How a Live-Cohort Executive Program Runs, Week to Week
- Cohort-Based and Self-Paced: How the Formats Differ
- The Weekly Rhythm in the Wharton CTO Program
- How Live Teaching and Faculty Access Work
- What the On-Campus Event Involves
- Applying, Start Dates, and Deferral
- Two Programs Built on This Model
- Before You Enroll
- Common Questions About Live-Cohort Executive Programs
In the Wharton Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program, a typical week combines self-paced modules with weekly live sessions and a Slack channel where you raise questions with your success coach and cohort. The Wharton CTO Program asks for no more than three to five hours per week across a 9- to 12-month learning journey. Faculty time is part of that schedule: live online case discussions led by Academic Director Lori Rosenkopf and a series of live AI and machine learning (ML) webinars. Recordings of live sessions carry closed captioning, so you can catch up on a missed session. A self-paced certificate gives you full control over timing; the program’s cohort format adds scheduled faculty contact and peers who move through the program with you.
Cohort-Based and Self-Paced: How the Formats Differ
The Wharton CTO Program and Wharton Leadership Program in AI are live-cohort programs: you start on a set date, follow a weekly structure, and finish with your cohort, with self-paced modules sitting alongside scheduled live sessions. A self-paced certificate lets you start at any time and move at your own pace. Both formats deliver online learning. They differ in structure and in who you learn with.
| Live-cohort program | Self-paced course | |
| Schedule | Set start date, weekly rhythm, fixed end | Start any time, move at your own pace |
| Live teaching | Scheduled faculty-led sessions and webinars | Usually recorded content |
| Peers | A cohort that progresses together | Largely independent study |
| Support | Success coach and peer discussion throughout | Varies by provider |
| Applied work | A project focused on your own organization | Often quizzes or short exercises |
Self-paced learning offers the most freedom over when you study. The cohort programs keep that freedom for the self-paced modules and add a fixed rhythm of live sessions. Because the CTO Program asks for no more than three to five hours a week and live sessions are recorded, the structure fits around a full-time role.
The Weekly Rhythm in the Wharton CTO Program
A week in the Wharton CTO Program combines independent learning, scheduled live interaction, and work that applies the material to your organization, all within a commitment of no more than three to five hours.
- Self-paced modules: video lectures, readings, and exercises that you can complete at a time that suits you. The program has 18 weeks of core modules and three six-week online electives that you choose based on your career goals.
- Live teaching: faculty-led sessions, case discussions, guest lectures, and AI and ML webinars, alongside weekly live sessions with faculty, industry experts, and global peers.
- Applied work: an executive reflection project focused on a technology challenge or initiative in your organization.
The 18 weeks of core modules run in three six-week phases: technology strategy; trends in technology, covering AI and ML, the AI stack, blockchain, technology policy, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) essentials; and tools, techniques, and execution, covering scaling, metrics, and leading innovation. Electives follow, with options such as Product Management and Strategy, M&A and Corporate Development Strategies, and High-Impact Leadership Communication.
How Live Teaching and Faculty Access Work
In the Wharton CTO Program, faculty time is built into the schedule rather than booked separately. Weekly live sessions bring you together with faculty, industry experts, and global peers. Live online case discussions, led by Academic Director Lori Rosenkopf, work through cases such as the AI integration challenge. Between sessions, the Slack channel connects you with your success coach and your cohort.
- Live AI and ML webinars cover generative AI, agentic AI, responsible AI, AI stack ecosystems, and AI strategy and enterprise integration.
- Recordings let you catch up on a missed session. The CTO Program provides closed captioning and transcripts for all pre-recorded videos and closed captioning for recordings of live sessions.
- Required sessions apply in the Wharton Leadership Program in AI, where two core modules each include a required faculty-led interactive live online session. Its recordings come with video chapters and transcripts.
What the On-Campus Event Involves
Travel in the Wharton CTO Program is optional: a two-day recognition ceremony and networking event on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. It is held once every four cohorts, generally within six months after you complete the program, so the trip comes after your online learning journey rather than during it. You meet your cohort members and faculty in person and connect with professionals from other cohorts.
