MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship & Innovation Certificate

The Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) Certificate is for students within the MIT Sloan School of Management who have a strong commitment to an entrepreneurial life — technology-based or not — as well as for those who want to learn more about entrepreneurship as a part of their future careers.

The E&I Certificate focuses on learning how to launch and develop innovative technology companies and emphasizes the integration of academic and practitioner lessons, team practice, and real-world application in entrepreneurship.

As a student on the E&I Certificate academic track, you will:

  • meet and work with a cohort of like-minded peers
  • gain exposure to key MIT faculty, staff, and other entrepreneurship resources
  • tap into a global entrepreneurship network

Click a box below to see a pdf of the full requirements for the E&I Certificate.

E&I Certificate students should sign up for Orbit, the Trust Center’s one-stop shop for MIT entrepreneurs

orbit.mit.edu

(this page reflects updates as of December 2023)

Please note that some courses may not be offered this academic year and/or may experience scheduling or unit changes. Consult the Sloan Course Browser for the most current scheduling information about Sloan subjects (those numbered 15.xxx), and visit the MIT Subject Listing & Schedule for up-to-date information about courses taught in other departments. Note that a single course cannot count towards two requirements.

For more information about the MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship & Innovation certificate, please email eicertificate@mit.edu

A certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation will be awarded to those students who fulfill both their MIT Sloan degree requirements and the E&I Certificate requirements.

The E&I Certificate is flexible in approving a limited number of appropriate substitutes or waivers of specific requirements. To request a substitution or waiver, please send an email in advance to Professor Scott Stern at sstern@mit.edu with supportive details.

Resources:

You must complete ONE of the following:

  • 15.S22 (aka 15.360) – Introduction to Technological Entrepreneurship (fall; 3 units; first year MBA students only; required in order to take part in ES.580 SVST)
  • 15.352J, 6.9300, 6.9302J – StartMIT: Workshop for Entrepreneurs and Innovators (IAP in January; 6 units) *
  • 15.365 – Overcoming Obstacles to Entrepreneurial Success (fall; 9 units)

* Sloan students should register for the Course 15 number for courses offered jointly with another MIT department.

You must complete the following:

  • 15.390 – New Enterprises (spring; 12 units; highly encouraged, but not mandatory to be taken in your 1st year)

You must complete ONE of the following:

  • 15.911 – Entrepreneurial Strategy (fall H1 / spring H3; 9 units)
  • 15.394 – Entrepreneurial Founding and Teams (fall & spring; 9 units)

You must complete at least 12 units from the following list of courses:

  • 15.128J, 9.455J, 20.454J, MAS.883J – Revolutionary Ventures: How to Invent and Deploy Transformative Technologies (Fall, 9 units)*
  • 15.366 – Climate & Energy Ventures (fall; 12 units)
  • 15.367J, HST.978J – Healthcare Ventures (spring; 12 units) *
  • 15.371J, 2.907J, 10.807J – Innovation Teams (fall & spring; 12 units) *
  • 15.375J, EC.731J, MAS.665J – Global Ventures (fall; 12 units) *
  • 15.376J, MAS.664J – AI for Impact: Solving Societal-Scale Problems (spring; 9 units) *
  • 15.378 – Building an Entrepreneurial Venture: Advanced Tools and Techniques (fall & spring; 12 units)
  • 15.388 – Venture Creation Tactics (fall & spring; 12 units)
  • 15.783J, 2.739J – Product Design and Development (spring; 12 units) *
  • 15.248 – Israel Lab: Startup Nation’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem (fall H2 into IAP; 6 units for fall, 3 units for IAP)
  • 15.225 – Modern Business in China: China Lab (spring; 12 units; not offered in the 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.226 – Modern Business in Southeast Asia: ASEAN Lab (spring; 12 units; not offered in the 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.389 – Global Entrepreneurship Lab (fall into IAP; 9 units for fall, 3 units for IAP)
  • 15.399 – Entrepreneurship Lab (fall & spring; 12 units)

* Sloan students should register for the Course 15 number for courses offered jointly with another MIT department.

