Applied Economics

Wharton’s Ph.D. program in Applied Economics gives students the tools and training to get jobs in business schools, public policy programs, and applied-oriented economics departments. Drawing on a large faculty of applied economists across multiple Wharton departments and the Law School, the program allows specialization in a number of areas.

In 1881, American entrepreneur and industrialist Joseph Wharton established the world’s first collegiate school of business at the University of Pennsylvania — a radical idea that revolutionized both business practice and higher education.

Since then, the Wharton School has continued innovating to meet mounting global demand for new ideas, deeper insights, and transformative leadership. We blaze trails, from the nation’s first collegiate center for entrepreneurship in 1973 to our latest research centers in alternative investments and neuroscience.