Wharton Pre-Baccalaureate Program

Courses by Session

The Wharton Pre-baccalaureate Program is an academically-intensive opportunity for exceptional high school juniors and seniors to enroll in Wharton online courses.

Participants will learn from Wharton instructors, earn a Wharton transcript, and accrue college credit for each course completed. With five sessions to choose from and built-in academic support, students are encouraged to explore the depth and breadth of Wharton’s business education curriculum with maximum flexibility and the guidance and resources to succeed. 

Current/Upcoming Sessions

*Additional courses may be added in the coming months.

Being a part of the Global Youth Program allowed me to evolve as an innovative thinker, and expand my knowledge beyond the theory of business…. Best of all, I was able to form stellar connections with students from across the globe, as well as talented professors… in a friendly environment during a time that worked best for me as a part-time employee.

— Viktoriia B., Pennsylvania, USA

Pre-baccalaureate Program 2023, Behavioral Economics

Course List by Session

Spring 1, 2024: January 16 – February 26*

Application Deadline: November 29, 2023

BEPP 0001: Introduction to Behavioral Economics

Behavioral economics applies insights from psychology to the study of economic phenomena.  This course will take the possibility of deviations from rational, self-interested behavior as a starting point, and explore two main questions: What does behavioral economics imply for public policy? What does behavioral economics imply for firms’ behavior in markets?  

Much of the class focuses on the role of behavioral economics in determining whether and how government should intervene in markets — including what policy makers should do to address market failures, combat poverty and inequality, and raise revenue (i.e., “Behavioral Public Finance”). The course will also cover how firms choose to price and to motivate workers in markets with behavioral agents and will examine whether market pressures will eliminate behavioral biases or whether firms will take advantage of them. 

Meeting Days/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30pm – 8:00pm ET
Instructor: Judd B. Kessler
Course Materials Fee: No 

COURSE SYLLABI ❯❯ 

Summer 1, 2024: May 16 – July 3*

Application Deadline: March 27, 2024

MKTG 0002: Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this course is to provide students with working knowledge of the major theories and research findings in the area of consumer behavior. The goal of this course is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the psychologies behind behaviors, judgments, and decision-making, and to gain insight into how to apply them to influence behavior in the marketplace. By the end of this course, students should not only be familiar with a large body of consumer behavior literature, but should also be able to identify theories as they play out in the real world, and be able to apply behavioral principles to a variety of marketing problems. 

Meeting Days/Times: TBD
Instructor: Annie Wilson
Course Materials Fee: No

Course Syllabi ❯❯

FNCE 0001: Introduction to Financial Markets and the Global Economy

This course aims to provide a timely framework to understand economic recessions and expansions and the financial markets’ response to world events. 

The Covid recession reduced the size of the world’s economies and output. What does this mean? How is output connected to employment? How are exchange rates determined in global capital markets? We will introduce the policy options of government spending. We will discuss, as data become available, the continuing impact of the coronavirus on the domestic and the global economy. 

Meeting Days/Times: TBD
Instructor: Gizem Saka
Course Materials Fee: No

Course Syllabi ❯❯

Summer 2, 2024: July 5 – August 9*

Application Deadline: May 1, 2024

MKTG 0002: Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this course is to provide students with working knowledge of the major theories and research findings in the area of consumer behavior. The goal of this course is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the psychologies behind behaviors, judgments, and decision-making, and to gain insight into how to apply them to influence behavior in the marketplace. By the end of this course, students should not only be familiar with a large body of consumer behavior literature, but should also be able to identify theories as they play out in the real world, and be able to apply behavioral principles to a variety of marketing problems. 

Meeting Days/Times: TBD
Instructor: Annie Wilson
Course Materials Fee: No

Course Syllabi ❯❯

HCMG 0002: Introduction to Health Economics

In Introduction to Health Economics, you will explore the application of economic principles to the health care sector. The course emphasizes the importance of scarcity and incentives in guiding the decisions and interactions of key players, including care providers, payers, patients, and producers. Course content highlights the critical economic issues in producing, delivering, and financing health care. 

Through video lectures, synchronous class meetings, and discussions with your peers, you will learn to analyze determinants of demand for medical care, the unique role of physicians in resource allocation, the role of health insurance, and competition in medical care markets. The course focuses on the U.S. health care context, but the economic principles applied are relevant to a range of systems. 

Meeting Days/Times: TBD
Instructor: Harriet Jeon
Course Materials Fee: Yes, $76.00

FNCE 0001: Introduction to Financial Markets and the Global Economy

This course aims to provide a timely framework to understand economic recessions and expansions and the financial markets’ response to world events. 

The Covid recession reduced the size of the world’s economies and output. What does this mean? How is output connected to employment? How are exchange rates determined in global capital markets? We will introduce the policy options of government spending. We will discuss, as data become available, the continuing impact of the coronavirus on the domestic and the global economy. 

Meeting Days/Times: TBD
Instructor: Gizem Saka
Course Materials Fee: No

Course Syllabi ❯❯

OIDD 0001: Prescriptive Analytics: Making Business Decisions using Optimization and Simulation

In this course, we will explore the subject of quantitative business decision making. Specifically, we will study optimization and simulation tools and provide you with a set of key skills in the area of prescriptive analytics. We will illustrate the use of these tools in a variety of business applications, including manufacturing, logistics, inventory management, capital budgeting, insurance, and revenue management. 

Meeting Days/Times:TBD
Instructor: TBD
Course Materials Fee: Yes; $76 

Course Syllabi ❯❯