In the 21st Century, starting, managing, or leading an organization demands business knowledge, human understanding, and creativity. Neither skill set suffices on its own, whether the organization is nonprofit, for-profit, entrepreneurial, or grass roots. As a joint effort of the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) and Wharton, the dual Master of Social Work/Master of Business Administration (MSW/MBA) program emphasizes these multiple, multi-dimensional skills and competencies. Knowledge about the person in social context, discrimination, interpersonal dynamics, values, and other skill sets in social work enable administrators, managers, and entrepreneurs to design human and generative policies and practices. Knowledge about organizational structure and dynamics, marketing, labor policy, strategic planning, and other elements of business enable administrators, managers, and leaders to be more effective, creative, efficient, and ethical.

The program is designed for a limited number of mature students with some supervisory and/or administrative experience. The curriculum covers three years and the two intervening summers and includes foundation and elective courses for the MSW and the required basic courses for the MBA. Field internships are arranged in management and policy research and development in such sites as social welfare organizations, hospitals, philanthropic foundations, and government. Upon successful completion of the program, students receive the dual degrees of Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). (See also).