The Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the first ever collegiate business school. Wharton offers prospective MBA applicants either a two-year, full-time program or a two-year Executive MBA program. The school also affords students the option of pursuing an MBA/MA through the well-regarded Lauder Program. Wharton is distinctive among leading programs for its high percentage of international students, mandatory yet flexible majors, and rigorous quantitative training.
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FAQ
What is the tuition for Wharton’s MBA program?
The tuition for Wharton’s MBA program is $92,820 per year. The total cost of the Wharton MBA program is $132,404 per year; this includes budgeted living expenses.
How hard is it to get into Wharton’s MBA program?
The acceptance rate for Wharton is 24.8% It is important to consider the acceptance rate in the context of the student profile of those who are admitted. For example the average GMAT score is 732.
What is the average GMAT score for admission to Wharton’s MBA program?
The average legacy GMAT score for the incoming class at Wharton is 735. Their average GMAT Focus score is 676.
Does the Wharton MBA program accept the GRE?
Yes. The Wharton MBA program has accepted the GRE for a few years now.
What is the average GRE score for admission to Wharton’s MBA program?
The average GRE scores for the incoming class at Wharton are 162 Verbal and 163 Quantitative.
What is the minimum number of years of work experience required for admission to Wharton’s MBA program?
Wharton does not state a minimum requirement for years of work experience. However, it is important for candidates to be aware that they are being considered against other candidates with an average of 5 years of experience.
What is the average number of years of work experience for admission to Wharton’s MBA program? (or, What is the average age of a Wharton student?)
The average number of years of work experience among students in Wharton’s MBA program is 5.
What is the average starting salary for graduates of the Wharton MBA program?
The median starting salary for Wharton MBA graduates is $175,000. The salary will vary by industry, with consulting and finance jobs generally commanding the higher salaries.
How long is Wharton’s full-time MBA program?
Wharton offers a traditional 2 year MBA program.
What are the application deadlines for Wharton’s MBA program?
The Round 1 MBA application deadline is September 3, 2025. The Round 2 application deadline is January 6, 2026. The Round 3 deadline is April 1, 2026. The deferred admissions round deadline is April 22, 2026.
What percent of Wharton MBA students are women?
The percentage of women in the class at Wharton is 44%.
What type of interview does Wharton use for MBA admissions?
Wharton offers interviews by invitation. The interview is a team-based discussion, comprised of 5-6 interviewees. Following the team-based discussion, each interviewee has a one-to-one short interview, which is resume-based. This means the interviewer has not had access to the application materials. Interviews are conducted virtually.
When does Wharton release MBA interview invites for Round 1?
The first 2024-2025 Round 1 interview invite from Wharton was reported on LiveWire on October 24, 2024. Round 1 Wharton MBA interview invitations are expected October 22, 2025.
When does Wharton release MBA interview invites for Round 12?
The 2024-2025 Round 2 interview invites from Wharton were reported on LiveWire on February 18 and 19, 2025.
When does Wharton release MBA decisions?
For Round 1, Wharton posts a decision date of December 10, 2025. For Round 2, Wharton posts a decision date of March 31, 2026. For Round 3, Wharton posts a decision date of May 12, 2026.
Admissions
The Class Profile
The Wharton MBA program received 7,613 applications during the 2024-2025 admissions season, and 888 enrolled to be a part of the Class of 2027. Of those 888 students, 44% are women. Fifty-five percent of the class identifies as U.S. minorities, which includes students of Black/African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic/Latinx, and multiethnic backgrounds. Twenty-six percent of the Class of 2027 are international students, and a total of 68 countries are represented in the class. Twelve percent identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Class of 2027’s average GMAT score was 735 on the legacy test and 676 on the GMAT Focus. Their average GRE scores landed at 162 in Verbal and 163 in Quant.
The undergraduate and professional profiles of Wharton students are quite diverse. The largest portion of the class, 36%, majored in the humanities, while 32% each had earned degrees in STEM or business. Of those graded on a 4.0 scale, the average GPA was 3.7. Eleven percent are first-gen college students. After graduation, enrolled students then earned an average of five years of work experience. In terms of industry experience, 31% of students had backgrounds in consulting, followed by private equity/venture capital at 15%. Non-profit/government was next at 10%. Eight percent each hailed from investment banking or tech.
