MBA Major

Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability

The MBA major in Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (BEES) is designed to provide in-depth foundations for those interested in the complex relationships between business and the natural environment, management of environmental risks, and the business and economics of energy. As global energy markets grow and change rapidly and environmental challenges rise, there is a strong need for a new generation of expert business leaders who understand the rapidly evolving trends in business models, technology, regulation, and financing. Students choosing the BEES MBA major will be ideally suited for the ever-expanding set of careers in sustainable business, energy companies, green investing, energy banking, consulting, the non-profit world, and the government. Students will gain insight into these challenges through an inter-disciplinary approach.

Relevant courses are offered by departments including Accounting, Business Economics and Public Policy, Finance, Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Management, Marketing, and Operations Information and Decisions. Additional courses on business, energy, and the environment can be credited toward the Wharton BEES MBA major from the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Design, among other programs, as specified below. Individual study projects cannot be credited towards the major.

Major Requirements

The BEES major is fulfilled by completing a total of 4.0 credit units from the following list of courses approved for the major. At least three of these credit units (3.0 cu) must be from the “Environmental” course list, and up to one credit unit (1.0 cu) of coursework may be from the “Social and Governance” course list. Up to one credit unit (1.0 cu) of Wharton coursework may be from the list of pre-approved non-Wharton courses (also below) with advance permission from the faculty advisors. Please note: A student cannot declare both the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business (IVSB) major and the Business, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (BEES) major.

In order to enroll in non-Wharton courses, Wharton MBA policy is to email mbaprogram@wharton.upenn.edu. In addition, to obtain permission to count a non-Wharton course toward the BEES major, please contact Sara Jane McCaffrey at mcsa@wharton.upenn.edu.  Pass/Fail courses may not be counted toward the major.

Please note that the courses listed below may not be offered every academic year. Please consult the Penn Course Catalogue for up-to-date information.

Environmental

  • ACCT/BEPP 7640 – Climate and Financial Markets
  • BEPP/FNCE/OIDD 7610 – Climate Risks and Opportunities
  • BEPP/OIDD 7630 – Energy Markets and Policy
  • LGST 8150 – Environmental Management: Law & Policy
  • LGST 6470 – The Business & Governance of Water
  • LGST/OIDD 7620 – Environmental Sustainability & Value Creation
  • MGMT 7230: Strategy and Environmental Sustainability
  • MGMT 8970 – GMC on Sustainability (in Germany) (by application)
  • OIDD 5250 – Thinking with Models: Business Analytics for Energy & Sustainability

Social & Governance

  • ACCT 7470 – Financial Disclosure Analytics
  • BEPP 7700 – Public Finance & Policy
  • BEPP 7730/REAL/FNCE 7300 – Urban Fiscal Policy
  • FNCE 7540 – ESG & Impact Investing
  • FNCE 8020 – Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism
  • LGST 6420 – Big Data Big Responsibility
  • LGST 6430 – Other People’s Money
  • LGST 8020 – Law of Corporate Management and Finance
  • LGST 8080 – Employment Law
  • MGMT 6240 – Leading Across Cultural and Relational Differences
  • MGMT 6250 – Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, and the Board
  • MGMT 7150 – Political and Social Environment of the Multinational Firm OR MGMT 7200 – Corporate Diplomacy
  • MGMT 7860 – Reforming Mass Incarceration and the Role of Business
  • MGMT 8120 – Social Entrepreneurship
  • MGMT 8970 – Global Modular Course A (Impact Hack)

Non-Wharton Courses

  • CBE 5050: Carbon Capture
  • EAS 5010: Climate Policy and Technology
  • EAS 5060: Electricity Systems and Markets
  • EAS 5020: Renewable Energy and its Impacts
  • EAS 5050: Climate Policy and Technology
  • ENMG 5120 Energy Geopolitics
  • ENMG 5400: Clean Energy Deployment to Achieve Net Zero
  • ENVS 6300: The Future of Water
  • ENVS 6530: Corporate Sustainability Strategies
  • ENVS 6550: Life Cycle Assessment
  • LAW 9190: Energy Law and Climate Change
  • MSE 5480: Materials Science and Market Signals in Clean Energy Supply Chains
  • MSE 7900: Selected Topics in MSE (Energy, Water, and Materials for the AI Economy)

Recommended courses to supplement the BEES major

LGST 6130: Business, Social Responsibility, and the Environment

In addition to courses that count for credit toward the BEES Major for MBA students, we encourage but do not require MBA students majoring in BEES to take LGST 6130: Business, Social Responsibility, and the Environment (.5 cu). This course does not count toward the four required credit units for the major in BEES, but can be taken to fulfill students’ core Legal Studies and Business Ethics requirement. This course focuses on the social and environmental responsibilities of business.

Impact Analytics

For MBA students especially interested in Impact Analytics, we note that while the STAT department does not have courses that count toward the four required credit units for the major, the following courses may be of special interest:

  • STAT 5710 – Modern Data Mining
  • STAT 5810 – Complex Optimization for Statistics and Data Science
  • STAT 5900 – Causal Inference
  • STAT 7100 – Data Collection and Acquisition: Strategies and Platforms
  • STAT 7110 – Forecasting Methods for Management
  • STAT 7220 – Predictive Analytics for Business
  • STAT 7230 – Applied Machine Learning in Business
  • STAT 7240 – Text Analytics
  • STAT 7700 – Data Analytics and Statistical Computing
  • STAT 7730 – Data Science Using ChatGPT
  • STAT 7770 – Introduction to Python for Data Science

Wharton’s STEM MBA Majors

Interested in a STEM-certified business degree? This major is designated as a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics major, which helps students excel in high-demand roles that require both business and technical acumen.

Our STEM majors offer another benefit for international students, who can obtain a STEM OPT extension for their F-1 visa after graduation. The extension allows students to apply the skills they learned in their STEM degree studies in full-time employment in the U.S. If you choose one of these majors, you will be eligible for 36 months of post-completion OPT (compared to 12 months for a non-STEM major).

Questions?

If you are a current Wharton student, contact Sara Jane McCaffrey at mcsa@wharton.upenn.edu.

If you are interested in applying to Wharton, contact the MBA Admissions Office at mba-admiss@wharton.upenn.edu or +1.215.898.6183.

Additional Information

This major is jointly administered by the Business Economics and Public Policy Department, the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department, and the Management Department. The faculty advisors to this major are Professors Arthur van Benthem (BEPP), Witold (Vit) Henisz (MGMT), and Sarah E. Light (LGST).

Helpful Links

For more information about resources at Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania more broadly on climate, energy, environment, and sustainability, please click here.