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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.

With over 20 courses available, the Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program provides a platform for teaching more than 2,000 students and entrepreneurs each year. 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.

Over the past decade the Wharton Small Business Development Center has assisted more than 20,000 small businesses in the greater Philadelphia area as part of its dual mission to provide one-on-one management consulting and affordable business training to entrepreneurs. Most of the Center's business consultants are recruited from Wharton's MBA and undergraduate programs. Business training comes in the form of more than 65 courses each year taught by staff and industry experts, many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves.

The Wharton Business Plan Competition (WBPC) 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 and one-on-one mentoring are valuable to all students involved. In the spring the entire Wharton entrepreneurial community comes together at an invitation only Venture Fair where semi-finalists may meet with potential investors. Also at that time, the "Great Eight" finalists are presented and a winner is announced.

The Venture Initiation Program (VIP) provides University of Pennsylvania student-entrepreneurs with the education, facilities and professional guidance so critical to the initial stages of a business. A part of the Wharton Small Business Development Center, VIP offers accepted students a supportive environment to implement their business plans while learning key skills and concepts of entrepreneurship.

The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program 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.

This University of Pennsylvania center gives MBA and other students the opportunity to help launch start-up companies (thirty to date) by turning new ideas from Penn research into business ventures. The ventures are designed to commercialize biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, software, and even a set of innovative horseshoes developed by veterinary faculty. The CTT allows students to work with entrepreneurs, individual investors, venture capitalists, and faculty to develop, advise, and sometimes lead these new firms.

• 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, Laurence Za Yu Moh — 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.