Campus History
Founded in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania is America’s first university and a member of the Ivy League. Penn has a legacy of educational innovation that includes America’s first medical school, first collegiate business school, first university teaching hospital, first journalism program, and first modern liberal arts curriculum. The current campus was established on the western edge of the city of Philadelphia in the 1870s and covers over 300 acres of city landscaping.
- Learn about the University’s Campus History.
- Access the University’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.
The majority of Wharton students come from other areas, but quickly become part of a diverse but close-knit community in which it’s easy to make friends. Most MBA students choose to live within walking distance of campus to take advantage of the rich cultural opportunities Philadelphia has to offer.
Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the U.S., home to more than 1.5 million residents. It offers diverse experiences and job opportunities, yet is small enough to feel like home. It has the highest standard of living per dollar of any major city in the Northeast corridor.
The Wharton campus in Philadelphia is right on Locust Walk, the brick-lined pedestrian thoroughfare at the heart of the University of Pennsylvania. Jon M. Huntsman Hall is the latest addition to the Wharton campus, a network of buildings located along Locust Walk and around the Wharton quad. The Wharton campus builds close interactions across its many centers and is large enough to offer world-class resources.
Tours and information sessions are available year-round and are organized by the respective academic programs:
Directions and Maps
Visit Directions to Penn and Penn’s Facilities & Real Estate Services for directions to Wharton’s Philadelphia campus, campus maps, parking locations, and accessibility and building information.
Self-Guided Walking Tour
The campus’ resources extend from a state-of-the-art fitness center, donated by Wharton alum David Pottruck, to a library system with almost 6 million books and a 269-acre campus with countless educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities. Our many buildings are clustered at the center of the campus and form a community within Penn.
Jon M. Huntsman Hall
Jon M. Huntsman Hall is home to the full-time MBA Program Office including Student Life and Academic Affairs. It is the single largest addition of academic space on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus in more than half a century. This 320,000-square-foot building is designed around Wharton’s cohort learning model and integrates innovative learning technologies throughout the School. Huntsman Hall has 48 flexible, technologically equipped classrooms, four computer labs, 57 group study rooms, four floors of faculty offices, common spaces, and pedestrian walkways. Other notable features include an 8th-floor conference space, 300-seat auditorium, student cafés, and study lounges.
Steinberg Conference Center
The Steinberg Conference Center is home to the Aresty Institute of Executive Education. A learning-living environment, the center includes four amphitheaters, three large classrooms, 12 conference rooms, 103 guest rooms and suites equipped with networked personal computers, aerobic exercise room, executive dining facilities, evening lounge, and case rooms with video and computer technology.
Steinberg Hall – Dietrich Hall
Dietrich Hall, opened in 1952, was one of the first buildings erected on campus after World War II and the first built exclusively for the Wharton School. In 1983, the adjacent Steinberg Hall was added. The center for the School administration, it also houses the Undergraduate Division, several academic department offices, classrooms, and conference rooms.
Lauder Institute
The home of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute for Management and International Studies, this building contains offices, common spaces, and classrooms used by students in the Wharton/Lauder joint MBA/MA program for international business.
Dinan Hall
Built in 1972 to house Wharton graduate programs, this building holds the MBA Program for Executives offices, classrooms, and meeting spaces. Built of concrete, steel, and glass, it is an example of the Philadelphia school of architecture.