Are you a motivated student interested in gaining real-world consulting experience in social impact and sustainability topics? Looking for meaningful opportunities to build your skills for your future job search?
The Wharton Impact & Sustainability Consulting (WISC) program offers Penn and Wharton students the ability to work with companies and organizations on real-world projects that are centered around social impact and sustainability topics or questions. Teams of approximately 5 undergraduate and graduate students will work closely with their client over 12 weeks during one semester, resulting in a final presentation to client and Wharton Impact senior leadership.
Teams will also be supported by Wharton Impact staff and by an independent consultant available to you during evenings and weekends.
Past projects have spanned the following topics
Impact Measurement
Landscape Analysis
Operations & Strategy Assessment
Environmental Research
The Details
In order to apply, you must:
- Be an on-campus undergraduate, MBA, or graduate student at Penn or Wharton
- Possess strong analytical/research, verbal/written communication, and time management skills
- Commit 6-8 hours per week for the duration of your project, consisting of:
- 1 hour per week of mandatory meetings in-person with your team and Wharton Impact staff (Tuesdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm)
- 1 hour per week of mandatory meetings virtually with your team and client (please note in project description whether or not the client has already identified a preferred meeting time for that group)
- 4-6 hours per week consisting of independent project work, attending workshops, requesting support from Wharton Impact staff, etc.
- Not be currently participating in Wharton Impact Venture Associates (WIVA) or the Penn Medicine-Wharton Fund for Health (FFH)
Each team will also have one Team Leader. Team Leaders are responsible for coordinating calendars amongst the team and client, ensuring the team is on track to complete the project successfully, serving as a liaison between the team and the client and the team and Wharton Impact, and completing weekly progress updates submitted to Wharton Impact.
Team Leaders should be MBA or graduate students and will receive a financial award at the end of the project, dependent upon their successful completion of Team Leader duties. Students interested in being a Team Leader for their project can indicate as such as part of their WISC application.
What is the Application Timeline?
Applications for Fall 2025 projects will open on Monday, August 25, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET and will close on Monday, September 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Late applications will not be accepted, nor will supplemental materials sent separately from the formal application. As part of your application, you will be asked to identify your first- and second-choice projects from the available list.
All applicants will receive their admissions decision by September 8, 2025. Accepted students must commit to participating in the program by September 10, 2025.
How Long is the Program?
The program will begin the week of September 15, 2025 and will end the week of December 1, 2025.
- Week of September 15th – orientation between WISC teams and Wharton Impact
- Week of September 22nd – work officially begins between WISC teams and their clients
- Week of December 1st – final presentations will take place
Interested in Learning More?
Wharton Impact will be hosting a virtual information session on Wednesday, August 27th at noon for potential applicants to learn more about the program and to hear about this semester’s projects from the clients themselves.
More details to come – be sure to sign up for our student newsletter to receive the invitation to register!
Questions? Contact Jillian Cener, Director of Student Programs.
DISCLAIMER:
Neither the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative (Wharton Impact), nor any of their respective students, faculty, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, or agents (collectively, the “Penn Parties”) (i) is acting as underwriter, broker-dealer, promoter, financial advisor, or other intermediary with respect to any offering of securities by any entity with respect to any WEIP project, or (ii) has received or will receive any compensation from any person or entity as an incentive to participate in any WEIP project. In addition, the Penn Parties have not received and will not receive any compensation or other item of value in connection with any possible or future investment in any securities issued by any entity as part of any WEIP project.
Any research or diligence that occurs in connection with a WEIP project (i) was performed by the Penn Parties solely for limited educational purposes, and not for the purpose of aiding any person in making any investment decision, and (ii) may be limited and incomplete, by its very nature, as a result of limited publicly available information and other limited information voluntarily made available to the Penn Parties. No Penn Party shall have any liability whatsoever arising from any error or incompleteness of fact or opinion in, or lack of care in the preparation or publication of, any WEIP project.
The information, methodologies, data and opinions contained or reflected in any written work resulting from any WEIP project are proprietary of the author(s) of such work, are intended for non-commercial use, and may not be copied, distributed or used in any way, including via citation, unless otherwise explicitly agreed in writing. They are provided for informational purposes only and (1) do not constitute investment or financial advice; (2) cannot be interpreted as an offer, indication, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any securities or to undertake any kind of business transactions; (3) do not represent an assessment of any entity’s economic performance, financial obligations nor of its creditworthiness; and (4) are not a substitute for a professional financial, legal, and tax advice.