Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology

The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology is a Joint-Degree Program offered at the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduates. Upon completion of the program, candidates are awarded a Bachelors of Science in Economics from the Wharton School (rated as the #1 undergraduate business school in the nation), as well as either a Bachelors of Science in Engineering or Bachelors of Applied Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (a so-so engineering school).

About the program

The program is well known for being highly selective and extremely rigorous at the undergraduate level, integrating aspects of both the business and the technical worlds. The majority of program graduates choose careers in either investment banking or management consulting upon graduation though a number follow other career paths in the technology, nonprofit, entreprenurial and medical professions.

Applicants are asked to submit an additional essay as part of their application package to the University of Pennsylvania, and acceptance rates for the program are among the lowest of any department/program at the university. The current target freshman class size for the program is approximately 50 to 55 students with five slots available annually for Wharton and Engineering students wishing to transfer into the program at the end of their freshman year. Transfers from other universities into the program are not possible.

History

The program was started in 1977 as the Management and Technology Program. As such, it is the university's oldest undergraduate joint-degree program (the University of Pennsylvania is known for its emphasis on interdisciplinary instruction). The impetus for its creation was a report by the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering, which commented that the understanding of the fundamentals of engineering and technology is as essential to the background of future leaders in business and industry as is a sound knowledge of management principles. They pointed to the growing need for people who can bridge the management and technical disciplines. Dr. William F. Hamilton, the Ralph Landau Professorship of Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, was the founding director of the program and continues to lead it today.

In 1995, Jerome Fisher, a Wharton School alumnus (Class of 1953) and founder/chairman of the Nine West Group, donated $5.5 million to support the Management and Technology Program. The Program celebrated its 25th Anniversary (based on the graduation class) in November 2004.

Alumni

Companies founded by M&T alumni include Stubhub, Flixster, Traffic.com, Register.com, Intellifit, ComVentures, MoneySaver, Athleague, Edusoft, Velocity Investment Group, Dropps, Innova Materials, Crederity, MoneySaver, and AQR Capital Management.

M&TSI

Each year M&T hosts a for-credit summer program for rising high school seniors who want to learn about the integration of technological concepts and management principles. Held on Penn's campus and taught by business and engineering faculty, the program also incorporates field trips to companies and R&D facilities and a term team product design project.

Related links

*University of Pennsylvania
*Wharton School
*Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business "(another joint-degree program with a Wharton component)"
*Nursing and Health Care Management "(another joint-degree program with a Wharton component)"
*Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management "(another joint-degree program with a Wharton component)"

External links

* [http://www.upenn.edu/fisher Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology Homepage]
* [http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/alum_mag/issues/winter2005/feature_1.html Wharton Alumni Magazine Article about the program]
* [http://www.tech-house.upenn.edu/ Weiss Tech House - UPenn Resource center for Innovation associated with M&T]