History of the MIT Program

System Design and Management Origins and Mission

The System Design and Management (SDM) program was approved in 1995 as MIT's first degree-granting graduate-level program offered primarily at a distance. The SDM program mission statement reads:

"To educate future technical leaders in architecting, engineering, and designing complex products and systems, preparing them for careers as the technically grounded senior managers of their enterprises; and to set the standards for delivering career-compatible professional education using MIT's most advanced information and communications technologies."

In short, SDM is a program for those who want to lead, not leave engineering. SDM enrolled its first cohort in 1996 and is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2011.

SDM's program schedule is unique at MIT. It was established in response to industry sponsor requests to conduct our month-long 'boot camp' session, which requires all students to be in-residence regardless of their eventual program option, during a period of low industry operations activity. It was agreed to begin the program in January. During this period, three academic courses and two design challenges are conducted to prepare students for the Spring semester and introduce them to Institute norms and administration. Team building is conducted to help the students learn how to quickly assemble productive teams, and teams are deliberately adjusted to ensure diversity.

By design, the SDM curriculum was developed as a balanced offering between systems-level engineering content and management content sufficient to prepare graduates to assume leadership roles in product and systems development. Required content and electives are managed to ensure that the intended balance remains as the curriculum evolves and matures.

All SDM students are accomplished working professionals, with an average of just under 10 years experience before they start classes. Many hold Master's and/or PhD degrees earned previously. They are popular with faculty, since they bring current industry perspectives and challenges into the classroom with them, enriching the learning experiences of all students. Student quality is comparable to other MIT graduate students, as measured by several criteria, including GMAT/GRE scores and other areas.

SDM students are competitive and win one or more of the fellowships administered by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Education each year; they do well in external graduate competitions for technology or business plan subjects. SDM has a high degree of participation and leadership in non-SDM campus clubs and recently co-founded the MIT Social Media Club and the MIT Student Chapter of the International Council of Systems Engineers (INCOSE). They are also active in activities such as the graduate student council, campus energy night and the annual 100K entrepreneurial competition. In addition, our students take a strong role in SDM program governance, participating in and leading committees on curriculum, industrial relations, marketing/branding, leadership, and student life. In summary, the SDM student body is active, constructive and supportive of both MIT and SDM initiatives.

SDM works with industry sponsors in several ways. They:

• Fully sponsor one or more students in the degree program.
• Sponsor students in the one-year certificate program.
• Sponsor thesis projects for self-sponsored students.
• Send managers to the Organizational Leaders Workshop.
• Provide paid internships for self-sponsored students.
• Hire SDM grads.
• Sponsor the annual MIT SDM Conference on Systems Thinking for Contemporary Challenges.