Joseph Wharton Scholars

Founded in 1988, the Joseph Wharton Scholars program is designed to emphasize the importance of scholarly research and the liberal arts and sciences within the framework of a business education. Students in the program are required to take scholars courses both in Wharton and outside of Wharton (in the College of Arts & Sciences, Nursing, and/or Engineering), engage in a significant research project, and participate in a variety of academic, career-oriented, and social activities.

The JWS program is the Wharton component of the Penn-wide Benjamin Franklin Scholars (BFS) program, through which students gain access to BFS Seminars. In addition to the course requirements, students must graduate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.40.

Program Requirements

Single-Degree Students

Single-degree students must complete at least seven course units (CUs):

  • WH 1508: Evaluating Evidence
  • At least two CUs from the following:
    • ACCT 2110: Tax Policy and Practice in the Philadelphia Community
    • ACCT 2700: Forensic Analytics
    • ACCT/FNCE 2970: Taxes and Business Strategy
    • BEPP 2508: Managerial Economics (honors section) or ECON 2100: Intermediate Microeconomics
    • BEPP 2650: Economics of Diversity
    • BEPP 2800: Applied Data Analysis
    • FNCE 1008: Corporate Finance (by application, requires MATH 114)
    • FNCE 1018: Monetary Economics (by application, requires MATH 114)
    • FNCE 2400: Central Banks, Markets
    • FNCE 3510: Finance and Society 
    • HCMG 3570: Health Care Data and Analytics
    • HCMG 3220: The Health Care Ecosystem: Evolution, Structure, and Current Issues
    • LGST 2150: Environmental Management, Law and Policy
    • LGST 2180: Diversity and the Law
    • LGST 2260: Markets, Morality, and Capitalism
    • LGST 1008: Corporate Responsibility and Ethics
    • LGST 1018: Introduction to Law and Legal Process
    • LGST 2150: Environmental Management Law and Policy
    • LGST/AFRC 2180: Diversity and the Law
    • LGST 2260: Markets, Morality, and Capitalism
    • MGMT 2240: Leading Diversity in Organizations (0.5 CUs)
    • MGMT 2080: Managing Globalization & Anti-Globalization
    • MGMT 2650: Culture of Technology 
    • MGMT 2720: Power and Politics in Organizations (0.5 CUs)
    • MKTG/STAT 4760: Applied Probability Models in Marketing
    • MKTG 1018: Introduction to Marketing 
    • OIDD/MGMT 2930: People Analytics 
    • OIDD 3190: Advanced Decision Systems: Agents, Games and Evolution
    • OIDD 3250: Thinking with Models
    • OIDD/MEAM 4150: Product Design
    • OIDD/PSYC 4900: Science of Behavior Change
    • STAT 4300: Probability (or ESE 3010), requires MATH 114
    • STAT 4310: Mathematical Statistics (or ESE 4020), requires MATH 114
    • STAT 4320: Mathematical Statistics
    • STAT 4330: Stochastic Processes
    • STAT 4420: Introduction to Bayesian Data Analysis
    • STAT 4710: Modern Data Mining
    • STAT 4750: Sample Survey Design
    • STAT 4900: Causal Inference
    • WH 2970: Wharton Industry Exploration Program (0.5 CU, by application)
  • At least three Benjamin Franklin Seminars outside of Wharton
  • WH 3990: Honors Thesis

Dual-Degree Students

Dual-degree students must complete at least seven course units (CUs):

  • WH 1508: Evaluating Evidence
  • At least two CUs from the following:*
    • ACCT 2110: Tax Policy and Practice in the Philadelphia Community
    • ACCT 2700: Forensic Analytics
    • ACCT/FNCE 2970: Taxes and Business Strategy
    • BEPP 2508 : Managerial Economics (honors section) or ECON 2100: Intermediate Microeconomics
    • BEPP 2650: Economics of Diversity
    • BEPP 2800: Applied Data Analysis
    • FNCE 1008: Corporate Finance (by application, requires Math 114)
    • FNCE 1018: Monetary Economics (by application, requires MATH 114)
    • FNCE 2400: Central Banks, Markets
    • FNCE 3510: Finance and Society 
    • HCMG 3570: Health Care Data and Analytics
    • HCMG 3220: The Health Care Ecosystem: Evolution, Structure, and Current Issues
    • LGST 2150: Environmental Management, Law and Policy
    • LGST 2180: Diversity and the Law
    • LGST 2260: Markets, Morality, and Capitalism
    • LGST 1008: Corporate Responsibility and Ethics
    • LGST 1018: Introduction to Law and Legal Process
    • LGST 2150: Environmental Management Law and Policy
    • LGST/AFRC 2180: Diversity and the Law 
    • LGST 2260: Markets, Morality and Capitalism
    • MGMT 2240: Leading Diversity in Organizations (0.5 CUs)
    • MGMT 2080: Managing Globalization & Anti-Globalization
    • MGMT 2650: Culture of Technology
    • MGMT 2720: Power and Politics in Organizations (0.5 CUs)
    • MKTG/STAT 4760: Applied Probability Models in Marketing
    • MKTG 1018: Introduction to Marketing 
    • OIDD/MGMT 2930: People Analytics 
    • OIDD 3190: Advanced Decision Systems: Agents, Games and Evolution
    • OIDD 3250: Thinking with Models
    • OIDD/MEAM 4150: Product Design
    • OIDD/PSYC 4900: Science of Behavior Change
    • STAT 4300: Probability (or ESE 3010), requires MATH 1140
    • STAT 4310: Mathematical Statistics (or ESE 3020), requires MATH 1140
    • STAT 4320: Mathematical Statistics
    • STAT 4330: Stochastic Processes
    • STAT 4420: Introduction to Bayesian Data Analysis
    • STAT 4710: Modern Data Mining
    • STAT 4750: Sample Survey Design
    • STAT 4900: Causal Inference
    • WH 2970: Wharton Industry Exploration Program (0.5 CU, by application)
  • At least two Benjamin Franklin Seminars outside of Wharton
  • WH 3990: Honors Thesis or thesis course outside of Wharton*

* Note: students who elect to take a non-Wharton thesis course must complete at least four CUs from the list of Wharton courses above.

JWS Thesis Course (WH 3990)

The WH 3990 seminar takes place over two semesters. Students can take the course in a fall/spring section or a spring/fall section. To enroll in WH 3990, all JWS students are required to submit a thesis proposal and a formal faculty advisor agreement the semester before the start of the course.

Applications for fall 2025/spring 2026 are due on October 15, 2025.

Read the Knowledge@Wharton article, The Marketing Psychology Behind Celebrity Endorsements, about a recent paper co-authored by JWS alumnus Noah Werksman (W’20) and based off of his thesis work.

Additional JWS Activities

Joseph Wharton Scholars have access to a variety of social and professional development opportunities:

  • Student-alumni dinners in NYC (fall) and DC (spring)
  • Alumni presentations and chats on campus
  • Mentoring (seniors and juniors with sophomores and first-years)
  • Social events (e.g., study breaks, bowling, dancing, Phillies games, whitewater rafting)
  • Professional development (coaching for internship and job interviews or alternative career paths)
  • Business site visits

On-Campus Admissions

Wharton students who were not admitted to JWS during the first-year admission process may apply to the program through on-campus admission at the end of their first year in May. Applications can be found on the CURF website. The application deadline is May 15 at 5:00 pm.

View a sample curriculum for JWS students
Browse Wharton Undergraduate Research on Scholarly Commons

JWS Events & Activities

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