Let’s learn about Wharton Lauder, and its joint MA/MBA and MA/JD programs for people who are passionate about international business.

Today’s guest is Kara Keenan Sweeney, Director of Admissions Marketing and Communications at the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Penn Law School. Kara has an extensive background in graduate admissions, starting with her masters in higher ed administration at Columbia and moving on to admissions positions at INSEAD, U Penn, Penn State, and now at the Lauder Institute. Welcome!

Can you give us an overview of UPenn’s Lauder program? [1:25]

The Lauder Institute was founded by the family of Estee Lauder back in 1983. We had our first graduating class two years later. The institute offers a joint degree in International Studies with Wharton and Penn Law – Lauder students earn a MA in International Studies along with either an MBA or JD.

Each year we admit 70-75 students. The program starts in May. The majority of our students are MBA/MA students.

For Wharton Lauder students, how does it work? Do they take additional coursework? [2:55]

Yes – on average, they take two additional courses through Lauder each semester. If you’re doing Wharton Lauder, Lauder generally takes up most of your electives. There’s some research work as well.

But it’s not a double course load – generally about two extra courses a semester.

What’s new at Lauder? [4:20]

We adapted the curriculum to the changing landscape of business and international studies over the last decade or so. We moved the structure to a more regional focus instead of a language focus. We have six programs of concentration – five are regionally focused (the sixth is global). Students choose one of these areas of concentration and then choose a language (for example if you’re in the Latin America track you can choose Spanish or Portuguese).

We used to ask students for fluency in two languages other than English – now we ask for one language.

We’ve added a new core course on intercultural communication, for students to improve their communication skills in an international leadership context.

And there are now two required intercultural venture trips: these are one-week trips where students focus on a specific topic in a specific country. It’s a stretch experience for the students.

Do you find students focus on their home region? [9:00]

It depends. We have some students who plan to work in their home region, but choose a different language so they can work in other countries in the region (for example, a student from Brazil who wants to be able to work across Latin America).

We have heritage speakers in the program. We have students who grew up speaking English. There’s no typical profile, other than an international orientation.

Where do most Lauder alumni get jobs? [10:50]

We see a variety. Last year our students went to over 20 countries after graduation (the class was around 75 students). Most have international career objectives – for some, “international” means working in the US, since a lot of our students are from overseas.

Because our students are also MBA students, they also follow a typical MBA path – though that’s evolving itself. A lot of people are interested in entrepreneurship, social impact, microfinance.

Can you describe the critical elements of the Wharton Lauder or UPenn Lauder application?