CAS Students access to Wharton

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>I'm interested in public policy and English; however, I am also interested in business. For this reason, I've started to become attracted to other colleges in which I'd be enrolled in the school of arts and sciences, but then can do a business certificate program and business minor. So basically I'm wondering, if I went to Penn, how would my business education compare to that of a certificate program? Which would permit more business classes?</p>

<p>At Penn, would I be able to take as many business/Wharton classes as I wanted? Is there a business minor? Would being apart of Penn CAS present me with less business opportunities than that of other schools, such as Duke and Northwestern (which have certificate programs and business minors)? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Here’s an inter-school minor (CAS and Wharton) in which you might be interested:</p>

<p><a href=“https://bepp.wharton.upenn.edu/programs/undergraduate/program-information1/american-public-policy-minor/[/url]”>https://bepp.wharton.upenn.edu/programs/undergraduate/program-information1/american-public-policy-minor/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And here’s more on inter-school minors in general:</p>

<p>[Inter-School</a> Minors - Penn Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/academics/interdisciplinary-programs/inter-school-minors]Inter-School”>Inter-School Minors | Penn Admissions)</p>

<p>Normally, a student in CAS can count up to 4 courses in another Penn school (e.g., Wharton) towards his/her CAS degree. Of course, you could take more than 4 Wharton courses as a CAS student, but any over 4 wouldn’t count towards the minimum number of courses required to graduate from CAS:</p>

<p>[Policies</a> Governing Free Electives | University of Pennsylvania - College of Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/electives-policy]Policies”>Policies Governing the Electives Requirement | College of Arts & Sciences - University of Pennsylvania)</p>

<p>I’m not familiar with the business courses available to undergraduates at Duke and Northwestern, but I’d be surprised if, in substance, the opportunities for undergrads at those two schools to take business courses are any greater than those available to an undergrad in CAS. And, unlike CAS students at Penn, students at those two schools certainly can’t take courses at Wharton (or state on their resumes that they took Wharton courses). :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>Wow thanks so much for the very informative post. Looks like there is no all around business minor, but rather very specialized specific ones… is this correct? Because if so, that may make my decision clear. (Not to mention, only 4 classes isn’t so appealing).</p>

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<p>There’s no general “business” minor, but you should note this:</p>

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<p>[Minors</a> and Dual Degrees | Wharton Undergraduate](<a href=“http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/undergrad/why-wharton/minors-and-options.cfm]Minors”>http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/undergrad/why-wharton/minors-and-options.cfm)</p>

<p>And I’d STRONGLY recommend that you pay more attention to the substance of what a particular school offers rather than the form of, e.g., what a school calls the minors it offers (such as “business”). For example, you can’t major in “business” per se in Wharton, but few would dispute that Wharton has one of the finest undergraduate business programs in the world. So don’t just look at whether a school offers a minor called “business,” and focus instead on the breadth, depth, variety, and quality of the “business” courses available to you as a liberal arts undergrad at that particular school.</p>

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<p>And here’s something else to note, directly from the Penn CAS web site:</p>

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<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions | University of Pennsylvania - College of Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/prospective/frequently-asked-questions-2]Frequently”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/prospective/frequently-asked-questions-2)</p>

<p>Also, I think you’ll find that the vast majority of Duke and Northwestern grads who have gotten great jobs and careers in business did NOT take “business” courses, or pursue “business” minors or certificates, while undergrads at those schools.</p>

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<p>And just to clarify one of the things I said above:</p>

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<p>In case that wasn’t clear, I didn’t mean that YOU, as a CAS student can’t major in “business” per se in Wharton (although you can’t). I meant that WHARTON students can’t major in “business” per se, but Wharton is still considered to have one of the finest undergraduate business programs in the world. In other words, don’t be too concerned with the particular labels applied to degrees, majors, or minors, but instead focus on the SUBSTANCE of what you can learn at a particular school. Sorry if that wasn’t clear the first time. :)</p>