You must complete an additional 9 units from the following list of courses:

  • 15.128J, 9.455J, 20.454J, MAS.883J – Revolutionary Ventures: How to Invent and Deploy Transformative Technologies (fall, 9 units) *
  • 15.225 – Modern Business in China: China Lab (spring; 12 units; not offered during the 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.356 – Lead User Innovation Methods (spring H4; 9 units; not offered during the 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.358 – Platform Strategy and Entrepreneurship (spring; 6 units; not offered during the 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.363J, HST.971J – Strategic Decision Making in the Life Sciences (spring; 9 units) *
  • 15.364 – Innovation Ecosystems for Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Leaders (iEco4REAL) (spring; 9 units)
  • 15.365 – Overcoming Obstacles to Entrepreneurial Success (fall; 9 units)
  • 15.366 – Climate & Energy Ventures (fall; 12 units)
  • 15.367J, HST.978J – Healthcare Ventures (spring; 12 units) *
  • 15.369 – Entrepreneurship in Organizations (formerly Corporate Entrepreneurship) (spring; 9 units)
  • 15.371J, 2.907J, 10.807J – Innovation Teams (fall & spring; 12 units) *
  • 15.375J, EC.731J, MAS.665J – Global Ventures (fall; 12 units) *
  • 15.376J, MAS.664J – AI for Impact: Solving Societal-Scale Problems (spring; 9 units) *
  • 15.382 – Managing Innovation in Financial Institutions (fall; 9 units)
  • 15.385 – Innovating for Impact (fall H1; 6 units)
  • 15.386 – Leading in Ambiguity: Steering Through Strategic Inflection Points (fall H2 & spring H4; 6 units)
  • 15.387 – Entrepreneurial Sales  (fall & spring; 12 units)
  • 15.389 – Global Entrepreneurship Lab (fall into IAP; 9 units for fall and 3 units for IAP)
  • 15.392 – Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures (fall H2 & spring H3; 6 units)
  • 15.394 – Entrepreneurial Founding and Teams (spring; 9 units)
  • 15.399 – Entrepreneurship Lab (fall & spring; 12 units)
  • 15.431 – Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (fall; 9 units)
  • 15.497 – FinTech Ventures (fall; 9 units)
  • 15.615 – Essential Law for Business (fall & spring; 9 units)
  • 15.618 – Startups and the Law (fall & spring; 6 units)
  • 15.785 – Digital Product Management (spring H3; 6 units) OR
  • 15.786 – Digital Product Management with Lab (IAP into spring H3; 6 units in IAP, 6 units in spring)
  • 15.814 – Marketing Innovation (fall & spring; 9 units)
  • 15.821 – Listening to the Customer (spring H3; 6 units; not offered during 2023-24 academic year)
  • 15.S10 – SSIM: Operations for Entrepreneurs: The Critical Details of Launching and Scaling a New Venture (spring H3; 6 units; not offered during 2023-24 academic year)
  • 2.916J, 10.407J – Money for Startups (spring H4; 6 units) **

* Sloan students should register for the Course 15 number for courses offered jointly with another MIT department.
** Sloan students may count up to three non-Sloan subjects toward their degree.

Students must undertake TWO activities engaging directly with the startup ecosystem.

This includes (but is not limited to):

  • direct engagement as a “founder” (e.g., MIT $100K, MIT delta v, MIT Fuse, or MIT Sandbox)
  • ecosystem leadership (e.g., MIT $100K Managing Director)
  • or a guided independent study engaging with the startup ecosystem

Activities below satisfy this requirement:

Held during the Spring semester during Sloan SIP week, the Silicon Valley Study Tour (SVST) finds E&I students visiting founders and CEOs of startups, leaders in the Northern California venture capital community, and successful enterprises in the Climate Tech/Sustainability, FinTech, Health Tech, Mobility, Hard Tech, and other industries.

SVST is an opportunity for participants to expand their networks and knowledge through organized visits to the companies, founders, and investors that are of the most interest to them. SVST is not mandatory for E&I Certificate students, but is highly encouraged.

For 2023, the requirements to participate in SVST were as follows:

  • Complete 15.360 “Introduction to Technological Entrepreneurship”
  • Pay a $500 non-refundable deposit before the deadline; this is used to help pay for the hotel room and some meals
  • Plan to pay for ALL air travel, ground transportation, hotel incidentals, additional food, and social activities
  • With no exceptions, students must stay in the MIT-designated hotel during the trip and CAN NOT bring a significant other.

The four-day trip takes place during the week of the Spring Sloan Intensive Period (SIP) in March of the student’s first year and students will earn 1 academic credit in 15.005 Elective SIP course after completing the trip. For more information, please visit here.

Those who wish to participate in other study tours, international treks, and classes during SIP week should be aware of this conflict before signing up for the SVST.

A select sub-group of E&I students take the lead in helping to organize the trip and scheduling company visits.

More information is provided during the introductory Fall seminar class.

For more information about the MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship & Innovation certificate, please email eicertificate@mit.edu