Wharton Undergraduate Concentrations Guide

Choosing a concentration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is a significant step in shaping your academic and professional future. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the concentration process, requirements, and factors to consider when making your decision.

Declaring a Concentration

The timeline for declaring a concentration is flexible, but students typically do so during the second semester of their sophomore year, after completing most of the Business Fundamental courses. Declaring your concentration at this time may give you priority status for enrolling in some concentration-related courses. However, some students may defer their decision until their junior year after gaining further exposure to different business areas through upper-level courses.

Maximum Number of Concentrations

Students can complete a maximum of two concentrations within the Wharton undergraduate curriculum.

Curriculum Requirements

All Wharton single-degree undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 37 course units (CUs) and meet specific curricular requirements. Students enrolled in a coordinated dual-degree program or Joseph Wharton Scholars should consult their program advisor for their unique requirements. The Wharton single-degree curriculum requirements are detailed on the academic planning worksheet.

Core Requirements

The Wharton curriculum includes several core requirements:

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First-Year Foundations: Introductory Economics for Business Students (BEPP 1000), Calculus (MATH 1400 or MATH 1070), Critical Writing Seminar, and the Leadership Journey (WH 1010 and WH 2010 or WH 2011).
Business Fundamentals: Accounting and Financial Reporting (ACCT 1010), Strategic Cost Analysis (ACCT 1020), Managerial Economics (BEPP 2500), Corporate Finance (FNCE 1000), Monetary Economics and the Global Economy (FNCE 1010), Ethics and Social Responsibility (LGST 1000 or LGST 1010), Introduction to Management (MGMT 1010), Introduction to Marketing (MKTG 1010), Introduction to Operations, Information and Decisions (OIDD 1010), Introductory Business Statistics (STAT 1010 or STAT 4300 or ESE 3010) and Introductory Business Statistics (STAT 1020 or STAT 4310 or ESE 4020). Dual-degree students majoring in SSE (Systems Science Engineering) and EE (Electrical Engineering) must take ESE 3010 Engineering Probability and ESE 4020 Statistics for Data Science.
Flex Fundamentals: One course unit with attribute WUGE required and one course unit with attribute WUTI required.
Liberal Arts & Sciences: Seven courses. Courses taken at Penn that satisfy the Foreign Language requirement may double-count as Humanities or Flexible Gen Ed. cultural diversity. courses. Two CCP course units may double-count as Humanities; Natural Science, Math & Engineering; Social Science; or Flexible Gen Ed.
Business Breadth: Three upper-level course units from three different Wharton departments outside of the student's concentration. One course in the second concentration can double-count as a Business Breadth.

Senior Capstone

Beginning with capstones offered in Fall 2027, all students must complete all business fundamentals as a prerequisite for the senior capstone, in addition to the Leadership Journey courses and any other required prerequisite course(s).

Second Concentration

Completing a second concentration allows students to deepen their expertise in another area of business. To complete two concentrations, students must satisfy the complete requirements of each Wharton concentration. In most cases, students use their Unrestricted Electives to pursue this option. Students often change their minds about concentrations for various reasons-most often because their interests change. Students who change their minds can use completed courses to fulfill other requirements (e.g., Business Breadth). Advisors help students with their course planning so that they are not behind in their requirements.

Combining Concentrations with Existing Requirements

A second concentration can be completed within the undergraduate curriculum without requiring extra courses. In most cases, students may double-count one of the second concentration courses toward a Business Breadth requirement (please review specific concentration requirements for more information). The remaining three courses can be used to fulfill the Unrestricted Elective requirements.

Considerations

Because pursuing a second concentration reduces the number of arts and sciences courses students can take, you should consider carefully before deciding to complete more than one concentration.

Choosing a Concentration

A concentration does not dictate your career. Students should follow their interests and skills in choosing a concentration. During your freshman and sophomore years, you should be exploring your interests and gathering information so you can make an informed decision about your choice of concentration.

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Additional Information

For more detailed information on each concentration, students should review the FAQ, which provides tips and advice.

Admissions Information

Wharton's undergraduate program is highly competitive. Wharton could fill its class multiple times over with highly qualified applicants. Roughly 20 to 25 students are turned away for every applicant. Being qualified isn’t enough to get accepted. Wharton does not offer an early decision (ED) option. It’s extremely difficult to get into Wharton undergrad.

Ideal Candidate

Applicants need more than just top grades and test scores. Wharton looks for ambitious, passionate, well-rounded students who excel in team environments. Wharton is looking for applicants with an interest in business who can inspire positive change and propel economic and social well-being forward.

Application Evaluation

Wharton values the rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, application essay, and recommendations as “Very Important”. Essays and recommendation letters are the key to explaining how you’ve helped a nonprofit or business venture solve problems.

Academic Performance

In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the average GPA of admitted students at the University of Pennsylvania was 3.9. Approximately 92% of applicants who reported class rank were in the top 10% of their graduating class. The average ACT score of admitted students at UPenn is 35. The average SAT score of admitted students at UPenn is 1510-1560.

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Key Attributes

Wharton admissions officers look for a combination of initiative, impact, and business skills. Wharton wants leaders with long-term ambition. Wharton cares about AI and its related business advancement. Wharton prefers students with a heavy course load, especially in AP Calculus and AP Microeconomics. Wharton is not looking for students with the most impressive job titles.

Additional Opportunities

Study Abroad

About 25% of Wharton students take advantage of study-abroad opportunities. UPenn sponsors over 100 programs, so there are many opportunities to find the right program.

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

Wharton grants course credit and waivers for high scores on AP and IB exams. A score of 5 on AP exams (e.g., Microeconomics, Statistics, Computer Science) or 6-7 on IB Higher Level exams (e.g., Economics, Physics) can fulfill foundational Wharton requirements such as economics, statistics, or computer science.

Finance Concentration

The finance concentration develops the skills necessary to work at a high level of expertise in all areas of finance, including: asset management and financial markets; investment banking in a global context; the financial management of commercial and industrial enterprises as well as of financial institutions; the financial aspects of venture capital, mergers and acquisitions; and global management consulting.

Important Note

Students cannot obtain credit for both FNCE 1010 and ECON 1020. Students who have already taken ECON 1020 must take a higher-level FNCE elective in lieu of the FNCE 1010 requirement. This elective must be in addition to the other four c.u.

Specialization Tracks

The Finance department consistently offers a very wide range of upper-level courses and new ones are introduced regularly. Each of the tracks recommended below provides a specialization in a different area of finance.

Corporate Finance: This track discusses the sources of funding of corporations, the actions that managers take to increase the firm value and the tools used to best allocate financial resources.
Financial Institutions: This track builds expertise in the works of financial markets and institutions.
Alternative Investments: This track covers investments in non-conventional asset categories that differ in regulation, degree of risk such as private equity and venture capital.
Investment Management: This track covers the fundamentals used in financial analysis and asset management.
Quantitative Finance: This track focuses on the application of advanced quantitative and computational tools the finance industry.

STEM Designation

These are STEM-designated concentrations that will offer extended OPT to students with F1 visas.

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