Wharton is committed to serving students who are pursuing careers in the public and nonprofit sectors, as well as students more generally interested in pursuing social responsibility and impact in business environments. Over 30 course offerings tie traditional business concepts to social impact management. In addition to a course on ethics and social responsibility in the core curriculum, elective courses include topics such as social entrepreneurship, microfinance, community reinvestment, environmental sustainability, emerging economies, and urban fiscal policy.

Students are also able to combine their business education with more focused public and nonprofit sector interests by taking up to six classes from top-ranked Penn graduate programs including the Fels Institute of Government, School of Social Policy and Practice, School of Education, Law School, and Department of City and Regional Planning. These programs cover nonprofit and public management, strategic planning in the social sector, fundraising, change creation in mission environments, program evaluation, public finance, community planning, and more.

Aligning with Wharton's strong emphasis on experiential learning, social impact classes often have an out-of-classroom element that allows students to apply their learning in the business world. The Global Consulting Practicum is a full-semester class in which students consult to clients around the world, including nonprofit or government organizations. Fels Institute programs partner students with local nonprofits in order to obtain a first-hand study of the organization's governance, strategic planning, resource development, resource management, marketing, communications and evaluation. Through Field Application Projects, students team up with faculty to solve business problems of organizations in their area of interest

Entrepreneurship and Social Wealth Creation (Wharton)

The thesis of this elective half-semester course is that many social problems, if engaged entrepreneurially, create opportunities for launching businesses that simultaneously generate profits and alleviate the social problem. This approach generates social wealth as well as entrepreneurial wealth. The course is distinguished from public sector initiatives to address social problems, and also from "social entrepreneurship" programs where social wealth creation is a by-product rather than the target of the entrepreneurial effort. Students are expected to begin the course with already conceived ideas for entrepreneurial solutions to social problems. The course encourages projects promoting community debt, healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability.

Microfinance (Wharton)

This course aims to provide a basic understanding of microfinance and equip students with knowledge and tools that are transferable to a career or a volunteer leadership role in microfinance or international development. The course will begin with an introduction to microfinance and an overview of lending methodologies, products, and performance standards. It will also provide a thorough understanding of the role of capital markets in microfinance and give students a real-time understanding of issues faced by microfinance institutions in different countries. Meetings will include discussion, lecture, case studies, guest speakers, and a simulation exercise. Outside of class, students will be expected to work on a field study project with an organization in the microfinance field.

Urban Fiscal Policy (Wharton)

This course examines the financing of governments in the urban economy. Topics to be covered include the causes and consequences of the urban fiscal crisis, the design of optimal tax and spending policies for local governments, funding of public infrastructures and the workings of the municipal bond market, privatization of government services, and public financial systems for emerging economies. Applications include analyses of recent fiscal crises, local services and taxes as important determinants of real estate prices, the infrastructure crisis, financing and the provision of public education, and fiscal constitutions for new democracies using South Africa as an example.

Strategic Planning and Resource Development for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (School of Social Policy and Practice)

Resilient organizations engage in a continuous process of self-review and refocusing. Referred to as "strategic planning," this process requires the active participation of a broad range of agency "stakeholders" who, in their work together, seek to realign the organization's goals, structures, and programs to make them more responsive to the changing needs of their service populations. Building on the content of foundation practice courses, this course strengthens the student's capacity to engage in strategic planning and resource development with nonprofit organizations. The importance of organizational flexibility, innovation, and the creation of public-private partnerships is emphasized throughout the course.

Human Resources Management for Nonprofit and Government Organizations (Fels)

This course, taught by the Chief Human Resources Officer for Pennsylvania Hospital, introduces students to the broad range of strategic and tactical processes and issues involved in managing a workforce. The course addresses issues common to all sectors (for-profit, nonprofit and public), including strategic performance goal-setting, workforce planning, recruitment and hiring, compensation, performance management and talent development, as well as special topics applicable to particular sectors (e.g. public employee due process rights, collective bargaining agreements, the role of volunteers) among other issues critical to effective human resource management.

Experiential Learning

Many social impact classes often have an out-of-classroom, experiential learning element that allows students to apply their learning in the real world. A few examples include:
- Global Consulting Practicum (GCP): Through this full-semester class, students consult to clients around the world, including nonprofit or government organizations.
- Field Application Projects (FAP): Through these customized courses, students team up with faculty to solve business problems of organizations in their area of interest. Recent client organizations have included the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Women's World Banking.

Wharton students can take up to 4 credits offered by other University of Pennsylvania Graduate Programs to count toward their MBA degree. Here is a listing of courses that are related to social impact.

Fels Institute of Government:

- Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurism
- Marketing for Nonprofit and Government Organizations
- Leading Nonprofit Organizations

Graduate School of Education:

- Educational and Social Entrepreneurship

University of Pennsylvania Law School:

- Legal Issues Affecting Government and Nonprofit Organizations

Penn School of Social Policy and Practice/ Masters Program in Nonprofit Management:

- Strategic Planning and Resource Development for Public and Nonprofit Organizations
- Community and Economic Development

Penn Design and Urban Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania:

- Inner City Revitalization
- Urban Economic Analysis

Click here for a complete listing & description of courses related to Social Impact at the University of Pennsylvania.