Explore Business Education at Wharton in a Day
During the Wharton One-day High School Experience, students will spend time with the Wharton Global Youth Program team exploring summer programs, dual-enrollment courses, competitions and more opportunities for high school students; discuss college-level business topics with Wharton faculty; and brainstorm ideas with their peers. They will learn to define business more broadly while also going deep on engaging themes like entrepreneurship and the value of social networks, enriched by Wharton School insight and the opportunity to put innovation into action.
Learn More About Our Upcoming Event
Wharton One-Day High School Experience: Entrepreneurship and Finance
March 27, 2026 | The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton One-day High School Experience is for high school and secondary school-age students (grades 9-12) interested in business and curious about college life, academic research and how professors teach. They may be preparing to pursue business after high school or just beginning to explore business as an interest and potential career track. Either way, the immersive Wharton One-day High School Experience delivers an engaging introduction to business education.
After the program, high school students will receive a digital badge to document their learning. They will also collect Wharton Global Youth materials and gear to share their new Wharton-community connections.
Cost: $299
Participation in a Wharton Global Youth program does not guarantee admission to the University of Pennsylvania.
Faculty Session: Introduction to Stock Investing
All financial decisions, including stock investing, involve weighing expected benefits (returns), costs, and associated risks.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, students will be able to:
- Understand core finance fundamentals, including valuation and risk–return tradeoffs.
- Use basic tools to evaluate a company’s financial health.
- Compare intrinsic value to market price to assess investment opportunities.
- Explain how stocks fit within a broader portfolio strategy.
Faculty Session: Entrepreneurial Thinking for Future Managers
Effective management involves understanding entrepreneurship, exploring seven pathways, and applying the six Rs of an entrepreneurial mindset.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, students will be able to:
- Recognize that entrepreneurship takes many forms and identify paths that align with their interests.
- Develop key components of an entrepreneurial mindset.
- Explain how managerial decisions require knowledge across multiple business domains.
- Analyze how the movement of knowledge workers influences the firms they start, join, and leave.
Friday, March 27, 2026
- Registration
- 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
- Welcome Remarks with Dean Erika James
- 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
- Exploring Opportunities with the Wharton Global Youth Program
- 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
- Break
- 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
- Faculty Session: Introduction to Stock Investing: Michael Roberts
- 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- Ice Breaker
- 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Lunch
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Faculty Session: Entrepreneurial Thinking for Future Managers: Lori Rosenkopf
- 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Panel: Wharton Global Youth Program Alumni Spotlight
- 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- Program Wrap-Up
- 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Date & Location
March 27, 2026 | The Wharton School, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
This is an in-person workshop. Students are responsible for their own transportation and housing (if required).
Workshop Cost
The cost to attend is $299, which includes all instructional sessions, workshop materials, lunch and snacks during the workshop.
Who Should Attend
This program is designed for current high school students who are curious about finance, investing, and entrepreneurship. It is an excellent fit for students eager to understand how investors and managers make decisions, evaluate opportunities, and balance risk and reward. Participants will explore business concepts in a global context while experiencing Wharton’s analytical approach to financial and managerial decision-making.
English Proficiency
All instruction and activities will be conducted in English and participation requires a recommended English proficiency of TOEFL iBT 100 or higher, or IELTS 7.0 or higher.
Digital Credential
Participants who complete the workshop will earn a Wharton Global Youth Digital Badge to showcase their achievement and engagement in business learning.
The Wharton Learning Experience
Beyond the session content, this program introduces students to the Wharton Global Youth Program as a gateway to further exploration in finance and industry through a world leader in business education. Students gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of business study, recognizing that effective financial and managerial decision-making draws from multiple fields. Participants also experience the Wharton classroom firsthand, engaging with faculty research and teaching styles that define the school’s academic approach.
Questions
Contact globalyouth@wharton.upenn.edu.
Michael R. Roberts is the William H. Lawrence Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an affiliate of the Institute for Law and Economics and the Wharton Financial Institutions Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He also founded and heads the Wharton Financial Analytics Initiative. Professor Roberts’ research spans corporate finance, banking, and asset pricing. Recent work has examined equity pricing anomalies, collateralized loan obligation (CLO) performance, and the effect of interest rates on bank lending. His research has received several awards including two Brattle Prizes for Distinguished Paper published in the Journal of Finance, a Jensen Prize for best paper on Corporate Finance and Organizations published in the Journal of Financial Economics, and Best Paper awards from the Financial Management Association, Southwestern Finance Association, and Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
Professor Roberts earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California at San Diego, and his M.A. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Lori Rosenkopf is the Simon and Midge Palley Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In her current role as Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship, Lori serves as the Wharton Faculty Director for Venture Lab and also as the Faculty Director for Wharton San Francisco. Lori earned her PhD in Management of Organizations from Columbia University after working as a systems engineer for Eastman Kodak and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Prior to that, Professor Rosenkopf earned her B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and her M.S. in Operations Research from Stanford University.
Registration is open. Don’t miss your chance to participate in this introductory workshop designed for learners of all levels.
Learn More About Our Past Events
San Francisco: June 2025
As part of the 57th Wharton Global Forum in San Francisco, the Wharton One-Day High School Experience brought together students on June 26, 2025 at Wharton’s San Francisco campus for an inspiring day of business learning and connection. Participants explored themes of networks, leadership, and the future of business through sessions led by Wharton professors, Marissa King, Lori Rosenkopf, and Hamsa Bastani.
The program also featured Hilary Ash (W’13), who shared insights from her Wharton journey and professional experience, helping students envision how business education can shape their own paths. Held alongside the Global Forum’s worldwide gathering of thought leaders, the event offered students a unique opportunity to experience Wharton’s global community and spirit of innovation.
The day concluded with a networking reception at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, where participants connected with peers, alumni, and Forum attendees to celebrate their shared Wharton experience.
Bejing: October 2024
On October 26, 2024, Wharton Global Youth Program welcomed more than 30 high students to the China World Hotel in Beijing for a full day of learning, networking and fun. Wharton professors Lori Rosenkopf and Karl Ulrich delivered interactive presentations on innovation and entrepreneurship, allowing students to experience college-level research and lectures. The students could hear from distinguished Wharton alumni and participate in the closing reception.
It was a successful event with one high school student from Keystone Academy stating, “I love the two lessons taught by the professors! They were all super interesting and gave me a clear vision of what to expect at Wharton. I also love how every participant was engaged in discussions and brainstorming in an active yet friendly way.”
São Paulo: June 2024
Our inaugural One-day High School Experience event hit capacity with 40 high school students – many of them children of Wharton School alumni attending the Wharton Global Forum hosted in São Paulo, Brazil – spending three hours with the Wharton Global Youth team learning aspects of business education. Wharton professors Lori Rosenkopf and Serguei Netessine delivered engaging presentations on innovation and entrepreneurship, providing a glimpse into college-level research and lectures. And Erika James, Wharton’s dean, stopped by to say hello and champion her mission of extending a Wharton education to more students like our group from Brazil.
“I really enjoyed the way in which the content was taught, as well as the environment it was done in,” noted Beatriz C., a Brazilian high school student who also took advantage of exploring the supporting Canvas site featuring business education articles and resources for One-day learners. Beatriz and others are staying connected with the Wharton Global Youth community. “I thought it was extremely captivating and an amazing experience to interact with Wharton professors,” she added. Wharton Global Youth is designing new One-day high school experiences with unique themes for the coming year.