The Lauder Institute

Founded in 1983 by Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of the Estee Lauder Companies and the Honorable Ronald S. Lauder, the Lauder Institute now has a 30-year tradition of preparing future business leaders through a joint degree program in international management, integrating an MA in International Studies from Penn's School of Arts and Sciences with a Wharton MBA or a JD from Penn Law.

The Lauder Institute is more than a business program – it’s a career changing, life-changing opportunity giving Wharton MBA students the opportunity to combine international management education with a deeper understanding of global leadership studies, advanced language and cross-cultural proficiencies – the international MBA skills required to successfully navigate a rapidly expanding global economy.

The program at the Institute offers students:

1. An MBA from the Wharton School or a JD from Penn Law
2. An MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences
3. Advanced applied language study in one of nine languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish
4. Study of the complex implications for business in a rapidly globalizing world in Lauder’s new Global Program
5. Two-month, in-country immersion programs
6. A summer project researching articles for the Lauder Global Business Insight Report
7. An MA research project/paper where students work in cross-language, research-oriented teams
8. A supportive global community of students, alumni, faculty, and corporate leaders
9. Dedicated language faculty

The vision of Leonard and Ronald Lauder and the Lauder Institute is to prepare leaders to speak the global language of business, culture, and politics. Fluently. Their alumni now extend virtually around the world – a network of lifelong friendships with a lifelong commitment to all members of the Lauder community.