Dean Erika James (from left), donor Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs, and faculty director David Musto gather at Wharton to celebrate Jacobs’ $60 million gift establishing the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program, the school’s first new degree in 50 years.
University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School announced today (September 15) that it has received a historic $60 million gift to launch a new Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program. Not only is the donation the largest single gift in Wharton’s history, the MSQF is the school’s first new degree in 50 years.
The gift comes from Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs, principal and co-founder of Jacobs Levy Equity Management, as well as a Wharton graduate and former professor.
“Bruce’s longtime philanthropic support has been instrumental in cementing Wharton’s position as the global leader in quantitative finance research and education,” says Wharton School Dean Erika James in a release.
“The Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program marks an exciting new chapter of excellence in finance at Wharton. Building on our legacy as a powerhouse in the financial arena and a pioneer of the data-informed approach to learning, Wharton offers an unparalleled environment for students to explore this dynamic industry and emerge prepared to shape the future of finance.”
A NEW PATHWAY IN QUANTITATIVE FINANCE
The degree’s first cohort will begin fall 2026. It is designed for Penn undergrads in quantitative fields, adding one year of advanced study in quantitative methods, machine learning, artificial intelligence and financial markets. It is built for people looking to work in quantitative asset management or similar fields.
“Wharton is the world’s top business school because it consistently leads at the forefront of fields like quantitative finance,” says University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson. “This new, innovative, hands-on graduate program will further advance our University’s strategic focus on data and AI while preparing our quantitative finance students and scholars to lead in a rapidly changing world.”
The data-intensive curriculum includes six required courses such as data science for finance and foundations of asset pricing, as well as access to more than 30 electives across Wharton and Penn’s other schools. In the final semester, students will complete a hands-on research project addressing a real-world challenge in quantitative asset management.
Students will get access to Wharton’s global alumni network and exposure to industry practitioners, regulators, and market participants through tailored seminars and presentations.
David Musto, the Ronald O. Perelman Professor in Finance, will serve as faculty director of the new program.
TOTAL GIFTS ADD UP TO MORE THAN $80 MILLION
Jacobs has a long history with Wharton. He earned an M.A. in Applied Economics from the school in 1979 and his Ph.D. in Finance in 1986. He was also a member of the Wharton finance faculty.
Bruce I. Jacobs (Hechler Photographers)
He has supported quantitative finance research and teaching at the school for the past 15 years. In 2011, he co-founded the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research, which has since become a leading hub for scholarship in the field. His gifts also established the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Dissertation Fellowships, the Wharton-Jacobs Levy Prize for Quantitative Financial Innovation, the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance, and the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Scholars program.
He also supported Wharton’s MBA quantitative finance major which was launched in 2020.
In all, Jacobs has donated more than $80 million to quantitative finance initiatives at his alma mater.
“When I was at Wharton, quantitative finance was in its infancy. Now, it is an essential discipline in a data-driven world,” Jacobs says. “By bridging theory and practice, the MSQF program will have a lasting impact on the industry and many future generations of students, as well as ensure the Wharton School will be at the forefront of this dynamic field.”
Jacobs currently serves as the co-chief investment officer, portfolio manager, and co-director of research at his equity management firm. He is the author of Too Smart for Our Own Good: Ingenious Investment Strategies, Illusions of Safety, and Market Crashes as well as several other books. He is co-author with Ken Levy of Equity Management: The Art and Science of Modern Quantitative Investing, Second Edition.
BIG MONEY GIFTS TO B-SCHOOLS
The landmark gift comes as Wharton’s donor base rebounded after a marked decline the last two years when many donors withheld contributions in protest of Penn’s handling of campus antisemitism allegations.
Earlier this month, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that the school’s 2025 Donor Honor Roll – a document that lists Wharton’s donors by name, but not by donation amount – had more donors listed than 2023 or 2024. The newspaper also reported, however, that a few of Wharton’s prominent benefactors have yet to return. Marc Rowan, for example, chair of Wharton’s Board of Advisors, publicly cut financial ties with the university in 2023 and did not appear on the 2025 list. He and his wife, Carolyn, donated $50 million to the school in 2018, which was the highest award until today’s announcement.
