The Entrepreneurship & Innovation 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. Whether a student wants to start a business while in school, join an emerging business, or set the groundwork to launch a new firm later in his or her career, the program aims to provide preparation for all of these exciting options. Entrepreneurial skills and thinking are actively sought by more competitive and profitable growing businesses. The special strength of this program is that it combines theory with practice, providing students the opportunity to test the theories, models, and strategies learned in the classroom by creating real business plans, working on other field projects, and gaining access and insight from leaders in the entrepreneurial business community.
Endowed in 1997 by Robert B. Goergen WG’62, The Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program is based on the leading research conducted by Wharton faculty. The program is distinguished by its ability to combine theory with practice, allowing students to gain access and insight from the entrepreneurial business community. His generous gift endows the teaching programs in entrepreneurship at Wharton, including a Robert B. Goergen Professorship, funds for course development, and fellowships for new faculty.
Requirements for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Major
The entrepreneurship and innovation major consists of a total of 5.0 credit units. Only 1.0 cu of one of pass/fail coursework can be counted towards the major:
a) One credit unit (1.0 cu) of the Management Core (any combination of Management core courses up to a maximum of 1.0 cu).
b) MGMT 801: Entrepreneurship (0.5 cu) is required for the major and cannot be waived or substituted. Students are recommended (but not required) to take this foundation course before the elective courses listed in section ‘c’ below.
c) Three and a half credit units (3.5 cu) of the following:
MGMT 691/OIDD 691/LGST 806 – Negotiations*
MGMT 692/OIDD 692/LGST 692 – Advanced Negotiation*
MGMT 712 – Managing Strategic Partnerships (0.5 cu)
MGMT 721 – Corporate Development: Mergers & Acquisitions
MGMT 729 – Intellectual Property Strategy for the Innovation-Driven Enterprise (0.5 cu)
MGMT 731 – Technology Strategy
MGMT 802 – Change, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (0.5 cu)
MGMT 804 – Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Management (0.5 cu)
MGMT 806 – Venture Implementation
MGMT 809 – Private Equity in Emerging Markets (0.5 cu)
MGMT 812 – Social Entrepreneurship
MGMT 811 – Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (0.5 cu)
MGMT 816 – Building Human Assets in Entrepreneurial Ventures (0.5 cu)
MGMT 833 – Strategies and Practices of Family-Controlled Companies
FNCE 750 – Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation
FNCE 751 – Finance of Buyouts and Acquisitions
HCMG 867 – Health Care Entrepreneurship (0.5 cu)
LGST 813 – Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship
MKTG 721 – New Product Management (0.5 cu)
MKTG 727 – Marketing and Electronic Commerce (0.5 cu)
MKTG 734 – Creativity (0.5 cu)
MKTG 741 – Entrepreneurial Marketing (0.5 cu)
OIDD 614 – Innovation (0.5 cu)**
OIDD 636 – Scaling Operations (0.5 cu)
OIDD 652 – Design and Development of Web-Based Products and Services**
OIDD 654 – Product Management**
OIDD 662 – Enabling Technologies
OIDD 699 – AI, Business, and Society (0.5 cu)
REAL 891 – Real Estate Entrepreneurship (0.5 cu)
*Students may not count both MGMT 691 and MGMT 692 for credit towards the major.
**Students may not count all of the following courses for credit towards the major: OIDD 614, OIDD 652, OIDD 654. To count more than one of these courses towards the major, students need pre-approval from the faculty advisors listed below.
Students may petition to substitute other courses (including INSEAD and other exchange program coursework) toward the requirements of the major. Such requests will be expected to demonstrate that the student is pursuing a coherent plan of entrepreneurship and innovation studies at Wharton. Petitions should be directed to eliasal@wharton.upenn.edu or tschoegl@wharton.upenn.edu (for current Wharton Students only, Prospective students should contact the Admissions Office). Other courses cannot exceed 1.0 cu equivalent of Wharton coursework. Only 1 cu of Independent Study Project or Advanced Student Project including Global Modular Courses or MKTG 890, Global Consulting Practicum, can be counted toward the major and must have approval by the department. To access an ISP/ASP registration form (as well as other MBA Program Office forms) see here.
Program Information
- MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- MBA Management
- MBA Multinational Management
- MBA Organizational Effectiveness
- MBA Strategic Management