Stanford MSx Program Evolves Over Six Decades… and Counting
The first Sloan Fellows in 1958 were all American men. Today, nearly 40% of the class is women and more than half come from countries outside the U.S. | Photo by Elena Zhukova
The Sloan — now Stanford MSx — Program has evolved in many ways in the last six decades.
What is now called the Stanford MSx Program graduated its first class in 1958 from what was then the Stanford Program in Executive Management. In 1960, in honor of the lead donor, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the program’s name was changed to the Stanford Sloan Program. That name lasted five decades and defined a unique community and experience.
The program is now officially known as the Stanford MSx Program: Master of Science in Management for Experienced Leaders. It’s a one-year, on-campus program that offers students a transformational experience to prepare for the next stage in their careers.
The original vision for the Sloan Fellowship connected future corporate leaders with future professors. Cohorts were small (about 18 people) and largely comprised of white American men.
As the decades went by, many prospective fellows were looking to gain specific skills and make a significant career transition — in a condensed, intensive timeline. Stanford GSB also wanted to foster more exchange of ideas between MSx and MBA students.
“For 50 years, the Sloan Program had been its own unique island,” says Scott J. Brady, MS ’00, part of the committee that evaluated the program and proposed ideas for the future. “We brought the two programs much closer together.”
In 2013, changes expanded the MSx program’s size and scope to attract a broader, more diverse group of seasoned professionals. The larger cohort size and longer academic year (12 months versus 10) allows for more flexibility in course selection and more interaction with MBA student peers and others across Stanford University.
Today, nearly 40% of the MSx class are women, with 37% U.S. citizens or permanent residents and 63% from other countries. Professionals from manufacturing to finance to government to technology and more represent today’s global market.
The same connective tissue that bonded cohorts more than 60 years ago remains an unbreakable force today in the MSx Program. Says participant Xochitl Cazador, MS ’17, “The power of the network and exposure to different individuals, cultures, and industries — it’s magical.”
Read the full, original article to learn how the Sloan fellowship evolved into the Stanford MSx Program.