Jacobs’ $60 million commitment not only stands as Wharton’s highest single contribution to date, but it secures a spot on an exclusive but growing list of business school gifts of at least $50 million.
In the last two and half decades, notable alumni have increasingly made transformative big-dollar gifts to their alma maters. David Booth’s $300 million gift to Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2008 remains the largest ever, followed by Stephen Ross’ $250 million gift to Michigan’s Ross School of Business over several years.
Largest Philanthropic Gifts To Business Schools |
|||
School |
Amount |
Donor |
Year |
| Chicago’s Booth School of Business | $300 million | David Booth | 2008 |
| Michigan’s Ross School of Business | $250 million | Stephen Ross |
2004, 2013, 2017
|
| University of Hawai’i-Mānoa Shidler College of Business | $228 million | Jay H. Shidler | 2014, 2017 |
| University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business | $150 million | Larry Gies | 2017 |
| Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business | $150 million | H. Fisk Johnson | 2017 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | $150 million | Robert & Dorothy King | 2011 |
| UCLA Anderson School of Management | $142 million | John & Marion Anderson |
1987, 2011, 2015
|
| Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business | $122 million | David Tepper | 2004, 2013 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | $105 million | Philip Knight | 2006 |
| Yale School of Management | $100 million | Eli & Edythe Broad | 2019 |
| UC-San Diego Rady School of Management | $100 million | Ernest Rady | 2015 |
| Florida State College of Business | $100 million | Jim Moran | 2015 |
| Columbia Business School | $100 million | Ronald Perelman | 2013 |
| Columbia Business School | $100 million | Henry Kravis | 2010 |
| Emory University’s Goizueta Business School | $95 million | The Goizueta Foundation | 1997-2019 |
| New York University Stern School of Business | $86 million | Leonard Stern |
1988, 2015, 2021
|
| Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School | $80 million | David Atkinson | 2010 |
| Arizona State’s Carey School of Business | $75 million | William Carey | 2003, 2019 |
| Johns Hopkins Carey Business School | $75 million | William Carey | 2006, 2020 |
| Chicago Booth | $75 million | Amy & Richard Wallman | 2017 |
| Florida’s Warrington College of Business | $75 million | Al & Judy Warrington | 2014 |
| Delaware’s Lerner College of Business | $71.5 million | Robert & Kathleen Siegfried | 2025 |
| Virginia’s Darden School of Business | $68 million | Frank & Marjorie Sands | 2019 |
| Virginia’s Darden School of Business | $62 million | Frank Batten | 1999 |
| University of Pennsylvania Wharton School | $60 million | Bruce I. Jacobs | 2025 |
| Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School | $60 million | Richard D’Amore & Alan McKim | 2012 |
| Thunderbird School of Management | $60 million | Sam & Rita Garvin | 2004 |
| Babson College | $50 million | Arthur Blank | 2019 |
| Purdue’s Daniels School of Business | $50 million | Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation | 2023 |
| Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business | $50 million | David & Carolyn Miller | 2019 |
| University of San Diego Knauss School of Business | $50 million | Ellie & Don Knauss | 2021 |
| Tel Aviv Coller School of Management | $50 million | Jeremy Coller | 2016 |
| Boston University’s Questrom School | $50 million | Allen & Kelli Questrom | 2015 |
| New York University Stern School of Business | $50 million | William & Marjorie Berkley | 2021 |
| University of Pennsylvania Wharton School | $50 million | Marc & Carolyn Rowan | 2018 |
| Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business | $50 million | Jim Haslam & family | 2014 |
| Georgia Tech’s Scheller College | $50 million | Ernest Scheller | 2012 |
| Harvard Business School | $50 million | Tata Group | 2010 |
| Yale School of Management | $50 million | Ned Evans | 2010 |
| Texas’ McCombs School of Business | $50 million | Red McCombs | 2000 |
| Arkansas’ Walton College of Business | $50 million | The Walton Family | 1998 |
| Iowa State University Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business | $50 million | Debbie & Jerry Ivy | 2017 |
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