Financial Modeling Specialization Supported by Wharton Research Data Services
Students who pursue the new “Financial Modeling” specialization will also reap unique benefits. They will get to work with datasets from the award-winning Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) business intelligence tool—which contains more than 200 terabytes of data from hundreds of clients across multiple industries in 33 countries—and receive feedback from Wharton data experts.
The addition of a specialization in financial modeling also made perfect sense for Wharton, which is known around the world for turning out students with top-notch quantitative skills, Trumbore says. Recognizing that 75 percent of Wharton’s online learners are outside the United States and many don’t have access to high-tech applications that sift data, the curriculum was designed to develop core quant skills using spreadsheets, essential modeling techniques and common applications—empowering participants to use their own data to make informed business and financial decisions. Courses in this specialization will also be taught by senior Wharton professors, including Bob Holthausen, Rick Lambert, Sergei Savin, Senthil Veeraraghavan and Richard Waterman.
Significant Faculty Participation, Pedagogical Innovation
“We have had about 40 professors involved at this point in teaching online to the world,” Trumbore says, which amounts to roughly one-sixth of the business school faculty.
Development of the online curriculum has also created novel opportunities for faculty collaboration. “We filmed these six or seven professors collaborating and creating the ‘Entrepreneurship’ specialization curriculum,” Trumbore says. “To have all these professors in a room and thinking about learning objectives, thinking about the learner—it’s a pedagogical practice that was spurred by this technology.”
“It has allowed us to really listen to the learner,” she says. In addition to direct communication from students, the online platform also gives Wharton insight into how they work with the different materials, what videos they like the most, which ones they find confusing and where there are gaps in understanding. “That allows us to change what gets taught on campus,” she adds.
What specializations will Wharton offer next? Trumbore’s not telling, only that there are a number of things in the pipeline. “We are eager to listen to the learners out there around the world and see where it is we can best help and serve them.”
Learn more about Wharton’s newest online specializations.
