MBA Program Curriculum

REQUIREMENTS

Wharton MBA Core                9.5 course units
Health Care Major                  5.0 course units
Electives (minimum)              4.5 course units
Total Courses Required       19.0 course units
Total Courses Permitted      21.0 course units

WHARTON CORE COURSES

All students must complete the Wharton Management Core Curriculum which provides groundwork in the basic management disciplines: economics, finance, financial and cost accounting, management science, managing people and organizational design, marketing, operations management, and the governmental and legal environment of business and statistics. The Core Curriculum is designed to maximize cross-functional integration, extend global experience, strengthen leadership training, and address key management issues.

HEALTH CARE CORE COURSES

The courses comprising the Health Care Major promote an understanding of the concepts, institutions, and issues specifically involved in the organization, financing and delivery of health services and products.
The following two courses are required of all students:

  • Introduction to Health Management, HCMG 8410
  • Health Care Field Application Project, HCMG 6530 (It is taken in the second semester of the first year. Five or six person “teams” are assigned to consult to a health-related firm on a current management problem).

ELECTIVES

In addition to the two Health Care core courses above, students in the health care program are required to take at least three course units of health care courses from within specialized segments of the health care industry.

  • US Payer and Provider Strategy, HCMG 8450 (Spring))
  • Health Care Reform and the Future of the American Health System, HCMG 8500 (Fall)
  • Health Services Delivery: A Managerial Economic Approach, HCMG 8520 (Spring)
  • Management and Strategy of Medical Devices, HCMG 8530 (Fall)
  • Management of Care for the Elderly, HCMG 8550 (Fall Q1) .5 cu
  • Healthcare Data & Analytics, HCMG 8570 (Fall Q1) .5 cu
  • Comparative Health Care Systems, HCMG 8590 (Spring)
  • Leading Health Care Organizations, HCMG 8600 (Spring)
  • Management and Economics of Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry, HCMG 8630 (Spring)
  • The Digital Transformation of Healthcare, HCMG 8660 (Spring) .5 cu
  • Health Care Entrepreneurship, HCMG 8670 (Spring) .5 cu
  • Private Sector Role in Global Health, HCMG 8680 (Spring) .5 cu
  • Business of Behavioral Health, HCMG 8700 (Fall) .5 cu
  • Advanced Study Project: Management of Health Care Service Businesses, HCMG 8900-001 (Fall)
  • Global Modular Courses, HCMG 8980 (Spring) .5 cu

JOINT DEGREES

A number of students choose to enroll in joint degree programs with other schools at Penn, such as the MD, MS in Bioethics, MSN, DMD, VMD, MSW, etc.

SECONDARY MAJORS

Students may also pursue a second major in fields such as Marketing, Finance or Business Analytics, by completing the requirements in these departments. They may take graduate courses throughout the University of Pennsylvania.