The Wharton Leadership Program in AI offers the same optional two-day event in Philadelphia, generally held within six to nine months after completion. For both programs, the event has its own registration fee, and the program fee does not cover travel (domestic and international, including visa fees) or accommodation.
Applying, Start Dates, and Deferral
Admission to the Wharton CTO Program rests on professional experience: you need a minimum of 10 years of work experience and fluency in written and spoken English. The Wharton Leadership Program in AI also requires a minimum of 10 years of work experience and does not require a technical or coding background. Admissions for both are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage early applications.
Start dates. Applying well in advance of the program start date can qualify you for a tuition fee benefit. A program advisor can take you through the application and the next cohort in a 1:1 session.
Deferral. The programs are delivered with Emeritus, whose academic policies on refunds and deferrals allow a one-time deferral per enrolment to the next available cohort of the same program, once a valid request is approved. Depending on when you make the request, a non-refundable deferral fee can apply. Requests go in writing to admissions@emeritus.org.
Two Programs Built on This Model
The Wharton CTO Program and Wharton Leadership Program in AI are both delivered online by Wharton Executive Education in collaboration with Emeritus. Each combines self-paced modules with live faculty-led sessions and webinars, a Slack channel for working with your success coach and cohort, and an optional two-day on-campus event in Philadelphia.
The Wharton Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program is designed for current and aspiring CTOs, vice presidents of engineering, heads of architecture, software architects, and senior technology leaders managing AI and emerging technology adoption. It runs 9 to 12 months at no more than three to five hours per week and ends with an executive reflection project.
The Wharton Leadership Program in AI is designed for nontechnical senior executives who want to evaluate AI, machine learning, and analytics through a strategic business lens. It runs for six months at approximately four to six hours per week: 15 weeks of core modules combining self-paced learning and faculty-led live sessions, followed by a six-week short course, Leading and Managing High-Impact Teams. Live webinars on generative AI developments run alongside, and a capstone project builds an organization-specific AI implementation strategy.
Before You Enroll
- Can you protect three to five hours a week (CTO Program) or four to six hours a week (Leadership Program in AI) for the full program length?
- Which live sessions fit your time zone, and which will you watch as recordings?
- Would you like to attend the optional on-campus event in Philadelphia after completion?
- Can you apply early enough to qualify for the tuition fee benefit?
Common Questions About Live-Cohort Executive Programs
The Wharton CTO Program requires a minimum of 10 years of work experience, along with fluency in written and spoken English. It is designed for current and aspiring CTOs, vice presidents of engineering, heads of architecture, software architects, and senior technology leaders managing AI adoption.
Weigh three factors: the weekly hours, whether the curriculum is built for technology leaders, and how deeply it covers AI. The Wharton CTO Program asks for no more than three to five hours per week, is designed for current and aspiring CTOs, and covers AI through a core phase on AI and ML and the AI stack, plus live webinars on generative AI, agentic AI, and responsible AI. For nontechnical senior executives, our Wharton Leadership Program in AI approaches AI through a strategic business lens at approximately four to six hours per week.
In the Wharton CTO Program, travel is optional and limited to one two-day recognition ceremony and networking event in Philadelphia, held once every four cohorts and generally within six months after completion. The event registration fee, travel, accommodation, and visa fees sit outside the program fee.
In the Wharton CTO Program, faculty time is scheduled: weekly live sessions with faculty, industry experts, and peers, live case discussions led by Academic Director Lori Rosenkopf, and live AI and ML webinars, with a Slack channel to your success coach and cohort between sessions. A self-paced certificate lets you work through content on your own timing; the program’s cohort format adds that scheduled contact and a peer group, and captioned recordings let you catch up on any session.
Yes. The programs are delivered with Emeritus, whose academic policies allow a one-time deferral per enrollment to the next available cohort of the same program once a valid request is approved. A non-refundable deferral fee can apply depending on timing, and requests go in writing to admissions@emeritus.org.
For the Wharton CTO Program, the application centers on your professional profile: the stated requirements are a minimum of 10 years of work experience and fluency in written and spoken English. Admissions are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. A program advisor can confirm what to prepare for your cohort in a 1:1 session.
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