Towards academic
excellence - Wharton leads the way
By Kizito Makoye
Recently a number of officials from the Wharton collegiate school of
business of the University of Pennsylvania paid a visit to Dar es Salaam, as
part of a tour organised by the American Embassy.
Parts of the objective of the tour were to auction quality education being
offered by the school and entice Tanzanians to enrol in various programmes.
It was a great opportunity for those who attended the function at the American
Embassy to get an insight into what the school offers. The American delegation
was led by the Wharton Associate Director of International Programs, Parker
Snowe.
The phrase ‘Education is a key of life’ bears a lot of meaning, perhaps the most
important aspect of it, is that with education, the mind of an individual is
profoundly influenced and set to make correct decisions.
Wharton for instance, being a renown academic institution since its inception in
1881, has continued to pioneer innovations in education across its
undergraduate, MBA, doctoral, and executive education programmes.
Wharton is famous for its innovative leadership and broad academic strengths
across every major discipline and at every level of business education. The
entrepreneur and founder of the school, Joseph Wharton had once put it that
‘Great schools have... endeavoured to do more than keep up to the respectable
standard of a recent past; they have laboured to supply the needs of an
advancing and exacting world...’.
The school aims at giving the students a clear focus on learning, and equip them
with concepts and skills aimed at developing decision making processes and
leadership tools to last for a lifetime.
Because of this emphasis on active involvement, employers often say that they
recruit Wharton students because they are among the strongest in strategic
planning, innovative thinking, global business knowledge, and in the ability to
"hit the ground running."
Wharton school is the world's largest, most cited faculty with 280 standing and
associate members, 11 academic departments and 19 research centres and
initiatives.
For prospective undergraduate and graduate students, the school offers joint-
and dual-degree programmes. You can study in-depth business studies with a
second intensive academic discipline.
Interdisciplinary study is essential argues the school. A student can follow a
curriculum that integrates business and liberal arts.
Globally recognized joint-degree programmes include the Jerome Fisher Program in
Management and Technology for undergraduates and the Lauder/Wharton MBA/MA
program.
The Wharton culture has proven that leadership with collaboration produces the
best results. Learning teams help produce leaders who understand the impact they
can have on an organization and community. Students take active leadership roles
through more than 100 clubs and student-managed conferences and work with the
administration on multiple initiatives to affect change.
Wharton is also in the forefront in creating software simulations for the best
learning results. Nearly 20 technology-enabled learning products have been
developed by the Alfred West, Jr. Learning Lab, Wharton's development laboratory
that explores new approaches to learning.
In fact, technology at Wharton is integrated into the learning and research
environment.
Wharton graduates receive consistently high ratings by corporate recruiters.
Part of the students’ attraction lies with their general management preparation
and the fact that they have had the opportunity of specialising in all major
functional areas.
The Wharton School held the graduation of its first West Coast class of MBA for
Executives students on August 24, 2003, in the San Francisco War Memorial and
Performing Arts Center's Herbst Theater. The 59 graduating students began their
MBA studies in August, 2001, when the School opened its West Coast facility in
San Francisco. They commuted to the residential programme from all over the
country, bringing an average of 10 years experience in industries ranging from
finance and manufacturing to telecommunications and entertainment.
The graduation key-note speaker was Jon M. Huntsman, founder and chairman of the
Huntsman Corporation. Huntsman is the chair of the School's Board of Overseers
and namesake of a new US$ 139.9 million state-of-the-art facility on the
School's Philadelphia campus.
Both the campus in San Francisco and in Wharton's home campus in Philadelphia,
offers the same MBA for Executives Program. The two-year programme is designed
for the working professional and provides the value of a full-time Wharton MBA
education.
In addition to serving as the West Coast base for the School's MBA for
Executives programme, Wharton West also offers non-degree executive education
programmes. It is located in the historic Folger Building at Howard and Spear
Streets, near San Francisco’s business and financial district.
Box item
TUITION AND EXPENSES
The following is the 2004-2005 Wharton MBA Student Educational Budget for first-
and second-year students.
1st year 2nd year
Tuition US$ 35,203 US$ 35,203
General Fee* US$ 1,834 US$ 1,834
MBA Programme Fee US$ 1,200 US$ 1,200
Health Fee* US$ 148 US$ 148
Health Insurance* US$ 2,000 US$ 2,000
Pre-Term Fee US$ 1,450 -
Pre-Total Tuition & Fees US$ 41,835 US$ 40,385
Other Expenses
Room & Board US$ 14,200 US$ 14,200
Book, Supplies & Misc. US$ 5,900 US$ 5,900
Pre-Term (room, board, and books) US$ 2,487 -
Total Student Budget US$ 64,422 US$ 60,485
*Subject to change