply, technology breakthroughs, and regulation are analyzed from the perspectives of both established players and entrepreneurs. Student teams engage in projects that evaluate a segment of the energy landscape and develop a strategic prospectus for a new business opportunity.
H. B. Weil
15.941[J] Leadership in Real Estate
Same subject as 11.430[J]
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Fall; first half of term)
3-0-3 units
See description under subject 11.430[J]. Limited to 15.
G. Schuck
15.949 Seminar in Strategy
Prereq: None
G (Fall)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to strategy.
Consult E. Zuckerman
Common Ground Subjects
15.C08[J] Causal Inference
Same subject as 17.C08[J]
Prereq: 6.3800, 6.3900, 6.C01, 14.32, 17.803, 18.05, 18.650[J], or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
4-0-8 units
Provides an accessible overview of modern quantitative methods for causal inference: testing whether an action causes an outcome to occur. Makes heavy use of applied, real-data examples using Python or R and drawn from the participating domains (economics, political science, business, public policy, etc.). Covers topics including potential outcomes, causal graphs, randomized controlled trials, observational studies, instrumental variable estimation, and a contrast with machine learning techniques. Seeks to provide an intuitive understanding of the core concepts and techniques to help students produce and consume evidence of causal claims.
J. Doyle, R. Rigobon, T. Yamamoto
15.C57[J] Optimization Methods (15.093)
Same subject as 6.C57[J], IDS.C57[J]
Subject meets with 6.C571[J], 15.C571[J]
Prereq: 18.C06[J] or permission of instructor
G (Fall)
4-0-8 units
Introduction to the methods and applications of optimization. Topics include linear optimization, duality, non-linear optimization, integer optimization, and optimization under uncertainty. Instruction provided in modeling techniques to address problems arising in practice, mathematical theory to understand the structure of optimization problems, computational algorithms to solve complex optimization problems, and practical applications. Covers several examples and in-depth case studies based on real-world data to showcase impactful applications of optimization across management and engineering. Computational exercises based on the Julia-based programming language JuMP. Includes a term project. Basic competency in computational programming and linear algebra recommended. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. This subject was previously listed as 15.093/6.7200/IDS.200.
A. Jacquillat
15.C571[J] Optimization Methods (6.7201)
Same subject as 6.C571[J]
Subject meets with 6.C57[J], 15.C57[J], IDS.C57[J]
Prereq: 18.C06[J] or permission of instructor
U (Fall)
4-0-8 units
Introduction to the methods and applications of optimization. Topics include linear optimization, duality, non-linear optimization, integer optimization, and optimization under uncertainty. Instruction provided in modeling techniques to address problems arising in practice, mathematical theory to understand the structure of optimization problems, computational algorithms to solve complex optimization problems, and practical applications. Covers several examples and in-depth case studies based on real-world data to showcase impactful applications of optimization across management and engineering. Computational exercises based on the Julia-based programming language JuMP. Includes a term project. Basic competency in computational programming and linear algebra recommended. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. This subject was previously listed as 6.7201. One section primarily reserved for Sloan students; check syllabus for details.
A. Jacquillat
Special Subjects
15.S01 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S02 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered
Acad Year 2025-2026: G (Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S03 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S04 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S05 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring, Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S06 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S07 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring, Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S08 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S09 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Department Headquarters
15.S10 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum. Consult Department headquarters.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S11 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S10-15.S12 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Department Headquarters
15.S13 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Education Services
15.S14 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Opportunity for group study by graduate students on current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Department Headquarters
15.S15 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S16 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring; second half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S17 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult: Sloan Educational Services
15.S18 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring, Summer; second half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult: Sloan Educational Services
15.S19 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring, Summer; second half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S20-15.S26 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum. Coursework may continue into the following term.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S30 Special Distance Learning Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
G (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study through distance learning on current topics related to management.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S31 Special Distance Learning Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study through distance learning on current topics related to management.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S32 Special Distance Learning Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study through distance learning on current topics related to management.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S33 Special Distance Learning Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
G (Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study through distance learning on current topics related to management.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S35-15.S38 Special Distance Learning Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
G (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study through distance learning on current topics related to management.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S40 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S41 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S42 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (IAP)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S43 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall; first half of term)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S44 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S45 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S46 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Staff
15.S47 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Undergraduate Program Headquarters
15.S50 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S51 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer; second half of term)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S52 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S53 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S54 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring, Summer; second half of term)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S55 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S56 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S57 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S58 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S59 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S60 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S61 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S62 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S63 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S64 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S65 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S66 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Spring)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S67 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Summer; first half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S68 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, Spring; second half of term)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S69 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.S70-15.S75 Special Seminar in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (IAP)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Group study of current topics related to management not otherwise included in curriculum.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
Thesis, Research, and Practice
15.UAR[J] Climate and Sustainability Undergraduate Advanced Research
Same subject as 1.UAR[J], 3.UAR[J], 5.UAR[J], 11.UAR[J], 12.UAR[J], 22.UAR[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
U (Fall, Spring)
2-0-4 units
Can be repeated for credit.
