The Wharton MBA/M.S.Ed program in Education Entrepreneurship brings together the strengths of the Wharton School and Penn’s Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE), creating a unique opportunity for students who want to drive innovation at the intersection of business, learning, and social impact.
By combining Wharton’s rigorous business curriculum with Penn GSE’s expertise in education, the dual-degree program equips students to understand both how organizations grow and how people learn. Students gain access to two distinct academic communities, two powerful alumni networks, and an interdisciplinary perspective that helps them tackle complex challenges from multiple angles.
We spoke with two members of the MBA Class of 2026, James Walker and Ryan Hager, about their professional backgrounds, their experiences navigating both schools, and how the MBA/M.S.Ed. program is helping them pursue entrepreneurial ventures in education.
James Walker, WG’26
After careers spanning law, investment banking, and private equity, James joined the MBA/M.S.Ed. program to combine his transaction and operating experience with a deeper understanding of learning design as he builds Capital Nexus, an education platform focused on expanding access to practitioner-driven business education.
Before starting the MBA/M.S.Ed. program, what kind of professional experience did you have?
I spent several years as an M&A attorney at Kirkland and Paul Weiss before moving to investment banking at Guggenheim Securities and then into private equity, where I work as an operating executive. Prior to and throughout my time at Penn, I sat on every side of a transaction. The program was really an opportunity to do something with that experience at scale.
Why did pursuing both degrees together make more sense for your goals than pursuing just an MBA or just an education degree?
The MBA alone would have given me the fundraising and go-to-market tools but not the credibility to say the product actually works as a learning tool. The M.S.Ed. gave me that framework, and it matters when you are selling to institutions. Career services directors and program administrators do not buy on vision. They buy on evidence of learning outcomes. Having both degrees in the room changes that conversation.
What unique perspective do you think this interdisciplinary program gives students?
In private equity, the most valuable operators are the ones who can translate between what the numbers say and what the business actually needs. The dual degree forces a version of that same skill. You are constantly translating between two communities that speak different languages and value different things. That is genuinely useful preparation for building anything that sits at an intersection, which most interesting problems do.
What has it been like balancing coursework and communities across both Wharton and Penn GSE?
The honest answer is that Wharton is where I spend most of my time and energy given it is full-time. The GSE coursework has been valuable specifically because it gave me a structured way to think about the design of Capital Nexus, the platform I am building. But the Wharton community, the entrepreneurship ecosystem, the finance network, and the peer group in my cohort — that is where the program lives for me day to day.
How do you hope to apply what you’ve learned from both programs in your post-MBA role?
Capital Nexus is the application. I am building a platform that teaches integrated deal execution to students who do not have access to the informal practitioner pipelines that elite institutions provide. The first institutional partner is Howard Law, which matters personally since I am a Howard undergraduate and Howard Law graduate. The private equity background is what makes the content credible. The MBA is what makes the business viable. The M.S.Ed. is what makes the product defensible to institutional buyers.
What advice would you give to prospective students considering the MBA/M.S.Ed. dual degree?
Know what problem you are solving before you enroll. The dual degree is most powerful when the two programs are actively in conversation through your work rather than running on parallel tracks. If you have a venture or a career transition that genuinely requires both, it is an incredibly efficient way to build credibility in two directions at once. The interdisciplinary exposure alone has a way of surfacing problems worth solving that you did not know existed when you arrived.
Ryan Hager, WG’26
After seven years at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Ryan came to the MBA/M.S.Ed. program to explore opportunities at the intersection of fintech, edtech, and entrepreneurship.
Before starting the MBA/M.S.Ed. program, what kind of professional experience did you have?
I spent my seven years between undergrad and the MBA/M.S.E.d program working for J.P. Morgan as an investment specialist in the Private Bank. It was an excellent place to work and an environment that allowed me to truly grow both personally and professionally between my first day as an analyst and my final day as a vice president.
Why did pursuing both degrees together make more sense for your goals than pursuing just an MBA or just an education degree?
The two degrees provided the perfect combination of exposure and resources to advance my entrepreneurial pursuits as a fintech/edtech founder. The MBA served as the core of my experience — full-time, wide-ranging, and flexible yet rigorous — while the M.S.Ed. pointed a focused lens at a sector in which I had no past experience but an intent to enter in the future. Together, they gave me a sandbox to explore, learn, iterate, and progress my venture in a uniquely nurturing way.
What unique perspective do you think this interdisciplinary program gives students?
What’s unique about the MBA/M.S.Ed. experience is that it provides students with two vastly different communities, focus areas, and learning environments. In many ways, this dual-degree program is a microcosm of the entrepreneurial experience: intensely focused sprints periodically mixed within a steadily progressing yet ever-changing bigger picture, requiring balance, endurance, and adaptability in order to continue advancing.
What has it been like balancing coursework and communities across both Wharton and Penn GSE?
Like everything else here, you get out of your experience what you put in. The unfortunate reality is that you simply cannot say yes to all things on offer, but a healthy balance between Wharton and GSE is absolutely possible. In my case, Wharton has provided the majority of my coursework and community given the program is larger, longer, and full-time, but GSE has unquestionably provided invaluable additions on both fronts. Balancing the two programs requires an adjustment after the first year of the MBA, but it’s an adjustment I’m happy to have made.
How do you hope to apply what you’ve learned from both programs in your post-MBA role?
I pursued the MBA/M.S.Ed. with the goal of building the knowledge, skills, and community that would help increase my odds of success as a fintech/edtech founder post-graduation. As both degrees come to a close, I feel confident I’ve picked up those pieces to my entrepreneurial puzzle, am well positioned to launch and manage my venture, and possess the growth mindset to face whatever unforeseen challenges lie ahead.
What advice would you give to prospective students considering the MBA/M.S.Ed. dual degree?
Talk to the program leadership and current or former students — we’re all here to help you make the decision that best aligns with your future. Then, once you’ve made up your mind, lean in. I promise these will be the fastest two years of your life — don’t let them pass you by!
By Abby Behrends, Wharton MBA Admissions
Posted: July 20, 2026