Founded by entrepreneur and industrialist Joseph Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School was the world's first collegiate business school. The school is famous for its quantitative approach and offers a long list of MBA programs and courses, as well as doctoral programs in nine areas and an executive MBA at its main campus in Philadelphia and at Wharton West in San Francisco. As for academics, Wharton is particularly strong in finance and accounting, though it also has health programs in information systems, international business and marketing.

The MBA curriculum begins with a pre-term session that orients students to the rigors of the program before the intense first year of core requirements. The second year of the curriculum is devoted to specialization; students can choose from 19 available majors that range from legal studies and business ethics to operations and information management. Wharton also offers 17 formal dual degrees with other University of Pennsylvania programs. These include the Lauder program: an MBA/MA in international studies in which students choose a region and language to focus their business education.

Firms from the East Coast, particularly investment banks and consulting firms, snap up Wharton graduates, and the school's reputation opens doors across the country. Wharton hosts a slew of networking events for students to make connections while still in school. The school also houses a number of student organizations and sponsors an MBA Pub for when students need to let off steam.