See description under subject 1.UAR[J]. Application required; consult MCSC website for more information.
D. Plata, E. Olivetti
15.UR Undergraduate Research in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Participation in the work of a research group which includes such activities as independent study of the literature, direct involvement in the group's research (commensurate with the student's skills and preparation), or project work under an individual faculty member possibly extending over more than one term. Admission by arrangement with individual faculty member. Requires written project report.
Staff
15.URG Undergraduate Studies in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Participation in the work of a research group which includes such activities as independent study of the literature, direct involvement in the group's research (commensurate with the student's skills and preparation), or project work under an individual faculty member possibly extending over more than one term. Admission by arrangement with individual faculty member. Requires written project report.
J. S. Carroll
15.EPE UPOP Engineering Practice Experience
Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject.
Offered under: 1.EPE, 2.EPE, 3.EPE, 6.EPE, 8.EPE, 10.EPE, 15.EPE, 16.EPE, 20.EPE, 22.EPE
Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
0-0-1 units
Can be repeated for credit.
See description under subject 2.EPE. Application required; consult UPOP website for more information.
K. Tan-Tiongco, D. Fordell
15.950 Independent Study in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Advanced work, special investigation or application of a management topic, on an individual basis, under faculty supervision. May include readings, conferences, laboratory and fieldwork, and reports. Projects require prior approval, as well as a written proposal and a final report.
M. Hanlon
15.951 Independent Study in Management
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Advanced work, special investigation or application of a management topic, on an individual basis, under faculty supervision. May include readings, conferences, laboratory and fieldwork, and reports. Projects require prior approval, as well as a written proposal and a final report.
M. Hanlon
15.952 Curricular Practical Training
Prereq: None
U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
For Course 15 undergraduate students participating in management curriculum-related off-campus internship experiences. Students must have an employment offer from a company or organization and must find a Sloan faculty advisor before enrolling. Consult Sloan Undergraduate Education Office.
S. Alessandro
15.960 Independent Study in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Advanced work, special investigation or application of a management topic, on an individual basis, under faculty supervision. May include readings, conferences, laboratory and fieldwork, and reports. Projects require prior approval, as well as a written proposal and a final report.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.961 Independent Study in Management
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Advanced work, special investigation or application of a management topic, on an individual basis, under faculty supervision. May include readings, conferences, laboratory and fieldwork, and reports. Projects require prior approval, as well as a written proposal and a final report.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.998 Independent Group Study in Action Learning
Prereq: None
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Not offered regularly; consult department
Units arranged
Team-based opportunities for application management tools, under faculty supervision, on dynamic projects that provide a wide array of operational challenges facing organizations around the world. May include travel to on-site locales. Projects require prior approval, as well as a written proposal and a final report.
Consult T. Walor
15.999 Internship
Prereq: None
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged [P/D/F]
Can be repeated for credit.
Elective subject in which students participate in an off-campus internship experience and apply topics of management and/or culture to their experience. Requirements include a written deliverable. Internship experience must be at least two weeks in length, and students must have a formal offer letter from host employer/organization. Restricted to MIT Sloan students who wish to intern in an area related to their field of study. Additional restrictions may apply.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
15.THG Graduate Thesis
Prereq: Permission of instructor
G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer)
Units arranged
Can be repeated for credit.
Research and writing of thesis; to be arranged by the student with supervising committee.
Consult Sloan Educational Services
