Majors & Academic Departments

Select from 21 MBA majors

The Wharton MBA Program offers 21 majors as outlined below. All MBA students must fulfill the degree requirements for a major. Courses taken for pass/fail cannot count towards major requirements.

With proper course planning, it is possible to complete more than one major.  Students seeking multiple majors must adhere to the following rules when fulfilling the requirements of their majors:

  • Students are permitted to count up to a maximum of 2.0 CUs (course units) of approved cross-listed electives across majors.  This does not include courses used to fulfill core requirements.
  • No course can be applied to more than two majors.
  • A course taken to fulfill a core requirement for a major cannot double-count as an elective requirement for that same major.

As you consider your major selection(s), academic advisors are available to assist in mapping out your academic program during your time here at Wharton.

Students whose interests do not conform to existing majors may petition for the approval of an individualized major. This option is available to students with specific, well-defined, interdisciplinary interests. Individualized majors require forethought and planning to complete. If you are interested in learning more about individualized majors, please contact your academic advisor.

International students, the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) provides a taxonomic scheme that supports the tracking of your field of study. The CIP codes of the MBA majors, as of April 1, 2019, are listed below. Students who complete a major with a CIP code on the STEM Designated Degree Program list, denoted*, may be eligible to obtain a STEM OPT extension.

Accounting

The Accounting major helps students acquire the skills to measure and communicate an organization’s economic activities. Accounting is the formal system of collecting, organizing, and reporting the financial data used to make economic decisions.

CIP Code: 52.0301

Business Analytics

The Business Analytics major is designed to build deep
competency in the skills needed to implement and oversee
data-driven business decisions.

CIP Code: 52.1301*

Business Economics & Public Policy

The Business Economics and Public Policy major equips future business leaders with the tools to analyze incentives and policies of firms, governments, and consumers.

CIP Code: 45.0603*

Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (formerly Environmental and Risk Management)

The MBA Major in Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (“BEES”) is designed to provide in-depth foundations for those interested in the complex relationships between business and the natural environment, management of environmental risks, and the business and economics of energy.

CIP Code: 03.0103*

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (effective 2023-2024 academic year)

The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion major prepares students to face the challenges involved in creating and maintaining organizations that are diverse, inclusive, and rooted in equity. As organizations attempt to harness the contributions of many stakeholders, students who pursue the major will not only be well prepared for DEI-focused careers, they will also be prepared to be leaders of change in any organizational role.

CIP Code: 52.0204

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

The Entrepreneurial Management major provides MBA students with skills, analytical tools, perspectives, and experiences that prepare them for careers as autonomous entrepreneurs, family-business entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurs in corporate settings.

CIP Code: 52.0701

Environmental, Social and Governance Factors for Business (effective 2023-2024 academic year)

The major in Environmental, Social and Governance Factors for Business (ESGB) is designed to provide in-depth foundations for those interested in the complex relationships between business and the natural environment and business and society more broadly, including management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities, and the ways in which firms incorporate ESG factors into their governance.

CIP Code: 03.0103*

Finance

The Finance major provides students with the analytic and theoretical tools required to master practical issues in Finance, with applications to financial management in business firms, financial institutions, government, and not-for-profit entities.

CIP Code: 30.7104*

Health Care Management

The Health Care Management major builds on the established strength of the management core to provide expertise in the unique elements and issues of the health care industry.

CIP Code: 51.0701

Individualized Major

Students whose interests do not conform to existing majors may petition for the approval of an individualized major. This option is available to students with specific, well-defined,  interdisciplinary interests. Individualized majors require forethought and planning to complete. If you are interested in learning more about individualized majors, contact your  academic advisor.

CIP Code: 52.0201

Legal Studies and Business Ethics

The department is the Wharton School’s base for scholarship and teaching at the intersection of law, ethics and business. Legal Studies and Business Ethics allows students to supplement their major field with in-depth knowledge of one or more relevant legal areas.

While this department does not offer a major within the MBA program, please explore departmental course offerings.

Management

This major allows a student to flexibly choose among the full set of the Management department’s offerings. As a consequence, students can mold a curriculum that spans issues of managing the internal processes of firms and considerations of strategic advantage — for both young and growing, as well as established organizations.

CIP Code: 52.0201

Marketing

The marketing major is designed to build deep competency in the art and science of choosing which customers to serve, and getting, keeping and growing them through delivering superior customer value.

CIP Code: 52.1401

Marketing & Operations (Joint Major)

Marketing and Operations are two closely interrelated functional areas in all manufacturing and service firms. This cross-functional major is designed to satisfy the strong need in industry for MBAs with in-depth training in both areas. Graduates from this major are better prepared to accept future career challenges at the intersection of these two disciplines.

CIP Code: 52.1401

Multinational Management

The purpose of the multinational management major is to prepare MBAs for managerial, financial and consulting positions in which a sophisticated understanding of the multinational firm, the international competitive environment, and the crossnational political and social aspects of business is required.

CIP Code: 52.1101

Operations, Information & Decisions

The Operations, Information, and Decisions major is designed to improve the quality and productivity of enterprises by educating highly capable professionals; and discovering, developing, and validating new principles, theory, and methods. Members of the department share common interests in process management, decision-making, and information.

CIP Code: 52.1399*

Organizational Effectiveness

The Organizational Effectiveness major is designed to educate students in the leading edge of theory and practice associated with the management of employees and the design of organizations.

CIP Code: 52.0299

Quantitative Finance

This major focuses on the application of advanced quantitative and computational tools in the finance industry. It prepares students for a professional career in the quantitative modeling of financial markets. Students majoring in Quantitative Finance are ideally suited for careers in asset management firms or in financial modeling in a broad range of firms.

CIP Code: 27.0305*

Real Estate

This major prepares students to be leaders in the real estate industry and provides the quantitative and qualitative tools necessary for their roles in shaping the future of the industry.

CIP Code: 52.1501

Social and Governance Factors for Business (effective 2023-2024 academic year)

The major in Social and Governance Factors for Business (SOGO) is designed to provide in-depth foundations for those interested in the complex relationships between business and society, including management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities more broadly, and the ways in which firms incorporate ESG factors into their governance. It is designed for those students especially interested in the social and governance factors.

CIP Code: 03.0103*

Statistics and Data Science

The Statistics major develops the skills and insights required to draw inferences and conclusions from many types of data. Courses offered by the Statistics Department develop the skills and insights required to make effective use of statistical methods.

CIP Code: 27.0501*

Strategic Management

This major provides students with a deep grounding in the basic logic of competitive advantage, premised on a careful analytical treatment of the distinct qualities and positions of individual firms and an understanding of broader competitive dynamics.

CIP Code: 52.0201

Wharton Communication Program

The Wharton Communication Program helps prepare business leaders for the communication challenges they will face as business and community leaders.

While this department does not offer a major within the MBA program, please explore departmental course offerings.