Application Procedures
The Wharton application season includes three rounds that usually occur in early September, early January and early April; those interested in the JD/MBA Program or Lauder Institute must submit their applications in the first or second round. The Deferred Admissions Program at Wharton has a late April application deadline. Applicants should apply through Wharton’s online application system and are required to fill out a data form concerning both their personal and professional background. Wharton also requires applicants to provide transcripts from all academic institutions attended, GRE or GMAT scores, TOEFL/IELTS/PTE/Duolingo English results if applicable, essays, a résumé, two professional letters of recommendation, and a $275 application fee. An interview is required for admittance to the MBA program, and interviews are offered to applicants by invitation only.
Essay Topic Analysis
Recommendation Questions
Penn / Wharton Q&A's
Penn / Wharton LiveWire and DecisionWire
Academics
Faculty
Students in the MBA program at Wharton have access to over 240 faculty members. Faculty teach across 10 academic departments including Accounting, Finance, and Health Care Management, and also contribute to Wharton’s more than 20 research centers and initiatives, which have study areas ranging from artificial intelligence and analytics to health economics.
Curriculum
Upon entering the Wharton MBA program, first-year students are immediately divided into Learning Teams of approximately five to six students. The teams are chosen with professional and personal diversity in mind. When classes begin, multiple Learning Teams are brought together to form cohorts of about 70 students. Wharton students complete most of the core curriculum with their cohort fellows and work with the same faculty for their first year; they are better integrated into the Wharton learning community as a result. Wharton adds another layer of group activity through clusters which are groups of approximately 210 students from three cohorts. These students share faculty and administrative resources as well as social elements of the program, like group community service projects. Course material at Wharton is delivered through a mix of lectures, case studies and field study.
Pre-Term commences for first-year MBA students in early August, three weeks before the formal beginning of the program. All students are required to participate in Pre-Term activities, which include academic coursework and team building. For example, the first core course of Wharton’s curriculum, Foundations of Leadership and Teamwork, is taught during Pre-Term. Wharton students also attend a two-day Learning Team Experience Retreat at an offsite location, where they are first introduced to the other members of their Learning Team and the second-year student who will serve as their Leadership Fellow.
Wharton’s MBA program operates on a semester system, with the fall semester running from mid-August through early December and the spring semester lasting from mid-January to early May. Students must earn a total of at least 19 and no more than 21 credit units over their four semesters at Wharton. Both semester-long and quarterly classes, which last for about seven weeks, are offered each semester. The core curriculum is comprised of six fixed core courses and a choice among ~25 flexible core courses that can be completed in the first year or anytime thereafter. Students may waive courses through pre-term exams or the demonstration of other relevant qualifications.
While Wharton provides students with nearly 200 elective courses to choose from, those seeking to further expand their studies may take up to four credit units at another University of Pennsylvania graduate school or may spend a semester studying abroad at one of Wharton’s 17 international exchange partner schools. MBA students are required to tailor their studies by choosing a major or double major and completing at least five credit units in each major area. The 21 major options include the “individualized major,” an opportunity for students to complete their majors in an area not adequately covered by the more standard offerings. Some examples of majors include Strategic Management, Quantitative Finance, and Business Analytics. Nine of the majors are STEM certified, allowing international students to extend the duration of their F-1 visa. About 40% of students opt to double major. Students wishing to pursue Wharton’s Health Care Management Program must note their interest in this program at the time of application; the program provides supplementary academic and professional resources to help students gain the necessary education in all areas of health care.
Other MBA Degree Options
Beyond the full-time MBA, Wharton offers the MBA/MA Lauder Program—the first joint degree in international management—as well as a three-year MBA/JD from Wharton and Penn Law, and over 13 other dual-degree options at University of Pennsylvania schools. Students may also choose from three dual degrees in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Wharton offers an Executive MBA program at its campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, in addition to the new Global cohort, which is a remote learning program with eight in-person residencies in Philadelphia, San Francisco and other global locations.
