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In 1973, The Wharton School became the first school to develop a fully integrated curriculum of entrepreneurial studies. Today Wharton, through Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, supports and seeds innovation and entrepreneurship globally through teaching, research and outreach to a range of organizations through its many programs, initiatives and research centers. At the same time, Wharton students and alumni are helping to build entrepreneurial enterprises around the world and impacting virtually every industry.

• Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center
  
• Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program
  
• Wharton Small Business Development Center
  
• Business Plan Competition
  
• Venture Initiation Program
  
• Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program
  
• Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs Awards
  
• Center for Technology Transfer
  
• Graduate & Undergraduate Studies: MBA Major in Entrepreneurial Management, Undergraduate Secondary Concentration in Entrepreneurship
  
• Wharton Entrepreneurs
  
• Recent Research & Activity
  

The Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center is the first and largest center dedicated to the study of entrepreneurship. Working around the world to advance understanding of entrepreneurship and global wealth creation, Wharton researchers generate new knowledge to influence business practice. The Center is also co-home to The Journal of Business Venturing, the most influential publication in the field. Current research is focused on a range of topics such as job creation, productivity and international competitiveness.

The Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program is one of the largest academic programs of its kind, providing a platform for teaching hundreds of students and entrepreneurs each year. The cross-disciplinary curriculum of over 50 courses draws upon seven academic departments. Faculty provide instruction to a range of students, including business owners in executive education certificate programs, undergraduates, MBAs and PhD candidates.

They are taught by both standing faculty and successful current or former business owners. Endowed in 1997 by Robert B. Goergen WG'62, the program is based on the leading research conducted by Wharton faculty. The program is distinguished by its ability to combine theory with practice in a classroom setting, allowing students to gain insight from the entrepreneurial business community.

For over two decades the Wharton Small Business Development Center (Wharton SBDC) has assisted thousands of small businesses in the Greater Philadelphia area as part of its dual mission to provide one-on-one management consulting and enhancing the educational experience of Wharton students. Most of the Wharton SBDC's business consultants are current students recruited from Wharton's MBA and undergraduate programs. Working closely with the small business' senior management team, students learn how to apply marketing, financial, management, and operations frameworks to real problems, ultimately making a measurable positive impact on the company's performance.

The Wharton Business Plan Competition (Wharton BPC) is open to all University of Pennsylvania students who show an interest in starting their own businesses. While the winning team does receive a substantial cash prize, its business plan workshops,judge feedback and one-on-one mentoring are educationally valuable to all students involved. In the spring the entire Wharton entrepreneurial community comes together at an invitation only Venture Finals where the "Great Eight" finalists are presented and a Grand Prize winner is announced. An added feature of the Venture Finals is the People's Choice award bestowed by the audience which gets the chance to vote for their own favorite "elevator" pitch.

The Venture Initiation Program (VIP) allows University of Pennsylvania students to guide a business idea from concept to implementation. Students develop their ventures through two phases of the program within a supportive entrepreneurial community that includes professional advisors selected by Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, which oversees the program. A number of VIP companies have found significant success, engaging clients and customers, receiving funding, and expanding product lines.

The Entrepreneur in Residence Program, consisting of the Robert Haft Entrepreneur in Residence Fall Series and the Spring Series, allows University of Pennsylvania students the opportunity to tap the brainpower and expertise of successful entrepreneurs. Participating students are provided one-on-one 30 minute sessions with the Entrepreneur in Residence, gaining the opportunity to draw on his or her insight, experience, and business advice.

Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs honors outstanding student entrepreneurs with a number of awards at the MBA and undergraduate levels. Frequently, these awards provide "seed money" to launch new ventures or honor student research or outstanding performance in the classroom.

Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs has deep relationships with the Center for Technology Transfer Office (CTT) at Penn. CTT bears the responsibility for protecting and commercializing all of the valuable intellectual property that is created through academic and translational research activities at Penn. These relationships and programs provide opportunities for students to take an active role in supporting the process of technology transfer, where innovations may be incorporated into products and services that directly benefit society, as well as research and education at Penn.

Through various experiential learning programs and opportunities students have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the vast array of professionals involved in moving Penn's world-class technologies to the marketplace where they will be developed for the public good.

• MBA Major in Entrepreneurial Management
• Undergraduate Secondary Concentration in Entrepreneurship

The Entrepreneurial Management major provides MBA students with skills, analytical tools, perspectives, and experiences which prepare him/her for a career as an autonomous entrepreneur, a family-business entrepreneur, or a corporate entrepreneurship career. 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/her career, the program aims to prepare students for 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. Also of note is the Undergraduate Secondary Concentration in Entrepreneurship, intended to complement course work completed in a primary concentration by providing a diverse set of options for students to hone their entrepreneurial skills.

Bob Goergen, Sylvia Rhone, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Peluso, Elon Musk, Aydin Senkut- the list of accomplished entrepreneurs who have studied at the Wharton School is long and impressive. In every conceivable industry, within family businesses, technology-powered start-ups and large corporations, the face of a "Wharton entrepreneur" is as varied as the men and women who have helped establish Wharton's reputation as a locus for entrepreneurship.

Activities focused on entrepreneurship are ongoing and ever changing at Wharton. They include conferences, research conducted by visiting scholars, and newly announced global initiatives. You can also look for Wharton research by visiting Knowledge@Wharton or by searching across faculty profiles.