MBA Program Academic Awards

We celebrate outstanding academic performance in the MBA Program in several different ways. Academic honors are determined on the basis of the Wharton Grade Point Average (GPA) during the fall and spring semesters (summer courses are excluded from consideration for honors, with the exception of courses taken by three-year JD/MBA students in the summer preceding Pre-Term).

The GPA is determined by assigning the following numerical weights to the letter grades received in Wharton MBA courses: A=4 points, B=3 points, C=2 points, D=1 point, and F=0 points, with + (plus) increasing the full grade value by .33 and – (minus) decreasing the full grade value by .33. A+’s carry a 4.0 point value, a University of Pennsylvania policy.

Courses taken outside the Wharton MBA program are not included in the GPA computation. Thus, the GPA reflected on the transcript may not be the one used to compute academic honors as the transcript GPA reflects all coursework taken at the University of Pennsylvania. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis are not included in the GPA calculation unless a Fail grade is earned. To be eligible for academic honors, the student may not have any grades of Fail (for the Director’s List, this applies only to the semester under consideration). All academic honors are noted on the student’s academic transcript.

Students with violations to the MBA Code of Ethics are not eligible for Academic Awards.  Furthermore, Academic Awards may be revoked following MBA Code of Ethics violation.

Academic Engagement Award

The Academic Engagement Award recognizes students who have excelled academically in the first year of the program and have shown outstanding commitment and dedication the academic experience.  The Academic Engagement Award provides one (1) free additional Wharton CU to use in their second year of the Program.

Academic Excellence Fellowship

The student (or students, in the case of tie) who achieves the highest academic performance during their second and third semester of the MBA program is awarded the Academic Excellence Fellowship, a grant of $10,000. Academic performance for the Academic Excellence Fellowship is measured by the cumulative GPA during those two terms, not counting summer courses. It requires that the student take at least 9 course units during their second and third semester, not counting summer courses. The recipient of the Ford Fellowship at the end of the first-year of the program is not eligible.

The grant amount of $30,000 will be distributed equally among all recipients if more than 3 students tie for this award.

Director's List

The Director’s List is compiled and published each semester to recognize superior academic performance in that semester and is awarded to students who rank in the top 10% of their class based on their GPA for the semester. Eligibility for Director’s List requires that the student take at least 4.5 course units (CUs) in the first semester and at least 4 course units in each subsequent semester, 3 CU of which must be from Wharton courses taken for credit on a graded basis.

Director's List Fellowship

To be eligible for the Director’s List Fellowship, a grant of $5,000, a student must rank in the top 10% of their class based on their GPA for the semester. In addition, the Director’s List Fellowship recipient must exemplify the academic spirit of Wharton as determined by the Vice Dean of the MBA Program with inputs from the faculty and Graduate Division directors.

The application requires an essay outlining the student’s contribution to learning, both inside and outside of the classroom in pursuit of academic excellence. Eligible students will be invited to apply for the Director’s List Fellowship each semester after the Director’s list is published. A recipient is selected for the first, second, and third semester of each class.

First Year Honors

Students ranking in the top 20% of their class at the conclusion of the first-year will be awarded First- Year Honors. The ranking for First-Year Honors is based on the cumulative GPA during the first year and requires that students take at least 9 course units during the fall and spring semesters.

Ford Fellowship

The student (or students, in the case of a tie) who achieves the highest academic performance during the first-year of the MBA program is awarded the Ford Fellowship, a grant of $10,000. Academic performance for the Ford Fellowship is measured by the GPA during the first year and requires that the student take at least nine 9 course units during the first year.

The grant amount of $30,000 will be distributed equally among all recipients if more than 3 students tie for this award.

Graduation with Honors

Students who rank in the top 20% of their class at graduation are awarded Graduation with Honors. The ranking for Graduation with Honors is based on the cumulative GPA earned during the program.

Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Scholars in Quantitative Finance

Wharton selects rising second-year students as Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Scholars in Quantitative Finance starting 2020. Each recipient is awarded a grant of $25,000. Selection is based on the student’s academic performance, as measured by the GPA during the first year, and demonstrated interest in quantitative finance, as evidenced by courses taken, internship experience, and other pursuits. The student must also take at least 9 credit units during the first year. Jacobs Scholars must have declared the MBA major Quantitative Finance, and the application requires an essay outlining the student’s outstanding dedication towards the subject.

Isik Inselbag Scholarship

To be eligible for the Isik Inselbag Scholarship, a grant of $7,500, a student must have a firstyear GPA that places him or her among the top students in the class. In addition, the Inselbag Scholar must exemplify the spirit of Wharton through leadership, teamwork, scholarship, and service, as determined by the Vice Dean of the Graduate Division with inputs from the faculty and Graduate Division directors. Professor Inselbag, for whom the scholarship is named, served as Vice Dean and Director of the Graduate Division during 1992-95 and taught in the Finance Department for over twenty years.

Palmer Scholars

Students graduating in the top 5% percent of the class are designated Palmer Scholars. Class rank is based on the student’s cumulative GPA earned during their two years at Wharton.

William G. McGowan Fellow

Wharton selects one rising second-year student as a McGowan Fellow each year. This student must have achieved an academic standing in the top five percent of his or her first-year class and exemplified leadership in current or former activities. Students must apply and complete an essay provided by the McGowan Fund. Financial need is a factor. The nominee receives one full year’s tuition, attends the annual conference for McGowan Fellows and Alumni, and is assigned a respected business leader as a mentor.

Class of 2024

Director’s List

Fall 2022

Spring 2023

Fall 2023

Director’s List Fellowship

Fall 2022 – Rachel Feller, Alec Shah
Spring 2023 – Brian Cortese, Anisha Pai, Genevieve Silva
Fall 2023 – Fizza Aamir, Ethan Wang

First Year Honors

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FELLOWSHIP

Lucy An
Jack Cardwell
Arunavha Chanda
James Dohm
Andrew Elgin
Harjas Gulati
Jason Idoine
Ben Kirshner
Nikkie Singh
Faye Teng
Matthew Thwaites
Michael Wallace
Wenjia You

ISIK INSELBAG FELLOWSHIP

Aashna Kumar

WILLIAM G. MCGOWAN FELLOWSHIP

John Connolly

FORD FELLOWSHIP

Karyll Davis
Kexin Huang
Ronni Mok
Monica Phang
Zach Plotkin
Alec Shah

DR. BRUCE I. JACOBS SCHOLARS IN QUANTITATIVE FINANCE

Richard Bai
David Chen
Leonardo Cozzubo Goncalves
Mridul Dhanuka
Luke Geohegan
Stefanus Hinardi
Zachary Long
Peter Otto
Sherry Li
Kevin Yu

ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT AWARD

Spring 2023

Aidan Cleary
Aayush Garg
Emily Goldfield
Chhavi Gupta
Edwin Huang
Crystal Liu
Nitin Manivasagan
Andrew Parambath
Fei Teng
Ziyi Zhou

Fall 2023

Samiksha Agarwal
William Henriques
Lucy Luo
Rainbow Yeung
Julia Zielczynska

Class of 2025

Director’s List

Fall 2023

Director’s List Fellowship

Fall 2023 – Derek Gibbs, Ari Goldstein, Nina Vendhan

WHG’08 WHG’09 WHG’10 WHG’11 WHG’12 WHG’13 WHG’14 WHG’15 WHG’16 WHG’17 WHG’18 WHG’19 WHG’20 WHG’21 WHG’22 WHG’23 WHG’24
First Year Honors (top 20%) 3.615 3.61 3.62 3.62 3.59 3.625 3.634 3.64 3.64 3.64 3.65 3.67 3.67 3.75 3.79 3.8 3.78
Graduation with Honors (top 20%) 3.59 3.61 3.61 3.61 3.593 3.605 3.6 3.62 3.63 3.61 3.63 3.63 3.66 3.75 3.77 3.75 TBD
Palmer Scholars (top 5% at graduation) 3.82 3.83 3.82 3.85 3.847 3.84 3.82 3.88  3.85 3.83 3.85 3.86 3.85 3.875 3.92 3.93 TBD