Majors at Wharton
- Accounting
- Artificial Intelligence for Business
- Business Analytics
- Business Economics and Public Policy
- Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Environmental, Social and Governance Factors For Business
- Finance
- Health Care Management
- Individualized MBA Major
- Leading Across Differences
- Management
- Marketing
- Marketing and Operations (Joint Major)
- Multinational Management
- Operations, Information and Decisions
- Organizational Effectiveness
- Quantitative Finance
- Real Estate
- Social and Governance Factors for Business
- Statistics
- Strategic Management
Degree Offerings at Wharton
Full-time MBA Program
mba.wharton.upenn.edu/
Interdisciplinary Programs
International Studies (Lauder), Healthcare Management, Biotechnology, Design, Education, Engineering, Environment, Law, Medical Sciences, Nursing, Social Work
https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/interdisciplinary-programs/
Wharton/School of Advanced International Studies, Wharton/Harvard Kennedy School
https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/interdisciplinary-programs/
Executive MBA Programs
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Global
http://executivemba.wharton.upenn.edu/
Campus Life
Clubs, Conferences & Competitions
Wharton students can get involved in extracurricular activities across more than 125 student-run organizations, including professional clubs, culture-based clubs, intramural athletic organizations, and community service and special interest associations. For example, the Wharton Global Health Volunteer Program sends volunteers to developing countries to consult on healthcare services. Meanwhile, the Mountaineering and Climbing Club organizes outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and biking that are open to Wharton students, partners and faculty. Most MBA student activities are managed by the graduate program’s student government organization, known as the Wharton Graduate Association.
Each year, Wharton typically features nearly 20 conferences led by students. These include the Global Business Forums, the Wharton-Weitzman Future of Cities Conference, and the Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference, among others. MBA students can also take advantage of Wharton’s competition offerings. For instance, the Wharton Startup Challenge has helped student entrepreneurs receive thousands of dollars in funding and national media coverage for over a decade.
Campus Spaces
The Wharton School is situated on the University of Pennsylvania campus in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. The core of Wharton’s complex, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, was opened to students in August 2002. Nearly $140 million was spent on this facility, which includes 48 classrooms, 57 group study rooms, four teaching labs, two lounges, and several large spaces such as its 300-seat auditorium. Many MBA students decide to live in Philadelphia’s urban neighborhoods or suburbs, with some opting to rent housing around campus in University City.
Opened in 2022, Tangen Hall is the first on-campus space dedicated to student entrepreneurship and innovation activities. It is a seven-story, 68,000-sqft hub developed by the Hankin Group, designed by KSS Architects, and funded by a $25 million gift from the AKO Foundation. The structure is touted by Penn as the largest student entrepreneurship hub in the world. Tangen offers incubator spaces, maker spaces, a test kitchen, a new Venture Lab, and an Integrated Product Design Program operated by Wharton, the School of Engineering, and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
MBA Careers
Career Services
Wharton’s MBA Career Management Team offers a multitude of resources for MBA students seeking employment, including career education programs and mock interviews. Wharton students benefit from one-on-one advising in addition to employer information sessions, on-campus recruiting and job fairs, and varied opportunities for engagement with alumni. Recruiting for first-year summer internships begins during the Focused Recruiting Period in January, a weeklong session that takes place while first-years are still completing core courses. For second years, on-campus recruiting interviews for full-time positions begin in early September. Students can also go on international and domestic career treks hosted by student clubs and MBA Career Management to meet with firms in many industries.
Career Statistics
Of the 916 Wharton MBA members of the Class of 2024, 69% (634 students) sought employment. Approximately 93% of those who sought employment had secured job offers within three months of graduation. The most popular post-MBA industry for 2024 graduates was financial services, with 36.6% of the class joining such firms. Roughly 25% of graduates took jobs in the consulting industry. Technology was the next most common post-MBA industry, representing 14.1% of the class’s career choice.
Six percent of the Wharton Class of 2024 accepted positions outside of the U.S., with Asia being the most popular non-U.S. location at 3.9%. About 47% of 2024 graduates took jobs in the Northeastern U.S., while the West and Mid-Atlantic welcomed nearly 22% and 12% of the class, respectively. Five percent each headed to the South or Southwest U.S.
The median salary for the Wharton MBA Class of 2024 landed at $175,000.
Financing
The cost of tuition for the 2025 to 2026 academic year is $92,820 including university fees. Wharton has posted a total cost of $132,404 for students’ first year of study, and this includes $39,584 for living expenses, including health insurance. U.S. students and permanent residents qualify for federal and private loans, and Wharton also has partnerships that will allow international students to acquire a loan without a cosigner. Wharton also offers a variety of fellowships for which all admitted students are con-sidered and no additional application is required. Students are notified of their acceptance and fellowship nomination concurrently.
Two-Year Program Tuition (per year)
Tuition and Fees $92,820
Living Expenses $39,584
Total $132,404
Recent News
Contact
Mailing Address:
Office of MBA Admissions &
Financial Aid
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
Dinan Hall, Suite 200
3733 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104.6340
Phone: 215-898-6183
Fax: 215-898-0120
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.wharton.upenn.edu
Blog: http://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba-admissions-blog/
Twitter: @Wharton