Overview
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world, and it is the world's oldest collegiate business school, having been established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton.
The Wharton School awards the Bachelor of Science with a school-specific economics major, with concentrations in over 18 disciplines in Wharton's academic departments. The degree is a general business degree focused on core business skills. At the graduate level, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program can be pursued standalone or along with dual studies leading to a joint degree from other schools (e.g., law, engineering, government). Similarly, in addition to its tracks in accounting, finance, operations, statistics, and other academic departments, the doctoral and post-doctoral programs co-sponsor several diploma programs in conjunction with other schools within the university. The college was a pioneer in so-called 'Executive Education'; custom learning experiences that lead to academic enrichment, however with no standing.
History
Joseph Wharton, a native Philadelphian, was a leader in industrial metallurgy who built his fortune through the American Nickel Company and Bethlehem Steel Corporation. As Wharton's business grew, he recognized that business knowledge in the United States was only taught through an apprenticeship system, and such a system was not viable for creating a wider economy during the Second Industrial Revolution. After two years of planning, Wharton in 1881 founded the Wharton School of Finance and Economy through a $100,000 initial pledge, making it the first business school established in the United States. ESCP Europe, established in 1819, and a few other business schools were established in Europe prior to Wharton's founding The school was meant to train future leaders to conduct corporations and public organizations in a rapidly evolving industrial era. Wharton was quoted as saying that the school was meant to "instill a sense of the coming strife [in business life]: of the immense swings upward or downward that await the competent or the incompetent soldier in this modern strife."
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